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Follow Well Before You Lead - Part 2 · The Worship and Leadership Podcast

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, what's up, everybody, and welcome to the Worship and Leadership Podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Elmer Cañas Jr., and this is Junior Simpson C.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Willie.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody up, what is?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yo, it's good to be here, Elmer.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: And yo, Elmer, listen, man, I'm just gonna tell you right now.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, excited I am.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Next to you, I'm sitting.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: I like this, really.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: Star Wars, I'm all with it.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Elmer, I'm telling you, brother, you left us on a cliffhanger.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know what I'm saying?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm hanging off the cliff.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: I'm hanging like a toenail right now.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'm hanging like a toenail, man.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: You told this awesome story about leadership and and honoring a leader.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: And you may you had a leader straight to call you a liar.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, what?
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I would love, and I know our audience would love for you, man, to pick up where you left off with that story about a leader.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I know where we're at.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so this is from following a leader.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so this is a part two.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is hey, we're doing part two.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing part two.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Those of you that know what I'm talking about, you already know.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: The old the OGs know.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't know the first part of this, I'm not gonna tell the whole story.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Don't tell it.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: You guys gotta go listen to the previous episode.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta go listen.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: This train is moving down.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Just hit pause, go back, listen to the one.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: This train is moving down the road, even though trains are going roads.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: We're moving down the road.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I did end with that story.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I really felt I had to share it because it wasn't even part of our script.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And at the last second, I did feel the Holy Spirit prompt that hey, drop this.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh, a leader that I got to serve with when I asked for feedback.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love asking a lot of questions.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me that one of the things that I do is that I lie.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then he did elaborate and tell me that I didn't get to the point quick enough because it felt like I was beating around the bush.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And for him, it translated as lying.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not the information he's asking.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so then I did say, like, over time, I was able to figure out how to communicate best with him.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I was able to address that.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: But initially, I I was just straight up told, you're a liar.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: My lord.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Someday you gotta get better at you're a liar.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I and again, I did say I was offended, especially like when you're just developing a relationship with somebody, regardless of positions or title, like if you're gonna tell someone you're a liar, like like there has to be some type of connection.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, when you're working, like if it's a job, like you gotta be honest.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I understand again, I understand.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't get mad, yeah, but I did get offended because at the end it was like, okay, he's asking me to communicate different.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: He's not telling me that you're a liar, you're going to hell.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Repent.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the that's the difference.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if if he would have addressed me, and because I would have been like if I would have been lying and and fibbying and all these things, then if he would have called me to repentant, I think that's different.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Especially in a in a church leader, you know.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: But he was just saying, You're a liar because you don't you you don't give me all the information.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's what I what I started learning, and I did tell you this after the episode that I I started learning that the reason I was even being asked certain questions was because he knew information that he was this leader was getting from other people, yeah.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And the only reason he was asking me questions is he wanted to see what I would tell him.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and when I wouldn't tell him what he already knew, then I'm a liar because you know, again, wrong mode is as a leader, yeah, it probably wasn't the best example of a leader that I had in that season when it came to things like that and being honest and transparent, because how how I would have handled that or how I would handle that now after the lesson that I learned, yeah, because we learned from other people as well, absolutely I would sit with somebody and say, Hey, this is what I know, right?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And what can you tell me about it?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because now it's all on the table, and now my own integrity is not being questioned.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so in that moment, I was made to be, I was made out to be like, I have no integrity, I have no no honor, especially being a pastor and doing ministry.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so, but I've I've learned how to address things and and not to make the same mistake myself that a leader kind of that was leading me did and held me to.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_02: And absolutely, and and again, I I told you I I love the fact that you were able to take that again, like feel the feelings, feel the emotions, but not get but not not allow that to cause you to spiral.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: And then you dropped another bombshell on me in regards to the guy's character.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: And y'all listen, he tells me he's like, hey, Willie.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_02: The other thing I was struggling with was that this guy also had character defects, and that he was a liar.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like he was, he was, that was a known character deficiency that your leader had in that season.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I just remember thinking, are you serious right now?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: You wanted Jacob to hit record again.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, put that back on tape.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, Jacob, hit record right now, brother.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: Because I was like, it was like, brother, it's like the train is on the tracks, and that mug just hit left down a dirt road.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, wait a sec.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: I was not expecting you to tell me that part of the story.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: I wasn't even expecting that to be a feature in this.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so now it's like, you want to talk about the definition of hypocrisy.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: What's the term?
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_02: The pot calling the kettle black.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, brother, you you're painting that mug up and down.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so in this moment, Pastor Omer, like, how do you even reconcile that?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: Like, knowing how are you able to maintain your resolve, your peace?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: Because I know that there are lots of people right now that if they're in that situation and and their their leader is calling them out on the very thing that they are guilty of doing.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_02: They would have been like, Really?
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: You?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: How dare you?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_02: And and they, you know, it would have just been chaos.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: So how do how are you able to maintain peace and self-control and dignity in in the face of this correction that is so ironic?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I I knew I was there in that specific situation because God called me to this man to serve him.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I'm not gonna dishonor him.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's not my place.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: As much as as I was welcome to the table to make certain decisions and to move things forward, it was not my place to bring correction.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so understanding that as a leader is very important, and and not not walking out of those rooms of that room in particular and and bashing him and talking about him to others, because now I'm destroying the organization from within by doing that.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so taking it to God, and I'm not saying I'm like every moment I went like, oh Lord, and I went got on my knees and prayed for him.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: No, like I I did get upset, yeah.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: But understanding God, you're gonna hold him accountable, and that's a reality I think about leadership.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: That we we tend to forget that at the end of the days, in in our context in ministry, as pastors, we're gonna be held accountable for decisions that we make, yeah, for how we've led people, how we've sorted the things God's given us.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was really evident to me already in that season, and that's something that the Lord had already matured me in to understand.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because of previous experiences, so I already understood that this is not my fight, this is God's fight.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so, as much as it hurt and made me what it made me feel, you know, I was still able to just hold my composure.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: God, you got this, because I know He fights my battles, yeah, He fights on my behalf, so I don't gotta worry about that.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so God's got it.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And all right, how do I grow from this?
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because I ain't going anywhere right now, like this is where God has me.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so instead of making things worse and trying to figure things out and how to self-eject, it's like, all right, what do I learn from this?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then, like I said, I start asking questions, and then okay, this is what he was actually trying to tell me.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and uh, regardless of his own character flaws, I I learned to communicate better and and to grow myself instead of you know becoming what I wasn't.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I I love several things you said, man.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: I just really want to kind of kind of revisit it.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: Number one, you said you you knew that the Lord had called you to him.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: And so for for those that are tuning in who are you know underneath leadership that they are struggling with, and let's just say even leadership that may have like objectively you know bad morals, that calling piece is so important, isn't it?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Like where you know, again, God's not calling you to to to someone for them to shape you into who they are.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's hey, I'm using them to shape you into more of who I am.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like, like it's right, it's like Jesus said, No, I've called you because there's work I want to do in you, and I'm using them as an instrument in my hand.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: And then the other piece about then the Lord fighting for you.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: I think that is so key.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you are struggling with leadership in in any dynamic, can you just remember that that Jesus is your advocate?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: And the Holy Spirit is the comforter, and the Holy Spirit is your counselor, he will guide you, he'll give you wisdom, he'll give you discernment, he will he will he will let you know when you need to speak and you need to shut that yap.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: He will let you know.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: And and at the end of the day, like you said, it's like, man, God knows exactly how to deal with the people in our lives that that that that are troublesome or that are worrisome or that are challenging, but then also we get to ask, okay, God, what are you teaching me?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: What are you forming in me through this?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And in the previous episode, we talked about the towel and just development and the towel itself, when you're serving people, it's it's it's how God also shapes you.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you're called to work at Walmart, when you're called to be an optometrist, when you're called to be a doctor and serve people in that in those different spaces, yeah, a minister, the actual act of serving is shaping you and forming you, including serving your superiors, your supervisors, your directors, your managers, your bosses.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: And how so how you how you are led and how do you how you respond to that is part of your shaping.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so we can walk into places, and when you're fully entitled and you're like, this is all about me.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is about making my money, making the Benjamins because I want to be rich and like I just want to succeed and I want everything to be easy in life.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Then we go into things and we don't allow the experiences to shape us and we don't grow and we don't learn.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so again, the maturing in me prior to that season allow me to step into that circumstance and realize, what do I learn from this?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like this feeling.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I could I could take this guy down right now, but no, like, okay, I can't.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because I gotta honor him.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to talk about that in a second.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I want to honor him, I want to respect him.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, so how what do I do in this moment?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So then the best thing you can do is like, what do I learn?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: How can I grow from this?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to ask you, like, how do you honor someone?
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: How do you how do you honor someone that you probably don't respect?
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, great question.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: Well, man, our our lead pastor, Mike Burnett, he taught really a series on these like these forgotten virtues, and one of the virtues he preached on was honor and respect.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I loved the definition and the description that he gave, a great delineation between respect and honor.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: Respect is primarily a feelings-based word, it's a feeling that you can have towards someone, and that comes from your own internal mechanism and your own internal values, right?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so the way that somebody behaves and speaks and communicates and leads, that can engender feelings of respect or disrespect within you.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: But but honor is primarily outwardly shown, it is expressed through actions specifically, like through our words or through or through our deeds.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so I may inwardly have a low level of respect for someone, but outwardly I can still show them a high level of honor.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: And the reason why we can do that is because everyone on the planet is made in the image of God.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so, be because of that, they already have high value.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: They already have high worth and high worthiness simply because they are made in the image of God.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I do want to caveat this and say the exceptions to this would be situations where people are actively harming others, putting people at risk, you know, you know, actively sinning, you know, in a way that is putting people at harm and at risk.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm not talking about, you know, things like that, people, you know, trafficking and and and people who are murdering and subjugating, things like that.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: That is dishonorable.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_02: And you have to call that out.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like we don't honor people in that regard.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: But that, if we're honest, like that's not most of our experience.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: Most of the people right now that are tuning into this podcast are dealing with leadership or or or may have some had or are dealing with a situation like the one you like you walked through uh those those years ago, where they have leadership that is flatly disrespectful.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: They are like they just you just don't respect them.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: You look at them and you just say, I wouldn't lead the way that you lead.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_02: Like your character is not character that I aspire to.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: Your your habits and your manners, the way that you communicate, the way that you lead, the the things that you say that don't match the things that that you do.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: I don't respect that.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: You might look like your boss and say, I don't respect you, but you can honor them.
• 13:50
  unknown: Yeah.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: Because when you're honoring that person, you are really honoring the position.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: And we have to remember all authority has been set in place by God.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so what I get to do now is I get to honor the level of authority, and in that moment, I now get to glorify God in that because scripture encourages us over and over again, number one, to live in a way that is above reproach, and live in a way where he says this, he says, where unbelievers will speak well of you.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I think about David, and I think about when he was serving under under Saul, under King Saul, and Saul is jealous of David, and to the point where Saul, you know, you know, we later on we see that he's actively trying to pursue him, but we forget when he was in the when Saul is in the palace and David's serving with him, and you know, uh an unclean spirit, a wicked spirit would would inflict Saul's heart, and he would hurl a spear at David.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, man, you know, I you know, at a couple times I'll be like, brother, I here's here's my two weeks, man.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: Here's the keys, like I'm done.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: And David stays.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: He stayed for a long time.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: For a long time.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: Now, listen, I I don't know where everybody's tuning in from on this podcast, but I'm certain that your boss is not routinely hurling weapons of war at your head.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm I'm just gonna assume that that's not happening, okay?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: If it is, maybe get HR involved.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: But but it can feel that way.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it can feel like you're being attacked, it can feel like you're being oppressed and ostracized and being disrespected.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: It absolutely can you're being lied to and deceived.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: And and I I'm not saying this lightly, but I I do want to say it firmly.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: This is where now you get to ask, how can I obey God in this and honor leadership?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: How can I do this?
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: Now it is not easy, it is not something that you can do on your own strength, and that's why in the previous episode, Elmer and I were talking through Jesus being the vine.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: And you can't you can't carry that talent, you can't serve, and you can't show honor without the help of the Holy Spirit.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: You just you just cannot do it.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: But there's a beauty that there's a there's a beautiful end result that comes from you honoring that leadership.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: And what the the the best thing that happens is that God is glorified, and on top of that, you just never know down the road how that will touch your leadership's heart.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_02: Where the Holy Spirit will use that to say, hey, listen, hey, you know, you've been mistreating them, and they have only responded with kindness, with mercy, with love, with grace, with respect, and with honor, even when you didn't deserve it.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like you just never know how the Holy Spirit.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_02: This is why scripture tells us that even when our enemies mistreat us, don't repay evil for evil, repay evil with good.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: And he and Paul says, in doing so, you will heap coals, burning coals of fire on your enemy's head.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: And Pastor Mike did a brilliant job in teaching that.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's hey, that that that's a warming sensation for somebody that's coming in out of the cold.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's it's it's amenable.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's I'm turning the other cheek when I've been injured.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: But the Lord works through all of this where he can't soften hearts, and people can come and say, Man, you know, you just never know.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: Your boss may come and say, you know what, I owe you an apology.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: I I've I've been terrible, I've got this and this and this going on in my life, and it's crazy.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: And then the Holy Spirit's like, that's why I have you here.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: So now you get to speak to that and you get to introduce them to Jesus.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_02: You get to pray with them, you get to lay hands, you get to encourage them.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, you get to serve them, you get to invite them to church in your small group.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, man.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Like you just you just never know what the Lord is doing behind the scenes, and you can hijack and short circuit that when you're led by the flesh, and you're like, man, forget them, and I did this, I can't believe it, and this, did, and then you want to out them and you want to post them and you want to complain, and Lord's like, you just you're just trying to disrupt the plans, the good plans that I have, and the redemptive plans that I have, because that person that is disrespectful in your eyes is still precious in the sight of God.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe God intended for you to take over, but you cut it short.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my lord, you just handicapped yourself.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: You just handicapped yourself.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I I think again, going back to David, he when he was having spears thrown at him, he was just a servant.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: He was just playing, he was a musician in the king's court.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: He wasn't a warrior.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, but then he stayed, he stayed, he endured and he was promoted within and he stepped into greater things.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: He went from shepherd to musician in the palace to a warrior to king.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure he endured so much more through the process.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah you know, this is my question to you how what type of a person are you?
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are you easy to lead?
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are you are we teachable?
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Are we good employees?
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do our leaders, do our supervisors enjoy having us on staff at all?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, because it could be all about the boss, yeah, you know, it could be all about the king being evil, but what about us?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, are we are we good employees?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Are we learning?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Are we adapting?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when we step into an organization, we're not there to be served, we're there to serve.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of times we get a job description and we're like, well, if it's not on my job description, I'm not doing it.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, but that's not what we're called to do.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless if you're at working at a church like us, yeah, or at Starbucks or Bucky's, wherever, yeah.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're there to fulfill the mission which most organizations are to serve people.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: For us is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so at all costs, yeah, it's not gonna be attached to like if through music, only through music.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm only gonna do it through music.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: If I don't have a guitar, I can't lead you to become fully devoted.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I I can't.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's at all costs, like whatever I need to do, if it's through a small group, if it's you know, through a sermon, whatever, at all costs, I'm gonna lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have to step in with that owner's mindset, which we talked about last time.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, and I have to own it.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so if you're there to self self-serve you yourself and like to really appease, like, oh, I'm gonna go there and they're gonna have to treat me good, uh, you know, because I'm gonna be the best employee only if even if they treat you like crap, be the best that you can be, because the word of God tells us do everything as unto him.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: So at the end of the day, we're what we want to honor our supervisors, our bosses, you know, our directors, but ultimately, yeah, I live my life in honor of God.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: I want to honor the Father, I want to honor him in everything that I do because, like you just said, you're talking about my my my serving, my work, what I commit to, it's a living testimony.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: And people are watching.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, they absolutely are watching, and there are people looking to see how you're gonna respond and how you're gonna react.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: And and because everybody else may know, yeah, we get it.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_02: He or she is like this, and and and and everybody else is around a water cooler complaining and running their mouth and flapping them gums, and you can join in and be just like the rest of them, and there's no change happening in the workplace, or you can choose to say, you know what, I'm not gonna join them, I'm not gonna be a part of that, and have others pay attention and notice, and they say, Hey, what's different about you?
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: How come you don't, hey man, I be hey, because I'm a Christ follower, yeah.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm I'm I'm choosing to honor our boss.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the story of Joseph, right, you know, from the pits of the palace, like everywhere he went, like he made the most of it.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: He was most honoring, he was like, I'm gonna go all in.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: Even when he is lied on, directly lied on, and unjustly in prison, you know, his boss's wife accuses him of uh basically attempted sexual assault.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_02: And the boss believes his wife, because any boss would, and throws the man in prison.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, you just have to think in that moment like, you know, what do they say?
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: No good deed goes unpunished.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: He's like, Man, I've been minding my own business, man, doing the books and everything.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_02: And In that moment, Joseph could have shook his fist at God.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: He could have railed.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_02: He could have formed like a little committee, a faction.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_02: He could have led a revolt.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: He could have done those things.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the reason why is because there's there's an there's a key phrase there, and it's it's it's it's said about two or three times.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: It says, but the Lord was with Joseph.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: The Lord was, and I just you have to imagine maybe Joseph in that moment probably knew, man.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_02: God, you're with me.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_02: God, you're with me.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: And so this is how we can honor, this is why you can honor leadership.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: Because the Lord is with you, like you said, Umra, because ultimately your boss is Yahweh, your boss is the Lord Himself.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_02: You're really, you're doing everything as if you're working for him, because honestly, you do.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: All of us are, those of us that are believers, we are ambassadors of Christ.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_02: Can I say that again?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: You're an ambassador of Christ.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_02: Man, now that hits different because an ambassador is a representative.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: And let me tell you something.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: Ambassadors, U.S.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_02: ambassadors to foreign nations, they don't get to act like and lead like they don't belong to this country.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: They don't get to, they don't get to lead outside of what the government has said.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: They don't.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: Because you're an ambassador of Christ, and not that right there, just you don't get to, you don't get to lead, communicate, or move in a way that doesn't reflect him accurately.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: Can I can I just say this?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, sir.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I I always stir it up when we have like a minute left.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: But there's other religious groups that when people of their faith or of their beliefs step into a room, you know who they are.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like they don't have to say, I am this, I am that.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Nope.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Muslim, I am Sikh, I'm Buddhist, Hindu.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have to say it.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Nope.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: They walk in and you just know through various reasons, right?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm just curious, like us Christ's followers, believers, we step into a room, what do they say about us?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Man.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are people saying about us when we step into rooms?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we could complain all we want about other faiths and other religions and that it's political and or not.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever, and we can go down that whole rabbit trail.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: But what do people say about you when you walk into a room?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, is there a marked difference?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_02: When you walk into the room, do they just say, okay, there is something, there's something different.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: I can't put my finger on it, but there is something unique and distinct about you.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: You're just not like us.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we're talking about we are called salt and light.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_02: This is what Jesus addresses.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_02: This is what he calls us in the book of Matthew.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_02: We are salt and we are light.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Those things are both distinct.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, nobody walks into a dark room, flips on the light, has the light illuminate through them, and says, What is that?
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know the rumors, you know that that's light.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_02: Nobody who has seasoned food, come on, some seasoned Popeye's chicken, and you eat it, and you know what I'm saying, what is that savory substance?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know that is salt.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so, come on, Elmer.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: Brother, I feel a full of part two, I feel a part two plus.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just saying, because maybe and how maybe how we respond and honor hard leadership in and of itself is a testimony.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_02: Where somebody says, hey, man, what?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_02: Bro, you had every right.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: If I were you, man, I would have cussed that Joker up one side and down the other.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_02: How come you didn't do it?
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_02: That right there, that alone should cause somebody to say, man, you are different.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_02: How come, man, if that was me, I would have done X, Y, and Z.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_02: How come you didn't?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_02: And then you just get to say, Yeah, man, it's because I follow Jesus.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And there, and then there is a difference, and I know we're we're going long, but there is a difference between humility, like you're you're you experience that and you can you have that confrontation and you humble yourself.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: And and out of honor.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's just like where you just put your tail between your legs and you walk away.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: So so when we are as Christ followers, there is an authority, there is a bullet that we're called to live life with.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you have Christ and you're honoring God the Father in these difficult situations, you can stand there with your head held high.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, other than David's life being at risk, like he wasn't scared.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: And he proved that by going back and cutting the cut the uh the corner of Saul's robe.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: And he does that, like you said, in humility, but he does it in strength.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_02: And he shows the corner of the robe to Saul.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_02: And he says, Hey man, I just I just want to let you know.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'm telling you this because I'm honoring you.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm honoring you by letting you know that I was this close to taking you out.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_02: And David lets you know, I'm well with them all right because you are pursuing me, like you're the aggressor.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_02: But then he humbly reminds Saul, like, I'm honoring you.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_02: You are the king.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not here trying to try to uh take the throne from you.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not trying to enlist this mutiny and this insurrection in the kingdom.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but I'm I am warning you, brother.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I was this close.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_02: Come on, that's so good.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yeah, and right, like we're not we're called to be humble, we're not called to be a doormat.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like, cowardice is not a fruit of the spirit.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that's not what we're promoting.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're not saying just be quiet, bite your tongue, like take it like a man.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're not saying that.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_02: No, yeah, if if there are things that are happening, especially things against company policy, things that that are again putting you or others at risk, things, things that you even know that are illegal.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like, speak up 100% immediately.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: And just know that the Lord is with you, you know, in that.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know, my mama would say, Man, the Lord's with you when you're right.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: Come on.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_02: When you're right, you're right.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_02: And the Lord's with you.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: So come on.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is part two.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: Part two, man.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: I appreciate you getting me off the cliff.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: I was hanging there.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: I've been hanging there from two episodes ago.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know, I know.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm getting tired hanging on that mug.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was like a toenail.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was hanging there, man.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: I was hanging like a hangnail, man.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, my feet was looking like gang sides.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: One side was doing the crips, and one side was the blood.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: We love you guys.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time.
• 27:59
  unknown: Peace.