Latest / Fulfilled with Rebecca Sheehan / Ep. 10 - 'Soul on Fire': John O'Leary on Faith, Miracles & the Movie Bringing His Story to Life
Transcript
- 0:03Amen.
- 0:08SPEAKER_00: Hey, everybody.
- 0:09SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Fulfilled.
- 0:11SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Rebecca Sheehan.
- 0:13SPEAKER_00: Today, we've got a very special guest.
- 0:16SPEAKER_00: John O'Leary is author of the number one national bestselling book,
- 0:20SPEAKER_00: On Fire,
- 0:21SPEAKER_00: host of the Live Inspired podcast.
- 0:24And he's an inspirational speaker who's shared his message with
- 0:27millions of people
- 0:28SPEAKER_00: in 49 states and dozens of countries.
- 0:31SPEAKER_00: And now he's executive producer of the feature film,
- 0:34SPEAKER_00: Soul on Fire,
- 0:36SPEAKER_00: which is about his journey and comes out in October.
- 0:39SPEAKER_00: So what makes so many people gravitate towards John?
- 0:43SPEAKER_00: Well, you'll soon find out in our conversation.
- 0:45But first and foremost,
- 0:47by all accounts,
- 0:48statistics,
- 0:49science,
- 0:51he's not supposed to be here.
- 0:53When John was nine years old,
- 0:54he was in a fire and 100% of his body was burned.
- 0:59SPEAKER_00: Zero chance that he'd make it.
- 1:01SPEAKER_00: But incredibly, here he is.
- 1:04And instead of trying to shove such a horrific experience to
- 1:07the far recesses of
- 1:08SPEAKER_00: his mind,
- 1:09SPEAKER_00: he's constantly sharing his story,
- 1:12SPEAKER_00: inspiring people to not only make the most of their lives,
- 1:15SPEAKER_00: but to find and deepen their relationship with Jesus.
- 1:19SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, John O'Leary, welcome to Fulfilled.
- 1:24SPEAKER_00: Rebecca, what a joy, man.
- 1:25SPEAKER_01: I mean,
- 1:25SPEAKER_01: I'm sitting here wondering who you're going to bring on,
- 1:27SPEAKER_01: listening to this brag sheet,
- 1:29SPEAKER_01: and I'm humbled that you just put the camera on me.
- 1:32SPEAKER_01: So the folks who know me,
- 1:35SPEAKER_01: we'll start here,
- 1:36SPEAKER_01: who really know me are not impressed by me,
- 1:39SPEAKER_01: but they are so impressed that God has used...
- 1:42these ordinary folks around me to lift up a little boy with no
- 1:45chance at life and a
- 1:46SPEAKER_01: man who's struggles with confidence and support from time to time and,
- 1:51SPEAKER_01: and allow that story to get out there in a mighty way.
- 1:54SPEAKER_01: So what makes this thing worthy is not the one sharing it.
- 1:58SPEAKER_01: It's the one who authored it.
- 2:00SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
- 2:00SPEAKER_01: So I'm looking forward to walking with you on this podcast.
- 2:03SPEAKER_00: I love how you just exude that Christian humility.
- 2:06SPEAKER_01: I looked in the mirror today like I know me.
- 2:09SPEAKER_01: I know me physically.
- 2:10SPEAKER_01: I know my sins.
- 2:12SPEAKER_01: I know my my broken nature.
- 2:13SPEAKER_01: So if you really know yourself, how could you be arrogant?
- 2:18SPEAKER_01: And if you really know God, how could you not be filled with joy?
- 2:21SPEAKER_01: And so I exude joy for what he's done on me.
- 2:26SPEAKER_00: So I've alluded to the beginning of your story,
- 2:28SPEAKER_00: but if you can just kind of take us back to when you were a boy,
- 2:32SPEAKER_00: what happened the day of your accident,
- 2:35SPEAKER_00: and were you a Christian at the time,
- 2:37SPEAKER_00: or did that come later?
- 2:38SPEAKER_00: Just talk about how faith played a role as well.
- 2:41SPEAKER_00: So...
- 2:42SPEAKER_01: Age nine, I grew up in the St.
- 2:43SPEAKER_01: Louis, Missouri community, and I grew up in a Christian home.
- 2:47SPEAKER_01: We were believers.
- 2:48And I've always found in life,
- 2:50it's relatively easy to be a believer when it's sunny.
- 2:53SPEAKER_01: You and I are recording this today.
- 2:54SPEAKER_01: It's 74 degrees and sunny outside.
- 2:57SPEAKER_01: What do you do when it storms?
- 2:59SPEAKER_01: What do you do when the boat starts to rock?
- 3:01SPEAKER_01: What do you do when the waves start to crawl over the sides of the edge?
- 3:04And that's what my family and I had to wrestle with beginning
- 3:08January 17th,
- 3:081987.
- 3:08SPEAKER_01: I was involved in a gasoline explosion.
- 3:14SPEAKER_01: burned on 100% of my body,
- 3:16SPEAKER_01: as you alluded to,
- 3:17SPEAKER_01: given no chance at all of survival,
- 3:19SPEAKER_01: should not have survived.
- 3:21SPEAKER_01: But I remember two things distinctly.
- 3:24The first was thinking my dad was going to be furious because
- 3:28I'm the one that
- 3:28SPEAKER_01: triggered the explosion.
- 3:29SPEAKER_01: I did it on accident.
- 3:31SPEAKER_01: But I still did it.
- 3:33SPEAKER_01: And so I knew I was guilty of that.
- 3:34SPEAKER_01: And I remember distinctly my dad coming into the room and saying,
- 3:39SPEAKER_01: John,
- 3:40SPEAKER_01: look at me when I'm talking to you.
- 3:42SPEAKER_01: So I'm getting ready for the judgment.
- 3:43SPEAKER_01: And then he goes, I have never been so proud of anyone in my entire life.
- 3:51SPEAKER_01: And my little fella, I'm just glad to be your dad.
- 3:54SPEAKER_01: And then he said, I love you.
- 3:56SPEAKER_01: And there's nothing you can do about it.
- 3:59SPEAKER_01: So I have a picture of the prodigal father.
- 4:01SPEAKER_01: It's a Rembrandt painting over to my side, right over here.
- 4:05SPEAKER_01: And it's this picture of this old man bent down,
- 4:08SPEAKER_01: putting his arms around this broken,
- 4:10SPEAKER_01: sin-filled kid saying,
- 4:12SPEAKER_01: come on,
- 4:13SPEAKER_01: come home.
- 4:15SPEAKER_01: It's scripturally solid, but I experienced that when I was nine.
- 4:19SPEAKER_01: I experienced the love of a father.
- 4:21SPEAKER_01: My dad's love,
- 4:22SPEAKER_01: his mercy,
- 4:23SPEAKER_01: his grace,
- 4:23SPEAKER_01: when I was first burned,
- 4:25SPEAKER_01: that first moment in hospital changed me.
- 4:27SPEAKER_01: And so I told you there were two things I remember distinctly.
- 4:30SPEAKER_01: After my father walked out, my mother walks in.
- 4:33SPEAKER_01: She took my right hand in hers.
- 4:34SPEAKER_01: She patted my bald head and she said, I love you, baby.
- 4:37SPEAKER_01: I love you.
- 4:38SPEAKER_01: I don't have clothes on.
- 4:40SPEAKER_01: The skin has all been burnt off.
- 4:41SPEAKER_01: I'm dying.
- 4:42And I look up as a nine-year-old and I say,
- 4:44mom,
- 4:44will you knock it off with the love?
- 4:47SPEAKER_01: Knock it off.
- 4:49SPEAKER_01: Am I going to die?
- 4:52SPEAKER_00: Did you know your prognosis?
- 4:54Like,
- 4:54did you know that you had zero chance of survival or were they
- 4:57keeping that from you?
- 4:57SPEAKER_01: They kept that from me.
- 4:59SPEAKER_01: But I, I mean, gosh, man, I was on fire for more than a minute.
- 5:04SPEAKER_00: Wow.
- 5:04SPEAKER_00: Wow.
- 5:05SPEAKER_01: Just for those of you who cook,
- 5:07SPEAKER_01: next time you touch the pan,
- 5:10SPEAKER_01: like that's a millisecond,
- 5:11SPEAKER_01: because as soon as you feel it,
- 5:12SPEAKER_01: you pull back.
- 5:13SPEAKER_01: That's not even really a burn.
- 5:16SPEAKER_01: A minute of being on fire, like my gosh.
- 5:19So I didn't know how devastating it was or what the recovery
- 5:23would be like or the prognosis.
- 5:24SPEAKER_01: I just knew the way the doctors and nurses were whispering, this is real.
- 5:30SPEAKER_01: And then I saw my own body like it.
- 5:32SPEAKER_01: It did not look like mine.
- 5:33SPEAKER_01: This is real.
- 5:34SPEAKER_01: And my mother takes my hand a little bit more firmly,
- 5:37SPEAKER_01: pats my bald head and says,
- 5:38SPEAKER_01: baby,
- 5:40SPEAKER_01: do you want to die?
- 5:42SPEAKER_01: It's your choice.
- 5:43SPEAKER_01: It's not mine.
- 5:46SPEAKER_01: And I looked up at my mom and I said, mom, I don't want to die.
- 5:48SPEAKER_01: I want to live.
- 5:50SPEAKER_01: So she said, take the hand of Jesus.
- 5:51SPEAKER_01: You walk the journey with him and you fight like you never fought before.
- 5:54SPEAKER_01: Your daddy and I will be with you every step along the way.
- 5:57SPEAKER_01: But do your part, John.
- 5:59SPEAKER_01: Fight.
- 6:00And your earliest question was,
- 6:02what was your faith life like before the accident?
- 6:05And I went to a Christian school and I remember about a week
- 6:08before this fire,
- 6:09SPEAKER_01: we had to draw a picture of Jesus.
- 6:12SPEAKER_01: He was on water.
- 6:13SPEAKER_01: The boys were on the water in the boat.
- 6:15SPEAKER_01: And there's one bearded guy kind of halfway up,
- 6:18SPEAKER_01: halfway down,
- 6:19SPEAKER_01: starting to sink like floundering at St.
- 6:21SPEAKER_01: Peter, man.
- 6:21SPEAKER_00: Peter, of course.
- 6:23SPEAKER_01: As I'm coloring this,
- 6:24SPEAKER_01: I remember thinking,
- 6:25SPEAKER_01: dude,
- 6:25SPEAKER_01: if I'm ever called out of that boat,
- 6:27SPEAKER_01: I'm not going to cower.
- 6:29SPEAKER_01: I'm going to go.
- 6:31So when my mom said,
- 6:32take the hand of Jesus,
- 6:33it wasn't like,
- 6:35well,
- 6:35I hope we get better.
- 6:36SPEAKER_01: I hope this skin graft's taken.
- 6:39SPEAKER_01: I hope therapy's okay one day.
- 6:41SPEAKER_01: I knew in the deepest sense of knowing that I would not die.
- 6:48SPEAKER_00: So you learned from Peter and you kept your eyes on Jesus, clearly.
- 6:50SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 6:52SPEAKER_01: I did, man.
- 6:52But there have been parts in the hospital and subsequently when
- 6:56O'Leary has not
- 6:57SPEAKER_01: kept his eyes on Jesus or been completely underwater.
- 7:00SPEAKER_01: And I don't think that is unique to me.
- 7:03SPEAKER_00: Right.
- 7:04SPEAKER_00: That goes for all of us.
- 7:05SPEAKER_01: I think we all go through these seasons,
- 7:07SPEAKER_01: man,
- 7:07SPEAKER_01: where like all of us,
- 7:08SPEAKER_01: I have moments where I wrestle with faith.
- 7:11And yet when,
- 7:12back to your point,
- 7:13when my eyes are on Jesus,
- 7:15my life is good.
- 7:17So I just listened to one of your podcast episodes about the
- 7:20shark attack and the
- 7:21SPEAKER_00: boy who was attacked when he was close to your age.
- 7:24SPEAKER_00: I was sobbing the entire time.
- 7:26One of the things you emphasized in your interview or they
- 7:31emphasized was the
- 7:32SPEAKER_00: people placed along the way.
- 7:34If they weren't there and if the timing wasn't just such,
- 7:37then he would have died.
- 7:40SPEAKER_00: So do you have people like that?
- 7:42SPEAKER_00: in your life,
- 7:43either when the accident happened or in the aftermath that you
- 7:48feel were truly
- 7:50SPEAKER_00: angels or put there for a reason?
- 7:54So if you had asked me this when I'm coming off from the
- 7:56hospital,
- 7:57the answer would be no.
- 7:58And if you'd asked me this as a teenager,
- 8:00the answer would have been no or in my twenties.
- 8:02SPEAKER_01: And now you're asking that of this old 48 year old dude in front of you.
- 8:05SPEAKER_01: And the answer is so obviously yes.
- 8:08Like I look back on my life in awe at how God was brilliantly,
- 8:13perfectly on time.
- 8:14SPEAKER_01: Always, always.
- 8:17regardless of what we're even talking about,
- 8:18but specifically regarding the fire.
- 8:20SPEAKER_01: My brother Jim was home when I blew up a can of gasoline in the garage.
- 8:25SPEAKER_01: Accidentally, but it happened.
- 8:26SPEAKER_01: I got trapped in there for about a minute,
- 8:28SPEAKER_01: came out of the garage,
- 8:29SPEAKER_01: made my way into the front hall.
- 8:31SPEAKER_01: Jim was 17.
- 8:33SPEAKER_01: He was sleeping in the basement.
- 8:34SPEAKER_01: He should have been at work.
- 8:36He comes up because the alarm did not go off,
- 8:38but now the smoke alarm has.
- 8:40SPEAKER_01: He hears his brother's screams.
- 8:42And the flames,
- 8:44Rebecca,
- 8:44are leaping off of me three feet in all directions.
- 8:47SPEAKER_00: Wow.
- 8:48SPEAKER_01: And this nobody,
- 8:50SPEAKER_01: he's just a late teenager,
- 8:52SPEAKER_01: picks up a rug,
- 8:54SPEAKER_01: comes over to me,
- 8:55SPEAKER_01: begins beating the flames with that little rug.
- 8:58SPEAKER_01: Every time he swings down, the flames leap from me onto him.
- 9:02SPEAKER_01: And my brother, Jim, kept swinging down into the flames.
- 9:05SPEAKER_01: burning himself in the process,
- 9:07SPEAKER_01: wrapping me in that rug,
- 9:09SPEAKER_01: bringing me outside,
- 9:11SPEAKER_01: throwing me in the ground,
- 9:12SPEAKER_01: saving my life.
- 9:12SPEAKER_01: He goes back into call 911.
- 9:14SPEAKER_01: He chases my sisters and the dogs out of the house.
- 9:17SPEAKER_01: While he's doing that, I have an 11-year-old sister named Amy.
- 9:21SPEAKER_01: She's outside barefoot and starting to snow.
- 9:24SPEAKER_01: And she comes over to me.
- 9:25SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'm in the front yard.
- 9:26SPEAKER_01: There's a messy situation.
- 9:27SPEAKER_01: The house is on fire.
- 9:28SPEAKER_01: Smoke's coming through the windows.
- 9:30SPEAKER_01: And she just walks right over to me, puts her arms around me.
- 9:34SPEAKER_01: You talk about like God's angels, man.
- 9:36SPEAKER_01: This little girl just pulls me in and says, John, it's okay.
- 9:40SPEAKER_01: Have faith and fight.
- 9:41SPEAKER_01: The best is yet to come.
- 9:44SPEAKER_00: What wisdom coming out of an 11-year-old girl.
- 9:47SPEAKER_01: Right?
- 9:48SPEAKER_01: None of this is preplanned.
- 9:51SPEAKER_01: But all of it is God ordained.
- 9:53SPEAKER_01: Like you can't prep a child to speak like this.
- 9:56SPEAKER_01: You can't prep a firefighter to act the way my brother did.
- 10:00You can't train up a parent well enough to say,
- 10:03now when the child says,
- 10:04will I die?
- 10:05SPEAKER_01: I know you're going to want to say, no, you're not going to die.
- 10:07SPEAKER_01: No book.
- 10:07SPEAKER_01: Instead, I want you to come back with a question.
- 10:09SPEAKER_01: Do you want to?
- 10:10SPEAKER_01: Because that's what Jesus would have done.
- 10:13SPEAKER_01: Do you want to see?
- 10:14SPEAKER_01: Do you want to live?
- 10:15SPEAKER_01: Pick up your mat, move.
- 10:17SPEAKER_01: I mean, so all of this is just spirit led.
- 10:19And the final angel I'll share from the front yard that day was
- 10:23my sister,
- 10:24Susan.
- 10:25SPEAKER_01: She hears that I want to die.
- 10:27SPEAKER_01: Like I'm in the front yard.
- 10:29SPEAKER_01: I'm in so much pain.
- 10:30SPEAKER_01: It's just agony, both physical and emotional.
- 10:33SPEAKER_01: And I say, I just want to die.
- 10:34SPEAKER_01: Go and get a knife.
- 10:36SPEAKER_01: I don't want to live.
- 10:37SPEAKER_01: And this little girl goes into a burning house.
- 10:41She gets a cup of water,
- 10:43comes back outside,
- 10:44throws that first cup of water in my face.
- 10:47She wheels around,
- 10:47goes back into a burning house a second time,
- 10:49gets a second cup of water.
- 10:51SPEAKER_01: And then she wheels and goes in a third time.
- 10:53SPEAKER_01: There's a quote, I think it's from John.
- 10:55No greater love is there than to be willing to lay it on one's
- 10:57life for one's friends.
- 10:59SPEAKER_01: This little girl at age seven goes into a home three times safely.
- 11:03SPEAKER_01: Her three cups of water growing each one of my face.
- 11:07SPEAKER_01: I'm burned from my neck to my toes, third degree, but not my face.
- 11:12SPEAKER_01: And it is the doctor's wisdom.
- 11:14I think that they said it's because of her actions that not
- 11:17only was your face
- 11:17SPEAKER_01: saved,
- 11:18SPEAKER_01: but your scalp where they drew all my skin.
- 11:21SPEAKER_01: You see my head today, man, that's my real hair up there.
- 11:24SPEAKER_01: All the skin from my entire body came from my scalp.
- 11:27SPEAKER_01: Which she saved.
- 11:29SPEAKER_01: Really?
- 11:29SPEAKER_01: So not only was she showing me love, she was changing my life through it.
- 11:34SPEAKER_00: So your house was on fire as well.
- 11:37SPEAKER_00: Yes.
- 11:38SPEAKER_00: So she literally is running into a burning home three times.
- 11:42SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
- 11:44SPEAKER_01: Well,
- 11:45SPEAKER_01: I know we'll talk about it,
- 11:46SPEAKER_01: but they recently shot this film called Soul on Fire about our life.
- 11:49SPEAKER_01: And I know my story so well that I rarely get emotional about it.
- 11:54But what got me so emotional is they did not want to shoot the
- 11:56fire scene where the
- 11:58SPEAKER_01: camera's on the kid burning.
- 12:00SPEAKER_01: That's ugly.
- 12:01SPEAKER_01: No one wants to see that.
- 12:02SPEAKER_01: So they made the camera the point of view of the child.
- 12:05SPEAKER_01: So they have this camera running through the house.
- 12:08SPEAKER_01: And then they show what I saw.
- 12:10And to see that again,
- 12:13not from my pain perspective,
- 12:16but seeing in the actress's eyes,
- 12:19SPEAKER_01: what it's like to see your brother on fire.
- 12:21SPEAKER_01: Cause like I saw that in my sisters and we never really talked about it.
- 12:25To see my brother Jim come up from the steps 37 years later
- 12:28when they're filming
- 12:29SPEAKER_01: this and see the actor pick up a ruck and begin beating down the flames.
- 12:33SPEAKER_01: And man,
- 12:34SPEAKER_01: that was so far,
- 12:36SPEAKER_01: not only for me,
- 12:37SPEAKER_01: but my siblings were there behind the cameras watching all this.
- 12:40SPEAKER_01: And for them, like they don't think about it all the time.
- 12:43SPEAKER_01: We try to like not be defined by that moment.
- 12:46SPEAKER_01: And yet it was such a defining moment in our lives.
- 12:49SPEAKER_01: And unlike so many tragedies, this tragedy drew us together.
- 12:53SPEAKER_01: It forged us.
- 12:56SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
- 12:58SPEAKER_00: Now,
- 12:58SPEAKER_00: I know Jack Buck played a big role in your life as well,
- 13:02SPEAKER_00: the famed Cardinals radio broadcaster.
- 13:06Can you talk a little bit about how he got involved in your
- 13:09life and the impact that had?
- 13:12Yeah,
- 13:12so I'm assuming some of your listeners and viewers may not know
- 13:16Jack Bach.
- 13:16SPEAKER_01: Jack was a Hall of Fame broadcaster.
- 13:19SPEAKER_01: He was the voice of the St.
- 13:21SPEAKER_01: Louis Cardinals, but also the voice of national radio for baseball.
- 13:25SPEAKER_01: Big, big voice, big presence.
- 13:28SPEAKER_01: And he was my boyhood hero.
- 13:30SPEAKER_01: I loved him.
- 13:30SPEAKER_01: I never met Jack Bach, but I listened to him every night.
- 13:34SPEAKER_01: I got burned on January 17th.
- 13:37SPEAKER_01: was expected to die that evening.
- 13:40SPEAKER_01: And at a charity auction, Jack Buck had heard at his table.
- 13:43SPEAKER_01: He's downtown in St.
- 13:44SPEAKER_01: Louis.
- 13:46SPEAKER_01: He had heard that a little boy was burned in St.
- 13:48SPEAKER_01: Louis and was going to die.
- 13:50SPEAKER_01: And the encouragement was, keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
- 13:56SPEAKER_01: Eventually, Jack Buck leaves the party that night.
- 13:58SPEAKER_01: This is just wild.
- 13:59SPEAKER_01: It does not know me.
- 14:00SPEAKER_01: It does not know our family.
- 14:01SPEAKER_01: It's not going to go on social media.
- 14:03SPEAKER_01: But he leaves the party that night, goes out to a hospital in St.
- 14:06SPEAKER_01: Louis County called Mercy.
- 14:08SPEAKER_01: He walks into a burn center, asks about a little boy who got burned.
- 14:12SPEAKER_01: They show him where to go.
- 14:13SPEAKER_01: He gowns up, walks in, sits down.
- 14:16SPEAKER_01: I'm laying in darkness.
- 14:18SPEAKER_01: So my eyes are swollen shut.
- 14:19SPEAKER_01: Rebecca, I can't see.
- 14:20SPEAKER_01: But I get a ear.
- 14:23SPEAKER_01: And I hear the voice of Jack Buck say, kid.
- 14:26SPEAKER_01: Wake up.
- 14:28SPEAKER_01: You are going to live.
- 14:30SPEAKER_01: Keep fighting.
- 14:31SPEAKER_00: And then he visited you every day after that, right?
- 14:35SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and after being told there's no chance.
- 14:39SPEAKER_01: You know,
- 14:39SPEAKER_01: first of all,
- 14:40SPEAKER_01: when you're told that someone's dying,
- 14:42SPEAKER_01: keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
- 14:45SPEAKER_01: Most of us,
- 14:46SPEAKER_01: if we're being bold and generous,
- 14:47SPEAKER_01: do like a hashtag thoughts and prayers,
- 14:50SPEAKER_01: storm victims in Tupelo,
- 14:52SPEAKER_01: and then we're done.
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: Who in the world leaves what they're doing to go visit a stranger?
- 14:58SPEAKER_01: Like that.
- 15:00SPEAKER_01: So that's epic.
- 15:02SPEAKER_01: It's just such a remarkable story of faithfulness,
- 15:05SPEAKER_01: of action,
- 15:06SPEAKER_01: of service,
- 15:06SPEAKER_01: of love,
- 15:07SPEAKER_01: and in doing so,
- 15:08SPEAKER_01: how it changes all people.
- 15:11SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine being in pain all the time,
- 15:13SPEAKER_01: but then a Hall of Fame radio announcer walks by you and says,
- 15:16SPEAKER_01: keep fighting,
- 15:17SPEAKER_01: kid,
- 15:18SPEAKER_01: as he goes to visit another patient.
- 15:20SPEAKER_01: The ripple effect of grace is eternal.
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: Jack made a mighty difference in my life,
- 15:27SPEAKER_01: undoubtedly,
- 15:28but also a mighty difference in the lives of everybody else on
- 15:30that floor.
- 15:31SPEAKER_00: As you said,
- 15:32he could have just kept you in your thoughts and prayers or in
- 15:36his thoughts and
- 15:36SPEAKER_00: prayers,
- 15:37SPEAKER_00: rather.
- 15:37SPEAKER_00: But yeah, to actually get up and do something about it.
- 15:40SPEAKER_00: I think that's an inspiration for all of us.
- 15:43SPEAKER_00: And didn't he find out about it through a chain of people?
- 15:47SPEAKER_00: And I mean, he didn't know you at all.
- 15:49SPEAKER_01: He didn't know us at all.
- 15:50SPEAKER_01: It's a long-winded answer.
- 15:51SPEAKER_01: But my neighbor called a friend who called a girl named Colleen.
- 15:56SPEAKER_01: Colleen called her dad, who was going to a charity auction that night.
- 16:00SPEAKER_01: His name was Red Shandians.
- 16:01SPEAKER_01: He was a Cardinal second baseman in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
- 16:05SPEAKER_01: And Red Shandians sat at a table and just mentioned to those gathered,
- 16:09SPEAKER_01: including this buddy Jack,
- 16:10SPEAKER_01: that this little boy was burned terribly,
- 16:12SPEAKER_01: was going to die.
- 16:13And so this game of phone connection is also,
- 16:17I think,
- 16:17an important part of the story.
- 16:18SPEAKER_01: Like you never know.
- 16:19SPEAKER_01: I think Andrew in the Bible has one line.
- 16:24SPEAKER_01: Come and see.
- 16:27SPEAKER_01: That's it.
- 16:28SPEAKER_01: Not like a great broadcaster.
- 16:31SPEAKER_01: Come and see.
- 16:32And so you never know the work that you do and the words that
- 16:35you speak and the
- 16:36SPEAKER_01: life that you lead,
- 16:37SPEAKER_01: how it might influence one other.
- 16:39SPEAKER_01: And then that life might influence one other.
- 16:41SPEAKER_01: And then that life might be the one.
- 16:44SPEAKER_01: So our job is to say yes to being used for good.
- 16:47And if we do that enough consistently,
- 16:49watch that ripple effect because it's coming.
- 16:52It's almost like every single aspect of your story is inspiring
- 16:56in a different way.
- 16:56SPEAKER_00: It's so beautiful.
- 16:57SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
- 16:58This is a story of what happens when we turn our life over to
- 17:01something bigger than ourselves.
- 17:02SPEAKER_01: And we recognize in spite of our position,
- 17:04SPEAKER_01: our class,
- 17:05SPEAKER_01: our wealth,
- 17:06SPEAKER_01: our race,
- 17:07SPEAKER_01: our creating,
- 17:08SPEAKER_01: whatever our background might be,
- 17:09SPEAKER_01: our sinfulness,
- 17:11SPEAKER_01: God has a way of using us for fear.
- 17:13SPEAKER_01: But you've got to be open to it.
- 17:16SPEAKER_01: And then when that call comes, you've got to pick up your mat and go.
- 17:20In other words,
- 17:22I blew up a can of gasoline and then the body of the church
- 17:26shows up.
- 17:27In the movie,
- 17:28the person who's doing the talking is,
- 17:30it's the real Colleen.
- 17:32So for those of you who do the film,
- 17:34you'll hear a woman say,
- 17:35he was burned terribly.
- 17:36SPEAKER_01: Keep him with dogs in prison.
- 17:37SPEAKER_01: That's Colleen.
- 17:38SPEAKER_01: So that's Red's daughter who's talking right there.
- 17:40SPEAKER_01: To her side is Julie, Julie Buck, who is Jack's actual daughter.
- 17:45SPEAKER_01: And in the middle is William H. Macy, who portrays Jack Buck.
- 17:49SPEAKER_01: So these are the real people who are part of our story.
- 17:51But these are folks who heard an opportunity of doing something
- 17:55for someone else.
- 17:56SPEAKER_01: And they moved.
- 17:58SPEAKER_01: And Jack heard this call.
- 17:59SPEAKER_01: There were eight others at that table.
- 18:02SPEAKER_01: No one else got up with him.
- 18:04SPEAKER_01: So the idea is that we all hear the same news stories.
- 18:08SPEAKER_01: We all see the same tragedies.
- 18:09If you look at Jesus' ministry,
- 18:11it's almost always about the interruption.
- 18:13It's almost never like...
- 18:14And then on Saturday,
- 18:15he preached another...
- 18:16That is so true.
- 18:18SPEAKER_01: He's a rabbi.
- 18:20SPEAKER_01: We Christians sometimes forget Jesus is a rabbi.
- 18:24SPEAKER_01: So the majority of his work would have been in Temple.
- 18:28SPEAKER_01: And yet the majority of what we celebrate,
- 18:31SPEAKER_01: when he was going to the left and then gets called to the right,
- 18:34SPEAKER_01: when he's going that direction and someone touches him in this one,
- 18:37it's almost all being bold enough and vulnerable enough and
- 18:40faithful enough to say
- 18:41SPEAKER_01: yes to the interruptions.
- 18:44SPEAKER_00: That is such a powerful takeaway.
- 18:47So I do want to talk more about your movie,
- 18:49Soul on Fire,
- 18:50coming out in October.
- 18:53SPEAKER_00: Who's in it and how closely does it follow your real story?
- 18:59SPEAKER_01: William H. Macy, we mentioned his name, plays Jack Buck.
- 19:03SPEAKER_01: He did a phenomenal job.
- 19:04There's a guy from Big Fat Greek Wedding named John Corbett,
- 19:08who plays my dad.
- 19:10Stephanie Shosek from Iron Man and The Devil Wears Prada and a
- 19:14bunch of other
- 19:14SPEAKER_01: movies plays my mom.
- 19:16SPEAKER_01: Joke Wortney from Jesus Revolution plays John O'Leary.
- 19:21SPEAKER_01: Devon Franklin plays Nurse Roy, who helped save my life.
- 19:25SPEAKER_01: Macy McClain plays my wife.
- 19:28SPEAKER_01: She's beautiful.
- 19:29It's like all these actors came together around this story to
- 19:34speak life into it,
- 19:35SPEAKER_01: which was so well done.
- 19:36SPEAKER_01: They did an incredible job.
- 19:38SPEAKER_01: But then your question might be, how close is it to being real?
- 19:42SPEAKER_01: Well,
- 19:42SPEAKER_01: they filmed the fire in the house where I was raised,
- 19:46SPEAKER_01: in the house where my mom and dad still live.
- 19:49SPEAKER_01: They filmed the homecoming at that same house.
- 19:52They filmed the scene where John is sad about his life later on
- 19:56and his dad gives
- 19:56SPEAKER_01: him this radical pep talk.
- 19:59SPEAKER_01: And I mean,
- 20:00get ready to be punched in the gut in the best way on the
- 20:03screen porch where that
- 20:04SPEAKER_01: talk actually happened.
- 20:06They filmed when John gets married to his wife in the church
- 20:10where John and his
- 20:11SPEAKER_01: wife were married.
- 20:12They filmed the actress in the actual dress that my wife wore
- 20:16on our wedding day.
- 20:18SPEAKER_01: That is incredible.
- 20:19SPEAKER_01: This isn't just like kind of close.
- 20:22SPEAKER_01: It's like the places where it happens,
- 20:25SPEAKER_01: the people who are involved in the church,
- 20:27SPEAKER_01: when you see it,
- 20:28SPEAKER_01: two wild things about this.
- 20:30SPEAKER_01: Everyone gathered in the church
- 20:32SPEAKER_01: were gathered in that same church 21 years before that for the real way.
- 20:36So when you see all the extras,
- 20:38you're like,
- 20:38man,
- 20:38could they not find any young people in this?
- 20:40SPEAKER_01: They're like, what?
- 20:41SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm older now.
- 20:42SPEAKER_01: So like my parents' friends are older, my friends are older.
- 20:45SPEAKER_01: So that's what you see when you look into the audience.
- 20:47You see the people who are actually there,
- 20:49which is awesome,
- 20:50but even more powerful.
- 20:52SPEAKER_01: In the second role behind the actors where the grandparents hang out,
- 20:55SPEAKER_01: you see my actual parents.
- 20:58SPEAKER_01: So this beautiful couple who've been together 60 years now,
- 21:01SPEAKER_01: you see my mom and dad,
- 21:03SPEAKER_01: which is awesome on a million levels.
- 21:05But one of them is my dad has had Parkinson's disease for 30
- 21:08years and was unable
- 21:10SPEAKER_01: to stand for about 10.
- 21:12SPEAKER_01: And when Sean McNamara,
- 21:14SPEAKER_01: our director,
- 21:15SPEAKER_01: yelled at the words,
- 21:16SPEAKER_01: action,
- 21:17because this is when John's about to kiss his wife and everyone
- 21:20stands up for that
- 21:21SPEAKER_01: final blessing.
- 21:23SPEAKER_01: my dad heard the word action and wills himself up on that pew,
- 21:27SPEAKER_01: pulls himself up,
- 21:28SPEAKER_01: 30 years of Parkinson's and this warrior rising.
- 21:33SPEAKER_01: And so that's a precious moment to me.
- 21:35And as you and I record this,
- 21:37my father passed away on May 30th this year.
- 21:38SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.
- 21:41SPEAKER_01: He's in heaven.
- 21:42SPEAKER_01: He's no longer in pain.
- 21:44SPEAKER_01: He's finally been able to dance again and stand again and speak again.
- 21:47SPEAKER_01: He's got his body back again.
- 21:49SPEAKER_01: So that's awesome.
- 21:50But about a week and a half before he passed away,
- 21:53there was a client in St.
- 21:54Louis who wanted to have 3,000 folks go to the film to see it
- 21:57ahead of time.
- 21:58SPEAKER_01: So they did.
- 21:59SPEAKER_01: And I invited my dad and mom to go.
- 22:02SPEAKER_01: So I sat in this theater with all these executives behind me.
- 22:05SPEAKER_01: And my dad just held my hand the whole time.
- 22:08SPEAKER_00: I was going to ask if he got to see it before he passed.
- 22:11SPEAKER_01: He did.
- 22:12SPEAKER_01: And he lost the ability to speak as he was getting sicker.
- 22:17SPEAKER_01: So I leaned over as people were clapping.
- 22:20SPEAKER_01: I'm like, Dad, what do you think about your life story, man?
- 22:22SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
- 22:23SPEAKER_01: Did they do a good job?
- 22:25SPEAKER_01: And my sweet dad whispered, what a gift.
- 22:31And,
- 22:32you know,
- 22:32you could say,
- 22:32like,
- 22:33was that the first review of the film?
- 22:34SPEAKER_01: I don't think it was the film he was reviewing.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: I think partially.
- 22:39SPEAKER_01: I think what that was was almost this moment.
- 22:41You know,
- 22:41when you've read,
- 22:42when you die,
- 22:43you have a quick review of your life.
- 22:46SPEAKER_01: Jesus walks you through it all.
- 22:48SPEAKER_01: And I think my dad, that long before he died, had this quick review.
- 22:53SPEAKER_01: And it ends,
- 22:54I'm not going to tell you how it ends because you got to go see
- 22:56it because you will
- 22:56SPEAKER_01: cry like a baby.
- 22:58But it ends in this moment where the son and his dad get to
- 23:03show people what real
- 23:04SPEAKER_01: life looks like.
- 23:06And that is a gift to recognize that even in the difficulty of
- 23:10Parkinson's disease
- 23:11SPEAKER_01: and woundedness and brokenness and mistakenness,
- 23:14SPEAKER_01: that the author of life still works.
- 23:17If you were to ask me,
- 23:18what is one of your hopes as people leave the film?
- 23:21SPEAKER_01: I hope they leave saying, what a gift.
- 23:25SPEAKER_01: And they're not talking about my movie or my life.
- 23:29SPEAKER_00: That is so powerful.
- 23:30SPEAKER_00: And yeah, can't wait to see the movie.
- 23:33SPEAKER_00: Fun tie.
- 23:33SPEAKER_00: And you may recall my son, Jameson, played a small role.
- 23:38SPEAKER_00: He he's an extra.
- 23:40SPEAKER_00: Technically, he plays your middle son, Patrick, right?
- 23:43SPEAKER_01: What do you mean small?
- 23:44SPEAKER_01: I mean, first of all, there are no small.
- 23:46SPEAKER_00: Sorry, Patrick, you don't have a small role in your dad's life.
- 23:50SPEAKER_01: Patrick's work was last night.
- 23:51He's going to be furious when he finds out that his his little
- 23:54body double played a
- 23:55SPEAKER_01: small role in daddy's life.
- 23:58But I was there that day with Jameson when the actors were
- 24:01filming the scene on that porch.
- 24:03SPEAKER_01: Were you able to hear what was going on out there?
- 24:06SPEAKER_00: No, they kept us stage moms far away.
- 24:09SPEAKER_00: That was a really special thing for him to be a part of.
- 24:14SPEAKER_01: Well, it was a blessing for us to have him in.
- 24:15SPEAKER_01: So he plays Patrick, who is the most joyful kid.
- 24:18And little Jameson was just a little gift of joy,
- 24:20a little flash of light on that set.
- 24:24SPEAKER_01: And so when they all watch the movie,
- 24:25SPEAKER_01: that little guy comes up to hug the guy playing me is Jameson.
- 24:31SPEAKER_01: It's your son, but he's my little Patrick.
- 24:33And what I'm struggling with there is mistakes that I've made
- 24:36in the past.
- 24:38SPEAKER_01: And so my wife is picking up on this.
- 24:39SPEAKER_01: So she sends the kids outside to go play and they're playing.
- 24:42SPEAKER_01: But my dad is having this talk with me,
- 24:44a talk we really did have on that screen and porch about life
- 24:49and what do you do
- 24:50SPEAKER_01: with the brokenness?
- 24:51SPEAKER_01: What do you do with your scars?
- 24:53SPEAKER_01: And as you are hearing Jameson play in the background,
- 24:57SPEAKER_01: pay close attention to what my dad is saying,
- 24:58SPEAKER_01: not just to his son,
- 24:59SPEAKER_01: John,
- 25:00SPEAKER_01: but to you.
- 25:03SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about the brokenness, that powerful conversation.
- 25:07SPEAKER_00: What caused you all to market this as a faith-based film?
- 25:11I know it's under Sony Pictures' Affirm Films label,
- 25:15which is Christian content.
- 25:17SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 25:18SPEAKER_01: So even today, I speak in the corporate realm.
- 25:21SPEAKER_01: I'm a leadership speaker.
- 25:23SPEAKER_01: All the books that I write are leadership books, if you will.
- 25:26SPEAKER_01: And question number 13 on my survey,
- 25:27SPEAKER_01: when clients fill it out,
- 25:29SPEAKER_01: is what topics do you want John to stay away from?
- 25:32SPEAKER_01: Guess what the two always are?
- 25:33SPEAKER_00: Faith.
- 25:36SPEAKER_01: And politics.
- 25:38So they give me a microphone and they tell me to stay away from
- 25:41faith and politics.
- 25:42SPEAKER_01: And I can stay away from politics gladly.
- 25:44SPEAKER_01: But faith, it's ingrained in my body.
- 25:47SPEAKER_01: How do you stay away from that?
- 25:48SPEAKER_01: And so I don't view my job as...
- 25:53SPEAKER_01: like outwardly evangelizing from the stage.
- 25:55But undoubtedly,
- 25:57this is a faith story that I share with secular corporate
- 26:00clients.
- 26:01And so the film,
- 26:02it will draw people in to say,
- 26:04I want to come alive again in my life.
- 26:08SPEAKER_01: And then they will leave,
- 26:09SPEAKER_01: I think,
- 26:09SPEAKER_01: not only clear on what that looks like in a secular sense,
- 26:13SPEAKER_01: but on the faithful sense that drives it all.
- 26:16SPEAKER_01: It's an opportunity for Christians,
- 26:17SPEAKER_01: for instance,
- 26:18SPEAKER_01: to bring non-believers to say,
- 26:21SPEAKER_01: well,
- 26:21SPEAKER_01: just check out this film.
- 26:22SPEAKER_01: And I heard just this crazy story about a kid and baseball and family.
- 26:25SPEAKER_01: He ends up with a girl at the end.
- 26:27SPEAKER_01: Like, we should check it out, man.
- 26:28SPEAKER_01: Become a big motivational speaker.
- 26:30SPEAKER_01: It's awesome.
- 26:32SPEAKER_01: Cool.
- 26:33SPEAKER_01: Go.
- 26:34SPEAKER_01: And then on the way home,
- 26:35talk about what you're actually watching because it's not a
- 26:39baseball film and it's
- 26:40SPEAKER_01: not a fire film.
- 26:42SPEAKER_01: And it is indeed,
- 26:43SPEAKER_01: I think,
- 26:43SPEAKER_01: a love film,
- 26:45SPEAKER_01: but it's not like a dating love story or even a family love story.
- 26:48SPEAKER_01: It's a God love story.
- 26:49It's how God loves each of us in such a mighty way that he
- 26:52chooses to use us in
- 26:53SPEAKER_01: mighty ways for his perfect purposes.
- 26:56And the last person to recognize that in the movie is a guy
- 26:59named John O'Leary.
- 27:01SPEAKER_01: Everyone else saw it so clearly and that's why they did what they did.
- 27:04And yet sometimes we're the last one to recognize the miracle
- 27:06of our life.
- 27:07SPEAKER_01: At least I am.
- 27:09SPEAKER_01: And so I think our secular friends will connect with this.
- 27:14I think it gives us an opportunity to share scripture and the
- 27:16word within if you want.
- 27:18SPEAKER_01: At the very least,
- 27:19it's a deeply inspirational movie about fighting for things
- 27:21that matter bigger than
- 27:22SPEAKER_01: yourself.
- 27:23SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
- 27:25SPEAKER_01: But it's a movie about community.
- 27:26SPEAKER_01: And right now,
- 27:27can you think of a time where there's been greater cynicism and
- 27:30negativity and
- 27:31SPEAKER_01: pessimism?
- 27:32SPEAKER_01: And then Hollywood keeps flashing up.
- 27:34SPEAKER_01: So let's give them hope.
- 27:35SPEAKER_01: We'll put in front of them Superman.
- 27:38SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
- 27:38SPEAKER_01: Then we'll give them another lightsaber movie.
- 27:41Then we'll give them a talking squirrel movie where they curse
- 27:44and like all these
- 27:45SPEAKER_01: examples of heroes.
- 27:47SPEAKER_01: And then they come forward with this film.
- 27:50which is example after example of ordinary zeros who changed
- 27:54the world for good.
- 27:56SPEAKER_01: And I don't think the faith market has that corner.
- 27:59I think the marketplace as a whole needs to recognize
- 28:03Hollywood's a democracy.
- 28:04Man,
- 28:04let's start voting again with our dollars to say,
- 28:06this is what we want more of.
- 28:08We want movies that draw us together and allow us to have
- 28:11conversations around
- 28:12SPEAKER_01: things that actually matter.
- 28:14SPEAKER_01: So we talk at that movie about faith.
- 28:15We talked at that movie about scars and brokenness,
- 28:18about what do you do with sinfulness?
- 28:20SPEAKER_01: What do you do with the things you've done in the past that you regret?
- 28:22SPEAKER_01: How do you redeem that?
- 28:24SPEAKER_01: What do you do with the one life that you've got?
- 28:26How do you make a difference with the breath that you've been
- 28:28gifted with?
- 28:30SPEAKER_01: Are miracles still possible?
- 28:31SPEAKER_01: Is love still possible at this late stage?
- 28:34SPEAKER_01: All these things that are...
- 28:36SPEAKER_01: Man, they're just core to life.
- 28:38SPEAKER_01: So I hope the film does well for a million reasons.
- 28:41SPEAKER_01: But one little reason is when it does well,
- 28:45SPEAKER_01: Hollywood will say,
- 28:47SPEAKER_01: maybe we won't do the 37th rerun of that show,
- 28:51but instead we'll put forward another true story of a miracle
- 28:54that took place in
- 28:55SPEAKER_01: our world and how God is still working.
- 28:59SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 29:00SPEAKER_00: And so it comes out in theaters in October.
- 29:04SPEAKER_00: Will it be streaming as well?
- 29:05SPEAKER_01: So it won't be streaming at first.
- 29:07So,
- 29:08you know,
- 29:09I encourage your listeners and viewers,
- 29:10like check it out at the theater.
- 29:12SPEAKER_01: It comes out October 10th.
- 29:14If you are listening to this even before,
- 29:16then you can get your tickets ahead of time.
- 29:18You can reserve entire theaters for like friends or classmates
- 29:22or your church.
- 29:24SPEAKER_01: Love it.
- 29:24SPEAKER_01: Go in,
- 29:26SPEAKER_01: laugh and cry,
- 29:29feel renewed and feel more certain than ever that your best
- 29:33days are in front of
- 29:34SPEAKER_01: you.
- 29:35We talk about all of this hope and inspiration that's been a
- 29:39string throughout your life.
- 29:40SPEAKER_00: Is there any scripture in particular,
- 29:43any Bible verses that you identify with most or that have
- 29:46inspired you the most
- 29:47SPEAKER_00: along the way?
- 29:50SPEAKER_01: I mean,
- 29:52SPEAKER_01: what I try to live my life by now is from Micah,
- 29:54SPEAKER_01: seek justice,
- 29:55SPEAKER_01: love mercy,
- 29:55SPEAKER_01: walk humbly with God.
- 29:57SPEAKER_01: People often ask me, like, how do you want to be remembered?
- 30:00SPEAKER_01: You know, executive producer, actor.
- 30:03SPEAKER_01: Like, no, are you joking?
- 30:05SPEAKER_01: And even like dad, like even those titles begin to fade after time.
- 30:09SPEAKER_01: My first job is husband, son, dad, like for sure.
- 30:14But man,
- 30:14with my one life,
- 30:15I want to see justice,
- 30:16love,
- 30:17mercy,
- 30:17walk humbly with God.
- 30:18SPEAKER_01: And if I do that sincerely, I will be an awesome spouse.
- 30:22SPEAKER_01: I will love her so well.
- 30:23SPEAKER_01: I'll date her still.
- 30:25SPEAKER_01: I'll be an awesome dad to her kids, which is awesome.
- 30:28SPEAKER_01: I'll raise them well.
- 30:29SPEAKER_01: I'll be a better son to my dad before he goes home to heaven.
- 30:32SPEAKER_01: I'll be a better son to my mom as she grieves her husband.
- 30:35SPEAKER_01: I'll be a better friend.
- 30:36SPEAKER_01: I'll be a better podcast interview.
- 30:38I'll do that stuff when I seek justice,
- 30:40love,
- 30:40mercy,
- 30:41walk humbly with God.
- 30:42SPEAKER_01: So that's one scripture that just moves me.
- 30:46SPEAKER_01: My mom has J-E-R-2-9 on her license plate, which is so cool.
- 30:51SPEAKER_01: Her car is old.
- 30:52Her license plate has hit like 50 million curbs as it's gone
- 30:56through life.
- 30:57SPEAKER_01: So like this thing, it's like warped.
- 30:59SPEAKER_01: It should not be legal, man.
- 31:01SPEAKER_01: You can barely read the J-E-R-2-9.
- 31:04SPEAKER_01: But before I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
- 31:10She put that on her car years and years ago when she was on top
- 31:13of the world.
- 31:15SPEAKER_01: And she kept it on her car after her kid got burned.
- 31:19SPEAKER_01: After we dealt with some mental illness in our family,
- 31:22SPEAKER_01: after her husband gets Parkinson's disease and loses his job.
- 31:24SPEAKER_01: And that's why he sold the same darn car.
- 31:28As she takes him to appointment,
- 31:29to appointment,
- 31:29to appointment,
- 31:30she kept it on the car.
- 31:31SPEAKER_01: And she runs out for the pens at night because they ran out.
- 31:34SPEAKER_01: She has this on her car, J-E-R-2-9.
- 31:37As she drives up eventually to the funeral hall and to the
- 31:41church service.
- 31:43And the coolest thing,
- 31:44and then I'll be quiet,
- 31:45but the coolest thing,
- 31:46J-E-R-2-9.
- 31:48SPEAKER_01: My dad went about a decade without speaking.
- 31:51I mean,
- 31:52he barely whispered out what a gift,
- 31:54but he went about a decade without speaking.
- 31:56SPEAKER_01: So like how many people would go to an 81-year-old's funeral?
- 32:02SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
- 32:03Especially when they haven't,
- 32:04in quotes,
- 32:04done anything in their life in a long time.
- 32:06SPEAKER_01: They've done nothing for 30 years.
- 32:08SPEAKER_01: Well, more than a thousand people came to my dad's funeral.
- 32:12SPEAKER_01: We live in a society that is so focused on the doings.
- 32:15SPEAKER_01: And my dad had decades to be,
- 32:18SPEAKER_01: to be present,
- 32:19SPEAKER_01: to be a great listener,
- 32:20SPEAKER_01: to reflect,
- 32:22SPEAKER_01: to smile,
- 32:23SPEAKER_01: to radiate joy,
- 32:24SPEAKER_01: to love God.
- 32:26SPEAKER_01: And in doing that, to love the one in front of him.
- 32:29So though most of the folks gathered that day had not heard
- 32:32dad's voice in a long time,
- 32:33SPEAKER_01: They gathered one more time to celebrate that life.
- 32:35SPEAKER_01: But my mom pulled up to that service, J-E-R-2-9.
- 32:39SPEAKER_01: She's a woman who's guided by faith,
- 32:40SPEAKER_01: certain that in spite of the plight that we are in,
- 32:43SPEAKER_01: there is not that her best is in front of her still.
- 32:49What a beautiful story,
- 32:50her story with that license plate,
- 32:52but your story in general.
- 32:54And obviously not just you,
- 32:56but how you're at the center of all of these incredible people.
- 33:00SPEAKER_00: And it is so evident that the Lord is working through your story.
- 33:05SPEAKER_00: And it's so amazing that you've inspired so many people with it.
- 33:09SPEAKER_00: So thank you, John O'Leary, for all you've done.
- 33:12SPEAKER_01: I got to say, Lauren, I want to cut you off.
- 33:15SPEAKER_01: He is working through our story.
- 33:17Because you asked me the question,
- 33:18did you see God's angels in your life when you were a kid?
- 33:21SPEAKER_01: And the answer is no.
- 33:23It's only recently through hindsight and greater faithfulness
- 33:26that I recognize so clearly.
- 33:27SPEAKER_01: Gosh, he was all over it.
- 33:29SPEAKER_01: And if that's true for an insecure barn survivor,
- 33:33SPEAKER_01: Oh, Rebecca, what about you?
- 33:35SPEAKER_01: What about your son?
- 33:36SPEAKER_01: What about your friends?
- 33:37SPEAKER_01: What about your listeners and viewers?
- 33:39SPEAKER_01: So he's working through our story.
- 33:42And if you guys want to just learn more about your son and the
- 33:46movie and our story,
- 33:47SPEAKER_01: the website is soulonfiremovie.com.
- 33:51SPEAKER_01: So go there.
- 33:53SPEAKER_01: You'll learn about this little boy who plays my son, Patrick.
- 33:55SPEAKER_01: Soul on Fire movie.
- 33:57SPEAKER_00: He wasn't the big deal in the movie, I promise.
- 33:59SPEAKER_00: It's all you.
- 34:00SPEAKER_01: He's a huge deal.
- 34:00SPEAKER_01: You'll hear his laughter.
- 34:01SPEAKER_01: You'll hear joy, which is the call for your life.
- 34:07SPEAKER_00: I love that.
- 34:08SPEAKER_00: Well, yes, we will all go see the movie, soulonfire.com.
- 34:13SPEAKER_00: Soulonfiremovie.com.
- 34:15SPEAKER_01: Don't go to soulonfire.com.
- 34:16SPEAKER_01: You don't want to go there.
- 34:17SPEAKER_01: That's a horrible site.
- 34:18SPEAKER_01: Go to soulonfiremovie.com.
- 34:21And if people want to connect with you on social media or check
- 34:24out your podcast,
- 34:25SPEAKER_00: where should they go?
- 34:26SPEAKER_01: So for that, probably go to my website.
- 34:29SPEAKER_01: It's johnolearyinspires.com.
- 34:32SPEAKER_01: johnolearyinspires.com.
- 34:34SPEAKER_01: And we'll have social there.
- 34:37SPEAKER_01: You'll learn more about the podcast and the film.
- 34:39And starting October 10th-ish,
- 34:42we'll have a free link to,
- 34:44it's called Ignite Character.
- 34:45SPEAKER_01: And it will unpack for you the characters in the film,
- 34:50SPEAKER_01: the characteristics they most modeled,
- 34:52SPEAKER_01: how it changed one person's life and what it means for you and yours.
- 34:56So to unpack those layers,
- 34:57it's a cool way to elevate the film experience.
- 34:59SPEAKER_01: More than that, it's a cool way to live it in your life.
- 35:02SPEAKER_01: So all that you can find at johnolearyinspires.com.
- 35:07SPEAKER_00: Well, John O'Leary, thank you so much for joining us today.
- 35:11I know that this has inspired our listeners to delve deeper
- 35:16into their faith and be
- 35:17SPEAKER_00: closer to God and just live that out every day.
- 35:20SPEAKER_02: Rebecca, you're awesome.
- 35:22SPEAKER_02: And you raised a mighty son who has taken Hollywood by storm.
- 35:26SPEAKER_00: Oh, I don't know about that.
- 35:28So congratulations on that and for now being part of our family
- 35:30and part of our life.
- 35:31SPEAKER_02: We're grateful for it.
- 35:34SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks to all of you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in today.
- 35:38SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoyed today's conversation,
- 35:40SPEAKER_00: be sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.
- 35:44Stay inspired,
- 35:46keep trusting in God's plan for your life,
- 35:48and we'll see you next time.