The Potter's House Podcast

Episode: The Nomadic Life | Touré Roberts
Date: November 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode, delivered by Pastor Touré Roberts, centers around the theme of "The Nomadic Life" as a spiritual posture for Christians in a rapidly changing world. Drawing from Luke 9:57-62 and other scriptural foundations, Pastor Touré unpacks what it truly means to follow Jesus as a “nomad”—not just geographically, but in mindset, profession, culture, and spiritual posture. The sermon is both a challenge and an encouragement to the church, urging listeners to develop spiritual, emotional, mental, and practical agility, fully trusting in God’s guidance and provision.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Burden of Readiness (01:34–05:00)

• Pastor Touré opens with an honest confession: He carries a burden for ensuring the congregation is prepared for present and future challenges—not just spiritually, but emotionally, physically, and economically.
  • “You don’t stumble into readiness. You don’t shout your way into readiness. You don’t dance your way into readiness. You are transformed into readiness by the renewing of your mind.” (03:47)
• Emphasizes the need for intentional personal transformation and alignment with God’s calling.

2. Embracing the Nomadic Identity (10:45–20:10)

• Defining “Nomad”: A detailed etymological exploration reveals that a nomad is “one who moves responsively in search of provision, not randomly but as necessary for survival and thriving."
  • “To be nomadic is to have a certain responsiveness to changing conditions. A nomad is one who moves with the pasture.” (15:14)
• Biblical examples: Jesus Himself lived as a nomad, highlighting this life as essential for His followers. Abraham, Paul, and David are also cited.

3. The Call to Shift (20:35–30:00)

• Obedience Requires Movement: Abraham’s blessing came through obedience to God’s directive to leave his home. The willingness to “move” (in mindset, action, or geography) is often a prerequisite for blessing.
  • “Some of you are not experiencing blessings in certain areas of your life because you are not a nomad. You’re stuck in one place of thinking... God is saying, what I have for you is not where you are.” (21:22)
• Spiritual and Practical Application: The willingness to make necessary shifts (physical, mental, or emotional) is linked to ongoing blessing.

4. The Value of Rest and Stillness (25:03–31:16)

• Personal anecdote: Pastor Touré shares about being forced to pause through illness, finding clarity and refreshment in the stillness.
  • “Some shifts cannot happen without first a divine pause.” (28:00)
• Sabbath as self-care: Resting is obedience, not just to honor God but to replenish oneself.
  • “The Sabbath is you sinning against you. And God wanted us to understand the importance of the pause and the importance of the rest.” (30:43)

5. Mental, Professional, and Cultural Agility (31:37–36:04)

• Not just geography: Embracing the nomadic identity involves being flexible in thinking (renewal of the mind), open to learning new things, and adaptive in professional and cultural settings.
  • “I’m a professional nomad. Everything’s changing right now. What used to prosper yesterday may not prosper tomorrow.” (34:04)
• Stretching comfort zones: Engaging with diverse perspectives and communities enhances agility for God’s purposes.

6. Posture: Willingness and Obedience (36:05–39:01)

• Hearing and obeying: Willingness must precede instruction; otherwise, we won't hear God clearly.
  • “If your obedience is optional, you will not hear because your heart is already hard. And hard hearts don’t move in obedience.” (39:01)

7. Agility and Readiness for Shifting Times (42:56–48:15)

• The imperative of agility: God needs His people to be agile—ready for whatever comes and able to pivot without clinging to past strategies or comfort.
  • “God needs you to be agile. He needs you to be flexible. He needs you to be ready for whatever.” (42:56)
• Practical warning: Avoid unnecessary, lengthy commitments without seeking God’s direction in these uncertain times.

8. The Blessing of Giving Yourself Permission to Rest and Receive (50:07–54:05)

• Running without reflection: Many continue striving without realizing they are in a season of harvest, not sowing.
  • “You don’t even have your nets ready to receive a harvest because you’ve got the wrong tool in your hand. You’re still working, still laboring... not realizing that you have been sowing seeds for years.” (52:11)
• Declaration: It is harvest time for many; permission is given to rest, celebrate, and receive.

9. Lessons from Nomads in Scripture (55:45–59:39)

• Nomadic leadership: Abraham, Paul, David—God’s greatest servants exhibited the nomadic life in pursuit of their calling.
• Shepherd imagery: Jesus as Shepherd means being led as a nomad, always moving with the provision and calling of God.

10. The Shepherd and the Promise of Provision (59:39–64:59)

• Psalm 23 reinterpreted: All promises of Psalm 23 flow from the reality of the Lord as Shepherd, and us taking up the posture of a nomad.
  • “To say the Lord is my shepherd is to confess that I am a nomad... My life is not my own. I have a leader. I have a guide.” (62:03)

11. Ten Blessings of the Nomadic Identity (75:11–83:20)

Pastor Touré prays ten blessings from Psalm 23 over all willing to embrace the nomadic posture:

1. No lack: “You will have no lack. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” (76:00)
2. You will reach the next pasture: “You will make it to the next feeding place.” (76:30)
3. Divine direction: “You will not be left wondering; you will hear His instruction.” (77:30)
4. Perpetual restoration: “Your soul will be restored as you walk.” (79:11)
5. Peace: “You will have peace that passes understanding.” (80:13)
6. Assurance in darkness: “You will have assurance even in the valley of shadow.” (81:07)
7. Victory over enemies: “You will have victory over every enemy.” (81:29)
8. Overflowing anointing: “Your cup will overflow, your head anointed with oil.” (82:07)
9. Goodness and mercy will follow you: “You’ll be stalked by goodness and mercy.” (83:02)
10. Abiding presence: “You will have God’s abiding presence on your life.” (83:20)

12. The Final Call: Embracing Jesus Fully (83:36–end)

• Invitation to respond: Listeners are invited to surrender to Jesus, recommit, or join The Potter’s House community—emphasizing Jesus as the good shepherd and the safest refuge.
  • “He wants nothing from you. He only wants for you. And he recognizes that he is the best thing since anything. And he freely makes himself available.” (86:14)
• Corporate prayer: A prayer of gratitude, surrender, and blessing for all who accept the nomadic calling and those committing or recommitting their lives to Jesus.

Memorable Quotes

“You don’t stumble into readiness… You are transformed into readiness by the renewing of your mind.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (03:47)

“To be nomadic is to have a certain responsiveness to changing conditions. So, a nomad is one who moves with the pasture.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (15:14)

“Some of you are not experiencing blessings… because you are not a nomad. You're stuck in one place of thinking… God is saying, what I have for you is not where you are.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (21:22)

“Some shifts cannot happen without first a divine pause.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (28:00)

“If your obedience is optional, you will not hear because your heart is already hard. And hard hearts don’t move in obedience.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (39:01)

“God needs you to be agile. He needs you to be flexible. He needs you to be ready for whatever.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (42:56)

“To say the Lord is my shepherd is to confess that I am a nomad.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (62:03)

“If you are a nomad, it doesn’t mean that you have nothing. It means you have postured yourself to have everything.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (68:12)

“He wants nothing from you. He only wants for you… He freely makes himself available.”
— Pastor Touré Roberts (86:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & burden for readiness – 01:34–05:00
• Etymology and spiritual nomadism – 12:22–20:10
• Abraham & shifting for blessing – 19:18–21:22
• Personal story: pause/rest – 25:03–31:16
• Nomadic agility (mental/professional/cultural) – 31:37–36:04
• Hearing God & obedience posture – 36:05–39:01
• Why agility matters now – 42:56–48:15
• The harvest and permission to rest – 50:07–54:05
• Psalm 23 and the nomadic shepherd – 59:39–64:59
• Ten blessings of the nomad – 75:11–83:20
• Invitation to respond – 83:36–end

Summary

Pastor Touré delivers a challenging, deeply biblical, and practical message on embracing the nomadic life as followers of Christ. Citing Jesus, Abraham, David, and Paul as models, he urges believers to be agile, responsive, and willing to move by God’s direction—mentally, emotionally, professionally, and yes, sometimes geographically. He warns against complacency, rigidity, and the dangerous sense of comfort, highlighting instead the need for intentional pauses, ongoing learning, and cultural engagement. The ten blessings he proclaims encapsulate the promises awaiting those who trust God as their Shepherd in full surrender.

This episode is a clarion call to reexamine one's posture before God, seek readiness for change, and trust in His provision—reminding us that to have the Lord as Shepherd is to embrace life as a faithful, Spirit-led nomad.