Living In An Altered State
Altered State
When Abby D'Agostino fell mid-race and stopped to help the competitor who tripped her, the world expected speed. What it saw was sacrifice.
When asked why, she said: "My heart had just been prepared." The crisis did not create her character — it revealed it.
⟶ KEY TRUTH: The pressure did not build her capacity. The moment only exposed what had already been formed within her.
Romans 1–11
What God has accomplished
End of ch. 11
Praise for what God has done
Romans 12:1–2
Placing your life at God's disposal
Romans 12:3+
Demonstrating that dedication is real
You make the offering. Jesus gave you direct access — no intermediary required.
You are a temple of the Holy Spirit. The altar is wherever you are.
You put yourself on the altar. A living sacrifice — the whole self, not bits and pieces.
Showing up to every service, class, and program — but leaving unchanged. Christianity on the outside only.
Surrendering the whole self — mind, body, soul — and allowing God to renew you from the inside out.
the Mercies
the Members
the Renewal
That is how we live in an altar-ed state. A-L-T-A-R.
For 108 years, somebody remembered the mercies of God. Somebody presented themselves on the altar. Somebody refused to be pressed into the mold of the age. We honor their surrender — but we cannot live on it.
The baton is in our hands. The altar is still open.
Barry's Bureau | Inspired by Minister Stacy Jones' sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ — 108th Anniversary Celebration
Living in an Altered State: What the Altar Does That Religion Never Can
At Schrader Lane's 108th Anniversary Celebration, Minister Stacy Jones delivered a message that cut straight to the heart: true transformation doesn't come from what you do at church — it comes from what you surrender on the altar. This post unpacks his powerful teaching from Romans 12:1–2 on what it really means to live "in an altered state."
The Race You Didn't Plan to Run
She had trained for years. Every sacrifice, every early morning, every mile — all of it pointed to one moment: the 5,000-meter qualifying race at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Abby D'Agostino was ready. Then, in an instant, everything changed. A fellow runner stumbled directly in her path, and both women crashed to the track while the field pulled away.
What happened next stunned the world. Instead of rejoining the race, Abby turned around — and helped her fallen competitor back to her feet. "Get up. We have got to finish this race." They both eventually crossed the finish line. Abby left the track in a wheelchair and later required surgery. But when asked about her decision in the chaos of that moment, she said simply: "My heart had just been prepared."
The fall did not make her compassionate. The crisis did not create her character. The pressure did not build her capacity. The moment only revealed what had already been formed within her. And that distinction — between what is performed and what is prepared — is precisely the message Minister Stacy Jones brought to Schrader Lane Church of Christ on June 21, 2026, in celebration of the congregation's 108th anniversary.
The "Therefore" That Changes Everything
Minister Jones took us to Romans 12:1–2 — one of the most pivotal passages in all of Paul's writing. The Apostle begins with a single, loaded word: therefore.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1–2, NKJV)
Minister Jones reminded us that this "therefore" is no throwaway word. The entire book of Romans carries four movements — doctrine, doxology, dedication, and duty — and this "therefore" is the hinge point of dedication. Because we stood condemned. Because we have been justified. Because there is "therefore now no condemnation" (Romans 8:1), Paul says: therefore, dedicate yourselves completely to God.
What's striking is that Paul doesn't command them. He beseeches them — urges, implores, begs them — on the basis of the mercies of God. He doesn't want compliance under obligation. He wants surrender rooted in an understanding of what the gospel has actually accomplished in your life. As Minister Jones put it so powerfully: "When you understand the power of the gospel, then certain things simply make more sense."
You Are the Priest, the Place, and the Penance
Under the old covenant, offering a sacrifice required a priest, a place, and a penance — all of which you needed someone else to provide. But Paul changes the entire equation in these two verses. Minister Jones drew this out with convicting clarity:
When Paul calls us to present ourselves as living sacrifices, he is saying that in the new covenant, you are the priest — you make the offering. You are the place — because you are a temple of the Holy Spirit. You are the penance — you put yourself on the altar. Jesus Christ made it possible for you to do for yourself what previously required an entire religious system.
But here is where the tension lives: a living sacrifice can get off the altar. And that is exactly what we do. Minister Jones was disarmingly honest: "There are some things that I'm willing to put on the altar, but there's some stuff I'm not quite willing to put up there. Y'all got some stuff you keep in your back pocket."
We want the gospel to save us. We just don't always want to let it sanctify us. We show up to every Bible class, every worship service, every program — and still leave carrying the same unrenewed mind, the same undealt-with habits, the same version of ourselves we walked in with. That kind of Christianity, Minister Jones warned, is performative rather than transformative.
"The problem is that sometime we want the gospel to save, but we don't want to allow it to sanctify. I want it to save me, but I don't want to submit to it." — Minister Stacy Jones
Be Transformed, Not Conformed — From the Inside Out
Paul's second command in this passage is equally urgent: be not conformed to this world. Minister Jones used a vivid illustration to explain what conformity really means. The Greek word is schema — like a cake mold. Whatever you pour into that mold takes the exact shape of the mold. Paul is saying: don't let the world's mold shape you.
And here is the sobering part — the world's mold shifts so slowly that you may not notice it changing you. The culture of 2026 is not the culture of 2001 or 1976. The changes are gradual, subtle, and cumulative. Before you realize it, who you've become is antithetical to what you confess and profess to be.
The antidote is not more religious activity. The antidote is a renewed mind. The Greek word for transformed here is the same word used when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain — when He began to reflect a glory that could scarcely be witnessed. That is what God wants to do in you: not a cosmetic touch-up, but a surgical, inside-out transformation that makes you increasingly reflect His glory as you move through everyday life. Change happens from the inside out, not the outside in.
4 Ways to Stay on the Altar
- Remember the Mercies. The mercies of God are your motivation for surrender. When the altar gets uncomfortable — and it will — look back at what Christ endured on your behalf. That perspective makes staying on the altar not easy, but easier.
- Render Your Members — All of Them. This is a whole-self offering. Not just your Sunday behavior, but your Monday morning reactions in traffic. Not just your praise on the front row, but your patience at home and your integrity at work. When your life is on the altar, everything becomes worship.
- Receive the Renewal. Stop trying to manage transformation from the outside in. Surrender the mind to God and let Him surgically remove the things that obstruct your obedience — including the things in your back pocket that you've convinced yourself aren't a big deal.
- Return After You Fall. A living sacrifice can get off the altar. When you do — and you will — look back at the mercies of God, confess, and get back up. The altar is not a monument to past surrender. It is an ongoing invitation. Every day is a new decision to climb back up and stay.
🎬 Watch, Listen & Go Deeper
Watch Minister Stacy Jones deliver this full message from Schrader Lane Church of Christ's 108th Anniversary Celebration: Watch on YouTube →
Test your understanding with the Interactive Quiz or sharpen your knowledge with the Study Game — both available at BarrysBureau.org.
🔎 A Question Worth Sitting With
What is in your back pocket right now — something you know God is asking for, but you haven't fully placed on the altar? Is your Christianity more performative than transformative? The altar is not just for anniversaries. It is for today.
Share this post with someone who needs to hear it, leave a comment below, and visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources to help you move from spiritual milk to meat.
Join us for worship at Schrader Lane Church of Christ or visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources.
Message by Minister Stacy Jones | Schrader Lane Church of Christ 108th Anniversary
7 questions | Tests recall, comprehension & application
A Barry's Bureau Study Game | Minister Stacy Jones
📋 How to Play
You'll be presented with 8 statements from Minister Jones' message. Decide if each one is TRUE or FALSE based on the sermon. After each answer you'll see an explanation. Your score is tracked throughout. Can you go 8 for 8?
+10 points for every correct answer | Bonus streak points for consecutive correct answers!
More resources at BarrysBureau.org
📝 Next week's game format: Memory Card Match