Why I Am Not the Change Agent

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Wake-Up Call

Episode: Why I Am Not the Change Agent

Host: John David Walt (J.D. Walt)
Date: April 1, 2026

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Main Theme

This episode centers on the spiritual principle that personal and communal transformation is God's work—not ours. J.D. Walt unpacks the metaphor of Jesus as the true vine and God as the gardener (John 15), challenging the widespread Christian urge to act as the change agent in our own or others’ lives. Instead, the Christian's call is to abide in Jesus: to rest, remain connected, and be receptive to God’s transformative presence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Season of Sowing (00:00–02:00)

• J.D. begins with a metaphor from the physical act of sowing seeds, paralleling it with sowing spiritual seeds ("we’ve got the best seed in the universe: Jesus Christ").
• Quote: “Everywhere you go, heaven goes. I want you to ponder that a bit. It’s real, it’s true.” (01:15)

2. Consecration & Belonging (02:00–03:40)

• Daily dedication to Christ is emphasized through the prayer: "Jesus, I belong to you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice."
• Repetition for emphasis: “I've just found myself as I say, Jesus, I belong to you, I just sort of go in another click and say it again, I belong to you.” (03:08)

3. "I Am Not the Change Agent" — Reflection on John 15 (03:40–06:30)

• Core text: John 15:1-2—Jesus as the true vine, God as the gardener.
• The transformation journey from seed to harvest is ultimately God’s work.
• J.D. confesses his activist tendencies, contrasting them with Jesus’ call to be receptive:
  Quote: “Put down the pruning shears. You are not the gardener. God is the gardener.” (04:30)
• Warning against “bad religion”—the urge to control our own spiritual growth or that of our neighbors. Quote: "Even worse, we want to be the gardener of our neighbor's garden… This is bad religion on steroids. Down with bad religion. Up with good faith." (05:30)

4. The Call to Abide (06:30–10:40)

• Abiding is the one instruction emphasized by Jesus: “He repeats it over and over... four times in the fourth verse alone.”
• Scriptural focus: "Abide in me as I also abide in you." (John 15:4)
• J.D. encourages listeners to define "abide" for themselves, clarifying what it is not:
  Quote: “Trying harder to do more, to be a better version of yourself. That’s the essence of striving after self-improvement. Abiding in Jesus is the secret to transformation.” (08:09)
• Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase of Matthew 11:28-30 is read as Jesus' definition of abiding:

  "Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion? Come to me, get away with me and you'll recover your life... walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace... Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." (09:10–10:16)

• Abiding is described as holistic—living “in bonded attachment to Jesus,” not just in prayer but in every aspect of life.

5. Prayer and Journal Prompts (10:40–12:22)

• J.D. prays for God’s continued work of pruning and cleansing, and for the Spirit’s presence to grow Jesus' life in us.
• Journal questions for reflection:
  • Are you an activist or a pacifist? Or could you become a “receptivist”?
  • How would you define abiding?

6. Communal Guidance and Reflection (12:22–13:10)

• Call to share personal definitions or reflections in the community, emphasizing doing “life together in the way of Jesus." Quote: “We’re reading, walking, praying, living together in the way of Jesus.” (12:34)

7. Holy Week: Musical Medley (13:10–19:00)

• Transition to a family segment with hymn singing to mark Holy Week. J.D. and his father, David Walt, lead traditional hymns—
  • The Old Rugged Cross (verses 1 and 2) (15:25–17:15)
  • What Wondrous Love Is This (verses 1 and 2) (17:16–18:55)
• Musical segment is warm and communal, inviting all listeners to remember Christ’s journey to the cross as the model for our own.

8. Following Jesus Together (19:10–20:55)

• Reflection on community: “We’re walking each other home. This is not our home; we’re just passing through.” (19:27)
• Emphasis on the inclusive nature of Christ’s group—open to anyone who seeks Him.
• Call to continue sowing spiritual seeds in daily life:
  Quote: “All you got to say is, yes, Jesus, I receive your life for my life, your righteousness for my sins, your payment for my debt, your wholeness for my brokenness.” (20:10)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Everywhere you go, heaven goes.” (01:15, J.D. Walt)
• “Put down the pruning shears. You are not the gardener. God is the gardener.” (04:30, J.D. Walt)
• “Down with bad religion. Up with good faith.” (05:30, J.D. Walt)
• “Abide in me as I also abide in you.” (06:54, reading from John 15)
• “Trying harder to do more, to be a better version of yourself... that’s the essence of striving after self-improvement. Abiding in Jesus is the secret to transformation.” (08:09, J.D. Walt)
• “Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.” (09:25, quotation of Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Jesus’ words)
• “We’re walking each other home. This is not our home; we’re just passing through.” (19:27, J.D. Walt)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:00 – Sowing Season Metaphor, Introduction
• 03:40–06:30 – Main Reflection: “Why I Am Not the Change Agent”
• 06:30–10:40 – Abide: Key Instruction from Jesus
• 10:40–12:22 – Prayer and Journal Prompts
• 13:10–18:55 – Holy Week Hymn Medley
• 19:10–20:55 – Community Reflection & Closing Thoughts

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Tone

Conversational, encouraging, and gently challenging. The host’s language is personal, practical, and laced with humility as he shares both personal honesty and biblical wisdom. Family participation and hymn singing bring warmth and tradition, reinforcing connection and community.

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For Listeners

If you haven’t listened, this summary provides the spiritual heart of the episode: It’s not your job to transform yourself or others—abide in Jesus and let God the Gardener do the work. Reflect on what “abide” means in your life, and consider how being a “receptivist” might look for you as you journey with others in faith.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Sower Nation. It is Wednesday, April 1st, in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm John David Walt, and this is your wake up call. Yes, we are coming to you live from the seed house in Gillette. And if you saw behind me, if you're watching the video YouTube, you see the rack filled with seeds. Here's just a little packet of cantaloupes I'm holding in my hand. Can you hear the seeds clinking together? It's sowing season, friends. We're in full sowing season now. All the farmers are starting to get the seeds in the ground all around here. And we're doing it every day. We sow in season and out, don't we? Because we got the best seed in the universe. Jesus Christ, the love of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, the encouragement of heaven, healing, justice, mercy, blessing. Oh, gosh, y', all, we are all personally and all together, the temple of the living God. Our very bodies. Everywhere you go, heaven goes. I want you to ponder that a bit. It's real, it's true. As it was with Jesus, so it is with us. Because he has given us his spirit to form him, his very self in us, his life in us. We're in Holy Week and we are waking up to Jesus today. All we got to think about is today. All right, so let's, let's, let's begin with consecration. I'm going to show you another little wrinkle in the prayer today. I've been praying Jesus. Well, no, hang on, hang on, hang on. What? I forget. Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. And we're praying. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I've just found myself as I say, Jesus, I belong to you. I just sort of go in another click and say it again, I belong to you. I don't know, it just kind of brings a next level emphasis to me. All right, well, today's entry is entitled why I am not the Change Agent. Our text today is From John, chapter 15, favorite chapter. Here for me, verses one and two. Hear now the word of the Lord. I am the true vine and my father is the gardener, the farmer. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes. So that it will be even more fruitful. The Word of the Lord. Now consider this. The more I engage with transformational question number two, the more I find myself changing the question. Here's where I tend to go with it. Do I really want to change myself? I am such a take the bull by the horns, be the change, make the change kind of person. In other words, I am an activist. Full disclosure. I am or want to be a change agent. Jesus paints a different picture. I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. Here's my interpretation. Put down the pruning shears. You are not the gardener. God is the gardener. We plant the seed and we harvest the crop. But the journey from seed to seeds is the work and will of God. In his final hours with his disciples, Jesus labored to reveal this most critical truth about transformation. We are the planting of the Lord. He is the gardener. We are not the gardener. I am not the gardener. We participate by staying grounded, attached and receptive. Hear it right here very clearly in the next verse. He cuts off every every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. The problem is we desperately want to be our own gardener and tend our own growth. This is bad religion. Even worse, we want to be the gardener of our neighbor's garden and tend their growth. This is bad religion on steroids. Down with bad religion. Up with good faith. That looks like John 15, verse 3. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. That word clean is closely related to the word prune. Jesus speaks the word which prunes us. Our Father cuts the branches. So what is our part? How do we stay grounded, attached, connected and receptive? Jesus brings it down to a single word and he repeats it over and over and over again. He says it four times in the fourth verse alone. See if you can spot it. Abide in me as I also abide in you. There it is. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must abide in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me. You saw it, didn't you? Abide. What does that word mean to you? I want you to start crafting your own working definition of the word today. It'll be a good journal exercise. I can tell you what it doesn't mean. Trying harder to do more, to be a better version of yourself. That's the essence of striving after self improvement. Abiding in Jesus is the secret to transformation. Abide it's a gentle word. It feels like fellowship. It carries an essence of resting in relationship, living in bonded attachment to Jesus. Let's circle back to an earlier word from Jesus we went over a week or so ago. I would call this Jesus working definition of abiding. It's from Matthew 11, verses 28 to 30. It's from the message translation with Eugene Peterson. My hero. Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion? Come to me, get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. All right, show of hands. Who wants that? You see, my hand is raised high right now. Amen to that. I think that's Jesus working definition of abiding. You know, it's not all just sitting around and praying. He's like, walk with me, work with me, watch how I do it. That it's a whole list, holistic, everywhere you go, all the time, pace way, grace. That's abiding. I've been in the school a while and I'm still learning, but I'm a lot further in the in the way of it than I was. Well, let's pray. Our Father, thank you for your son Jesus and Lord Jesus. Yes, you are the true vine, our very source of life. Keep speaking your cleansing word to us. And Father, prune us for greater fruitfulness. Come, Holy Spirit, and bring the abiding presence of Jesus to grow in us. It's in his name we're praying. Amen. Okay, let's hit a couple of journal prompts today. Are you an activist type like me? Kind of want to be the change agent, or are you a more pacifist type? See, I don't think that's really the goal either. It's receptivism that I'm looking for. What would it take to become a receptivist type of person? That's a big one. It's not not being an activist, not being a pacifist. It's being a receptivist. And how's that working definition of abiding coming for you? Write it out.

[B]

I challenge you.

[A]

I'd love to see it. Put it out there on our Facebook group today. Share with others. Let's go together. That's what we're doing here. We're reading, walking, praying, living together in the way of Jesus. Well, got dad with me today. We're going to sing today, and I'm going to just hand it right over right now.

[B]

All right, everybody, it's Wednesday, and look who's here to help us get to the cross.

[C]

Amen.

[A]

This is Holy Week.

[D]

Now, what we want to do is follow one of y' all to the cross, okay?

[B]

You heard it. We're counting on y'.

[D]

All.

[B]

Okay, listen, we're not really leading you. And guess what? You're not leading us. Guess who's leading all of us?

[D]

Jesus Christ.

[B]

He's the one who not only goes to the cross. You know what?

[A]

He carries his cross.

[B]

He carries his own cross all the way to the cross. Think about that today. That's who we're following. And he did it for us.

[A]

And he did it to transform us

[B]

so that he could do it through

[A]

us, so we could do it.

[B]

We could do it together for others.

[D]

Amen.

[B]

For others. That's what he's trying to do. The cross not only opens wide the gates of heaven, it opens wide the gates of our hearts to others, doesn't it?

[C]

Right.

[B]

That's what we're doing. So tell them what we're singing. We got a couple of songs today. We're going to medley. We're into the medley thing now. Okay, first song is the Old Rugged Cross.

[A]

What's a page?

[D]

Page. 236.

[B]

And then.

[D]

And we're going to sing 1 and 2.

[B]

1 and 2. And then we're going to flip back over here to.

[A]

What's this one?

[D]

The next one is. What wondrous love is this?

[B]

And that's number

[A]

two.

[B]

Can you see it? 233.

[D]

233.

[B]

We're going to sing maybe one and

[A]

two of that one.

[D]

Okay?

[B]

Okay, so let's go back to the wonder, the Old Rugged Cross. And one and two verses, one and two. We're singing the cross songs this week, everybody. So let's get in step and let's get in tune with each other. You ready?

[D]

And after. Are we going to sing it?

[B]

Yeah, you ready? We're going to sing it right now. Dad keeps asking Me, like, is Ms. Sandra going to be our accompaniment? And I'm like, no, dad, we got perfect pitch, okay? We're just going to claim it by faith.

[C]

On a hill far away Stood an old rugged cross the emblem of suffering and shame and I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of love Sinners was slain so I'll cherish the old rugged cross Till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross Rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown verse 2. On that rugged cross so devised by the world has the wondrous attraction for me for the dear Lamb of God Left his glory above to bear it to dark Calvary so I'll cherish the old rugged cross Till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday For a crown now let's

[B]

go back over to 233.

[C]

What wondrous love is this O my soul O my soul what wondrous love is this O my soul what wondrous love is this that cost the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse O my soul O my soul to bear the dreadful curse for my soul

[B]

let's sing verse 2.

[C]

To God and to the Lamb I will sing I will sing to God and to the Lamb I will sing to God and to the Lamb who is the great. I am. I am missing John the same. I will sing I will sing While millions join the theme. I will sing

[B]

that's good. That's good for today.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, we're gonna sing. We'll pick that back up tomorrow, finish the medley. But yeah, you know, millions.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Are joining the theme to sing this week because Christians all over the world. Yep.

[D]

That we. That's not all.

[C]

They're not all.

[D]

Angelette.

[B]

We're going to the cross with Christians all over the world. So let's be praying for each other.

[D]

Amen.

[B]

And let's be helping each other. You know what we're doing in this life? We're walking each other home. That's what we're doing. This is not our home. We're just passing through.

[D]

We're part time.

[A]

We're here for a very short time.

[B]

And as we come to know and follow Jesus, he will take us for eternity's ages.

[D]

And. And that's the group we need to be on.

[A]

That's it.

[B]

That's our group. Okay. And guess what the beautiful thing is that's an open group to anybody who wants it. It's not a closed group.

[C]

No way.

[B]

Anybody.

[A]

All you got to say is, yes,

[B]

Jesus, I receive your life for my life, your righteousness for my sins, your payment for my debt, your wholeness for my brokenness. We could go on. We got to let you get on the field because there's a lot more people out there in your world and

[A]

my world and Dad's world that need to hear it.

[B]

And that's what we're doing today? We're sowing for awakening. Okay. So we are going to get our seeds together. I got mine, Dad's got his, you're getting yours. And hang on one second. For The Awakening. I'm J.D.

[C]

walt.

[D]

And I'm David.

[C]

Walt.

[B]

We'll see you where?

[D]

On the field.

[A]

Field.

[B]

There you go.