CEO & Co-Founder, Nuro
The BLESS Rhythms | Dave Ferguson
Dave Ferguson teaches the BLESS rhythms within the context of loving your neighbor.
About Dave Ferguson
Dave Ferguson, co-founder and CEO of Nuro, discussed in a November 2022 interview on "How I Built This Lab" his vision for autonomous vehicles designed exclusively for goods delivery, not passengers. He stated that nearly half of car trips Americans take involve picking up items, and Nuro builds vehicles meant to automate those errands. Ferguson described Nuro's first prototype, the R1, as a small vehicle without a steering wheel, and explained that the company focuses on safety features such as external airbags and crumple zones, which he said are intended to keep people outside the vehicle safer than those inside. He noted that the vehicles are monitored by remote operators called guardians. In June 2026, Ferguson spoke at the Great Lakes Annual Conference as a pastor, author, and CEO/president/co-founder of Exponential. He discussed challenges facing church leaders, citing statistics that 65% feel lonely or isolated, nearly half meet the clinical definition of obesity, and 53% have considered leaving pastoral ministry. Ferguson described a simple tool for healthy leadership involving relational, physical, mental, and spiritual "gauges." He emphasized that Jesus' instruction was to "go make disciples who make disciples," and argued that planting new churches is the best evangelistic tool, as studies show new churches see three to four times as many conversions. Ferguson also remarked that churches represent "the greatest source of social capital that our country has."
Transcript (13 segments)
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I'll tell you what, there is something special happening in Kansas City. When I get a chance to huddle with leaders, particularly in Boulder, Colorado, one of the first places they identify as a hot spot is Kansas City. When I huddle with people in the church planting world, they talk about Kansas City. They say, 'Wow, it's like there's a heat map. Something's happening in Kansas City.' I sat down tonight for deep barbecue, right? And Jeremy, right? Jeremy's there. I don't even know Jeremy. The first thing he says to me is, 'Oh, something special is happening in Kansas City.' Ain't that right? Do me a favor. I wish I could say this about Chicago, where I live. Something is happening, but not the way it's happening here. Turn to two or three other people and say, 'Hey, something special is happening in Kansas City.' And I love the energy, but it's not just your energy. That's not the only thing that's happening here.
Religious researchers say we are in the middle of an unprecedented awakening. An unprecedented awakening. I get the opportunity to be across the West—the United States, North America, Europe, and Australia. There's an unprecedented awakening happening that has never happened the way it's happening now in our lifetime. When my wife Sue and I were in different parts of Europe for about five weeks, the research from the Bible Society said there is a quiet revival happening, particularly in the UK. In the 18 to 24 demographic over the last five years, the number of 18 to 24 year olds who say they identify as Christ followers and regularly attend church has gone from 4% to 16%. It's quadrupled. For 25 to 34 year olds, it has more than tripled, from 4% to 13%.
They're saying there's an awakening happening. In the United States, the Barna Group tells us that in the last five years, the percentage of people attending church regularly and saying they take their commitment to Jesus seriously has gone from 54% to 66%. Let me throw one more thing at you. Relevant magazine just came out and said the largest percentage of people now attending church in the United States are Gen Z and millennials. Sorry, busters and boomers—you're the smaller group now, which I think is good news. Am I right? Is that good news?
There is an awakening. But when you talk to these religious researchers, they describe it not as a revival. What's actually happening is an awakening from outside the church. Young people, particularly in the last ten years—if you haven't read 'Anxious Generation,' it'll explain a lot—they have come to the end of themselves in their search, because secularism did not provide the answers they were looking for. I think one of the new apologetics is going to be peace. Show them that. They look inward, it's not there. They look at their friends, they're just as anxious and depressed. And all of a sudden, they're looking upward for something transcendent. It's an awakening. Does that make sense? As one friend explained it to me this week, he said it's like fish jumping into the boat called the church. Does that make sense?
But here's my question for you. If we're living in this time of unprecedented spiritual awakening, how do we reach those people with the gospel, with the good news of Jesus? Because yes, more people are coming to church, but there are also a lot of people looking at other options. How do we, as Christ followers, match the same intensity on the inside that these people's desperation is on the outside? How do we do that? And what I wonder is maybe we've just missed the obvious. How we do this is a lot more obvious than we think.
My wife Sue and I were at our friend's house, Jim and Julie's, for dinner. We go over, and all three of them were in the kitchen. I was in the dining room looking at a print on the wall. I said, 'Hey, this print is spectacular.' I could hear Jim starting to laugh, then Julie chuckling. I was like, 'What? This print? I really like it.' Then Sue is laughing out loud. She steps in and says, 'Well, you should like the print. We gave it to them. And furthermore, we have the exact same one in our house.' Sometimes you miss the obvious. I wonder if we've missed the obvious in how to reach these people who feel this awakening but don't know Jesus. What if we missed the obvious? The Bible says, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' It says that eight times. Love your neighbor as yourself. What if we've just missed the obvious? What if we can teach our people to reach these people with something as simple as loving your neighbor?
How do we actually love our neighbor? Let me show you some Barna research and then quickly go into the bless practices. Research tells us that 79% of our neighbors would love to talk to a friend about spiritual things. When Barna asked our neighbors, three things came up. Number one: they said they would talk to someone who would listen to them without judgment. Listening is one of the purest acts of love there is. Doesn't it feel good when someone really leans in and listens, not just waits to talk? Second, they want someone who allows them to draw their own conclusions. In our earnest desire to see people find Jesus, remember that your neighbors are not a project. They are people. No matter what they decide about Jesus. Can I get an amen on that? That's the kind of love we're talking about. Some of us became Christ followers as adults and did a lot of stupid stuff before we got it figured out. We have to allow them to have their own journey the way we did. The Holy Spirit's job is to convict. It's your job to love.
The third thing from Barna research is that neighbors want someone who has confidence in sharing their own perspective. I call it paying the relational rent. If you pay the relational rent and love them no matter what, they want to hear why Jesus is important, why you have peace and joy. They want to hear your story with confidence and conviction, but after you've paid the relational rent.
What's fascinating is that Barna finds this from our neighbors. My brother John and I did a deep dive into the Gospels to see how Jesus loved his neighbors. How was he a friend? What was Jesus' nickname? Friend of sinners. What if we just did that? When we looked at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we found five missional practices that rose to the top. We put them into a simple acronym called the bless practice, so you can carry it with you. B is for begin with prayer. That's how Jesus started his earthly ministry—40 days of prayer. So challenge people to pray for their neighbors as they walk through their neighborhood or workplace.
L is for listen. Jesus did that, asking lots of questions and listening. For the blind man, he didn't assume he wanted to see. He said, 'What would you like for me to do?' Giving him the dignity of responding. People are waiting for someone who will listen. Christians are more known for their talking than listening.
E stands for eat. Can I get an amen on eat? That's a spiritual practice that'll preach. Jesus did this with Zacchaeus before he was a crooked businessman—he went to lunch with him and invited himself over. After lunch, salvation came to that house. There's nothing like a meal to move an acquaintance to friendship. You pray, listen, and eat. Then they will tell you how to love them.
The first S is serve. Jesus said, 'I came to serve, not to be served.' Then the last S is share your story. You get a chance to share how Jesus changed your life. Proclamation is important, but maybe we don't have to lead with it. Maybe we pay the relational rent, love our neighbors, and then share our story.
One way I start my day is by journaling. I write the word 'bless' and pull out the bless app, praying for Ray and Nikki, Bill and Margaret, Pedro and Ashley. I think these five practices could change your neighborhood and, if enough of us do this, could change Kansas City. Something special is happening here, and many places across the country are looking to you for leadership. If it happens here, it can happen all across the country. We could change the world with these simple practices. Maybe we missed the obvious: to love your neighbor.