Latest / Cultivator Podcast / Episode 2 - Trio Talks - What is a Cultivator?

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Episode 2 - Trio Talks - What is a Cultivator? · Cultivator Podcast

• speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Hey, welcome to the Cultivator Podcast. We are so excited and thankful that you guys are hanging out with us today. ⁓ so we are kind of in the second kind of just cultivator podcast by itself now. We had we had some cultivator podcasts with Lint and with Advents. And now we've kind of started kind of just the basic regular without a primary thing around. And so, man, we just wanted to get together and hang out and talk. I know Tatum and I had a great conversation and the first one about kind of how we got to this place and all the things of of Kingdom Co-op and all the things that's kind of cool that's happening being part of our family moving to the Heart of Lobic neighborhood, kind of all that stuff to looked at. And so I'm excited today to have ⁓ Dr. David Drake and Dr. Scott Latham. And we're neither none of us are doctors. Yeah, thanks for saying none of us are doctors. We used to like to hype each other up. ⁓ but man, we we for me and long day like this is a What this whole experiment thing that we've been trying to do, I I couldn't do it without these guys. ⁓ and so like they have been core essential ⁓ to make this thing continue to happen and kind of give insight and wisdom. And so a part of this whole thing that we've been trying to figure out and live into, ⁓ these guys have been just like core pieces of this whole thing. And so that's kind of why I want them here and and we talk and and kind of dive into this whole thing. ⁓ so I think today kind of the idea is, man, w what is a cultivator? I mean, it's called Cultivator Podcast. That's kind of we exist as Kingdom Co op to cultivate cultivators. And so I think it would be really beneficial and really good for us just to have that conversation of when we say cultivator, like what does that mean? ⁓ and so, yeah, what do you think? speaker-2: Well, ⁓ as you were talking about kind of the journey, there's so much behind the scenes journey with all of this. But I I kind of thought back to some of our conversations with Terry Ishi when we were getting some kind of coaching about the structure and and I think we landed ⁓ real clearly, and this has been real clear from for a long time, that ⁓ everyday people making a difference where we live, work, learn and play. Like that's been a mantra for us for a long time. But in ⁓ some of those sessions we talked about double clicking. on some of those phrases. You know, what does that mean? And and so our hope with the podcast is that we highlight some of these everyday people and tell their stories and kind of take away some of the mystery of being a follower of Jesus, right? Like let's not make it a bigger deal than it is. Just how do you do this in your day to day stuff? And as we were ⁓ talking just the other day, Justin, like the double click on that is that yes, everyday people, but we want healthy and whole everyday people. And we feel like our role in the spiritual leadership ⁓ part and really in this with this podcast is to help those everyday people, help cultivate them to be healthy and whole. Yeah. And so I mean our our goal with this podcast, our goal with what we do on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and our gatherings and our disciple discipling is what do you need to be healthy? What do you need to be whole? How can we walk together with that? And I think it's one of the things that ⁓ the institution has missed because the institution becomes very adamant about are you reading your Bible or you're praying or you c attending church or you're doing these things, things that can help you down the path to health and wholeness. But not necessarily. speaker-1: So no, I agree. I I 100% agree. So, Scott, if I'm gonna say, hey, when I say being healthy and whole, what like what do you what does that mean to you? Like how would you define that? And I would say in our full on statement, it's being healthy and whole in Christ. Because I think that there is that is the the anchoring point, right, for us as believers that man, I believe health and wholeness only comes in Christ, from from Christ. And so, but I would just love for you to kind of flesh out what If you were gonna define and say what it means to be healthy and whole in Christ, what that means. speaker-0: Yeah, I don't I mean now that's that's such a huge topic. Giving it a definition is a challenge. But when you ask that question, the first place I go is I think about what did God think of me? If as I'm thinking about my health and wholeness, what did God think of me when he first thought of me? And is my life aiming towards that? Am I is my trajectory of my life Headed that direction. Of course, now to be healthy and whole, you know, that my by that definition means that I've got to be in touch with him and learning what his first thoughts of me were. ⁓ but in my mind there it isn't like I decide what's healthy, I decide what's whole. It's like I need to hear my father articulate to me what healthy and whole Scott Latham looks like and is my life moving that direction? Am I cooperating with letting him move me that direction? Yeah. So there th then that's a man, that's an umbrella definition that isn't down in any details, but that that's the first place I go to when you ask that question. speaker-1: I love that. That's really good. Is it are we moving in the trajectory of whenever God thought of us? Like this is what that's really beautiful. That's really good. And I think you're right. I think to get to that place, there has to be a sense of hearing God is a huge part of this, surrendering God, being obedient. And so like there's always and more than that, there's maybe just a dependence upon. God that has to take place. But then I think somewhere where for me when it gets to healthy and whole, it's like realizing it's more than just our spiritual life. Like being healthy and whole is more than just I have this union, communion with God, which is core and central to who I am. But I think also for me specific like it it meant my mental health, like the the how I think is revolved in being healthy and whole. Right. My body, how I steward and take care of my body is a part of health and wholeness. And I think so often the church institution has said, hey, we're gonna just talk about your spiritual life over here and we're gonna make sure that you read all these things. But like, no, like you as a whole person, God cares about all of you. And so I think with this idea of health and wholeness, it's it's in all encompassing of of individuals as as all the parts of who we are. speaker-0: Yeah, it well it's it's the idea that all of life is an act of worship. I mean like how how I eat lunch, what I eat lunch w for lunch, that that's an act of worship. You know, my self care, my physical self care, my ⁓ exercise and ⁓ you know, other kinds of things that You know, y y you have to realize that if if you're not taking this is just the physical self, you're not taking care of your physical self, you limit your capacity to be effective for the kingdom. So ⁓ in it you know, but it's also your emotional self and ⁓ it's your it's your relational self. It's you know all of life, all of life, every aspect of life is an act of worship. Yeah. So speaker-1: I think that's really good. And I think so often we've only, as the church, focused on this one little part and said, ⁓ figure the rest of this out. Or didn't have anything. And so for us, like no, we would like we really want to ha have consideration and thought and and growing in awareness and growing in like good practices and good things in all areas of our life. ⁓ because you're right, like if those things aren't it it lessens, I feel like the the ability. ability to be used by God. Or not I don't know if that's the right word, but you know, yeah. speaker-0: Well it reduces capacity for sure. Right. speaker-2: Well, and I I use this analogy a lot just because it makes sense to me, but like when you have a toddler that hasn't had a nap, they just they break down, like they can't function, they can't do it because their body is tired and they need that rest. And it doesn't mean they're a bad person, it doesn't mean they're a bad kid. It's just like they're they did not get the physical rest that they need and so they're acting it out. And I have to do that a lot of time with myself. When I'm having something go on, okay, okay, did I not sleep well last night? Have I not eaten? I mean, sometimes you get into your day and you haven't eaten or whatever else it is. And so those are all tied together. Like for us to be our best self, we have to get rest. We have to get nutrition. We have to get exercise. We have to our finances have to be in some sort of shape so that that's not stressing us out. Like we that we we talk a lot in in around here about this word shalom that it is a bigger thing than just peace. It is this wholeness and but there is a shalom, a peace that comes when those other aspects are happening. Right. I mean we're we're able to be at peace when we're well rested and when we're, you know, not lacking in nutrition and all all of those things. And I think we've missed that because we've placed, you know, peace in just this kind of spiritual realm. And I mean if you're How many we've we've all been in ministry and around ministry our whole lives, how many ministries went down the tubes because there wasn't peace in their house? Whether it was their, you know, spouse did not want to be a pastor's wife or the kids did not want to be PKs or whatever that is. Like there was and and that's not a judgment thing. That's not to say something was wrong, but there's not a peace there, there's not a shalom there. And so it translates over into how, you know, how that's lived out. speaker-1: Yeah, and I think there's there's this idea that well, I think w we're gonna write a book on this one day. We're all so just letting you know, this is coming down a pathway. That's be direct. No, but it it's that idea of of like living in and experiencing shalom b to be able to give shalom. I feel like there's something there. So the more that we can live in and experience the shalom that's been given to us in and through Christ, then that gives us the ability to reveal and cultivate shalom in the world. speaker-2: We're gonna write a book. speaker-1: And so I think there's just so much depth to that of like, what does that look like to experience shalom wholeness in all areas of our life? And then how much more does it give us the capacity to offer and cultivate and reveal that to the world around us? ⁓ and so for ⁓ for us and for me, that's kind of our heartbeat is like, what does this look like to help people and help ⁓ as we're continuing to figure this out and grow in all of this, right? We're at I promise you we do we we we don't got this crap figured out at all. but we I do believe speaker-0: So the book will come way later when speaker-1: No, but but I think that's our desire is that we this is some this this is the life that we long for. We long to be the people that God saw when he when He thought of us. We long to be like the people that are are consistently cultivating our own lives, our own inner lives, our own all the things, so that we can then cultivate the world around us. So speaker-2: Postumusly for all speaker-1: So all right, with this w I wanna go back jump onto the next part of being everyday people that make a kingdom difference where l work learn and play. But if we were just gonna have like one practical place to start of being healthy and whole in Christ, like just like boots on the ground, practical thing of starting kind of setting ourselves in that, what would y'all say would be something? speaker-0: For me, it's the first thing I do in the morning. That sort of sets the trajectory of my day. And so if like I have a six o'clock meeting and I get up at five thirty, throw some clothes on, and get to the meeting, the rest of the day is hectic like that. Just hectic like that. Now some sometimes that that just can't be helped. Sometimes modern life just demands that. I get that. But I I'm learning that I allow myself to be a victim to other people's schedule. So I can either reschedule that time so that I have the those first things that I need or I I can just be unavailable. ⁓ but so you know, I mean I understand trying to be sensitive to things. ⁓ first, you know, and I in my calendar from six to seven is titled First Things. And I r will rarely give that up. There's one meeting in the week that starts at six thirty for me. So my first thing's at five thirty. Okay. But speaker-1: So what is that so I'm gonna can I can I ask some like what is that that you say first things, what does that look like? That hour. What does that look like? speaker-0: Absolutely, yeah. I get ⁓ I'm I have eye trouble and in the morning I can't I can barely see. speaker-1: Yeah. This is a new development if you see haven't seen Scott in a while and so we jokingly call him hate I'll hate push like poking you 'cause I never wanna hurt your We used to call him Jeep Chief Dark Cloud, now he's just Pirate Dark Cloud. Yeah. speaker-0: ⁓ no you're not gonna hurt my face. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My children call me Pirate Santa. So That's better. So anyway. No. ⁓ so a lot of it has b become ⁓ audible, you know, where okay, so Lectio three six five is the very first thing I do. ⁓ well that's not true. I get up and I make a cup of coffee. speaker-1: Sorry, okay. speaker-0: ⁓ and 'cause I n I'm I'm one of those people that I'm not a morning person. Caffeine is an absolute necessary drug in my life. And so I make a cup of coffee and then I take that cup of coffee and I sit down and I put headphones on, and these are noise canceling headphones, so that Lectio has my full attention. ⁓ and so I I listen sometimes I'll listen to it twice. That's all it is, and I listen very carefully and speaker-1: So it's about usually about eight to ten minutes long most. speaker-0: I'm I got to the point at one point I was doing lectio every day and and got to the point to where I was just doing lectio. I wasn't hearing God, connecting to God, even thinking of God. So I quit for a while. And now I've gone back to it and ⁓ I I listened for him. I I'm listening to what this person is saying, ⁓ and what's being read to me, what's ⁓ what's being communicated, but I'm listening behind that. in that in between the words, the lines, whatever, I'm listening for what the Holy Spirit is wanting. What ⁓ what am I supposed to be getting out of this? Okay, and from and then after that eight to ten minutes is over, then I pray a little bit. I thank the Lord for the devotional. I thank for him for speaking to me. I th I ask him ⁓ you know for me to learn how to live this ⁓ so on just but just a little, maybe two minutes. And then I switch over to Spotify and I listen to live worship music and I worship. I'm I'm and that may that may go on for thirty minutes. I I I raise my hands, I sing, I wait till Kat's out walking the dog so that she doesn't hear any of that, you know. ⁓ the third thing I'll do is I'll listen, ⁓ I'll go to an ab a Bible app and I will listen to scripture. And again I'm listening to what he might want to say to me. And then by that time I'm enough awake and enough, my eyes are working enough. Then I get my journal out, and my journal is about speaking to him. So I'm I'm writing what I wanna say to him and I'm listening for anything he wants to say to me. And ⁓ and then that that's the hour. That's about all I ⁓ s I Typically don't have more than that in a morning, but sometimes I I'll if I do have more, I'll I'll extend my journal time. So I love that. So that's that's just about every morning. I love it. Yeah. I love it. So yeah. speaker-1: So I I would say what I hear you saying in this idea of the question of like how do kind of boots on the ground, place of hell moving towards health and wholeness is just being aware of his presence, being present to his presence would be kind of one of the core things that you would say is speaker-0: Yeah, I would add one word to that. I making it a priority to be present. Yeah, and the way I do that is I make it a first thing. Yeah. I wanna live according to first things, not second things. speaker-1: Priority to be present to his presence. I love that. Because you you can have that intention of like, ⁓ later on I'm gonna do this, but then your day all of our days get crazy, it gets insane. Yeah. And so what does it look like to like speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's that's a a s a very s simple, small ⁓ thing. And I wanna in a little bit I do wanna I I just I wanna mention the idea of small things, but but ⁓ there may be better things that help you begin to cultivate that in your life, but ⁓ that's how Scott Latham gets started. speaker-1: I love it. I love it. It's really good. Dave, have any questions thoughts? ⁓ speaker-2: No, I I I think maybe I would I guess I would ask you a a question or two. That that seems maybe to a listener like a lot to start with an hour. Like that's a big ask. And so I guess I would maybe ask you like what would be some starting points if if you are not I mean the prior the the intentionality is crucial. But I would say that like in the sense of start something. That's one thing I'm finding about myself. It's a lot easier to have things in theory than do it. And so I think me personally, if you came to me and said you need to get up an hour earlier and have this hour, I'm be like, ⁓ that's a great idea and never do it. And so I guess maybe what I would what I would say to our our people would be start something. If that is and Lectio three six five has been a great resource for us. And so I'm not I'm not disagreeing with anything you say. speaker-0: Yeah. But I don't hear you disagree. speaker-2: Right. And maybe what it looks like is, okay, for now I have a fifteen minute drive. I've been listening to a podcast. I'm just going to do that lectio. It's not perfect because I'm distracted and I'm calling people names when they pull out in front of me, but it is it is directional. I think that's one of the things that we've missed in Christianity is we're trying to make ⁓ make them destination based and not directionally based. And so What would it look like to move toward hearing speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. Well okay, like let's just take a a typical blue collar work day. ⁓ take fifteen minutes in the morning before you leave the house. Lectio. You get a fifteen minute break at work, go sit in your car and listen to live worship music. When you get home for lunch or wherever you take lunch, take fifteen minutes and listen to scripture. Okay. You get fifteen minutes in the afternoon, listen to some live worship. You get home at night, take fifteen minutes to journal. speaker-1: Yeah. And then that you get the ⁓ forty five minutes an hour right there, but it's been spread out through your day. So you're right. So if you don't have the ability to have that hour long session first thing in the morning, you can make it a priority throughout your day. speaker-0: Here's what I know. I know this to f to the you know, the baseline of myself. Our time with the Lord is not a time management problem. It's a hunger problem. Cause if you're hungry enough, you'll go get it. That's the issue. speaker-1: Yeah. I I love kind of this idea that you're talking about just the blue collar everyday person, like, man, this is what it can look like. Because that's that's the second part of of what it means to be a cultivator is everyday people making a kingdom difference where we live, work, learn, and play. And I think that's huge for us because I think there has been this huge gap brought between clergy and laity that was never it's not biblical. It was never I don't I anywhere I read there, there's this here's the clergy people and here's the lady people. Like I don't I don't think That should be existent, right? I think when we say yes to Jesus, every single one of us is called into ministry. But then regardless of like where we get our paycheck, like we are all called to cultivate and reveal the kingdom. And I think there's been a disservice and a disjustice to to so many believers in I think we've kind of created ourselves of like, ⁓ these people go do ministry and they do the things and we show up and we consume some religious goods and services. And I think that's our heart is like, no, no, no, no, no. Like w this is an everyday person, regardless of what you do for work, what you're not what you don't do for whatever that is, like this is something. And so I think I love that when you're talking about man, a blue collar worker, like how this what it can look like spread out throughout the day. speaker-0: Well, even a mom at home with little ones, she know, like she can, you know, ⁓ I I know ladies when they're w they they don't have a dishwasher. So while they're washing dishes, they're praying and then they turn on music and they listen and they sing. Yeah. You know, so I mean it's you anyone can do those fifteen minute slots. It just you know, and it doesn't you don't have to get legalistic and say it has to be every day. Yeah. Just do all just do what you can. Yeah. So speaker-1: Yeah. And and that's what this is gonna look like. ⁓ so part of this kind of how we're setting up this cultivated podcast is there are gonna be conversations probably twice a month where we're talking about kingdom ideas and and kingdom things. And then ⁓ the other two times a month, there's gonna be bringing in an everyday person and just petting them share their story and talk about. And it's gonna n it it may seem unspectacular, but if you really think about it, it's extremely spectacular because there is these small things that are these people keep on consistently doing. And at times it's turned into really spectacular cool things. And so I'm excited is to highlight everyday people that where they live, where they work, or learn or play. And so we're going to have people that own businesses and it it may not be a huge, big, huge business, but it's a business that we see and believe is making a huge kingdom difference. It giv we're going to have some save them moms that talk about what it looks like just loving on their kids and how that is making a huge kingdom difference where they live. just like in their house. ⁓ we're gonna have just people how to love their neighbors really well. And so I'm excited as we go through and there's just people within our ecosystem that we're gonna be kind of talking about and bringing in and letting them talk about what this looks like. ⁓ and so I'm excited as we kind of keep on running through this thing and and and as we talk about kingdom ideas and principles and what that looks like in in our lives, but then also seeing it play out in other people's lives of how they're like living this thing out. ⁓ and there's gonna be simple stories or be ugly, weird stories. There's gonna be like, but that's that's what this whole thing is. It's it's a mixture of all these things. And so, man, I am excited ⁓ for this. I I've loved the advent and I've loved the the lymp ones, but I'm excited to kind of get core into who we are and what we're trying to live out ⁓ in this state. So thank you guys. ⁓ thank you guys for checking us out and listening. ⁓ and I would man I'm no no shame in this. Like, let people know about this. Is it this something you find a value? Like, let people know about this. We're gonna keep on putting these out. Because we do think this is a great avenue, a great medium to have conversations and thoughts. And so we would love, man, if you're like, if you know us and like do text us and be like, dude, that was dumb. What the crap? Like ⁓ cool. Yes, please do. ⁓ but man, we we thank you guys for for checking us out. ⁓ we're excited to keep on bringing these in and having conversations. And so, man, we we love you guys. We pray that you are experiencing ⁓ health and wholeness and that you have clarity about where it is that you're called to make a kingdom difference, where you live or