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The Healthy Christian Leader - The Most Life Transforming Lessons | Reid Stairs · Leadership Hub

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hello, friends, and welcome to the Healthy Christian Leader.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Dwight Habermell, and I have our guest here today, Reed Stairs.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Reed, it is great to have you here.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to be here.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Reed, I'm so blessed to be able to share this time with our friends because you are one of the dearest and richest uh people to spend time with uh because of your love for the Lord and the depth of the journey that God has taken you on over the years.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um you come from a long line of ministry people.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me about that.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: And one's celebrating quite a milestone.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, actually, yeah, actually, uh my grandfather was a minister, and my dad still is a minister, celebrating a hundred years this coming Sunday.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hundred years of age.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Hundred years of age, over 75 years of ministry.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, moving towards 80 years of ministry.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh my minister, uh my son is an ordained minister, and my grandson is in in ministry as well.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, five generations.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: That is incredible.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, you just don't hear stories like that very often.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, it's interesting, I'll try to be quick, but it goes back to my great-grandmother.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you're the guest, you can be as long as it goes back to my great-grandmother, actually, who I never met, but I I heard that she always prayed, whenever she prayed publicly or whatever, people heard her, she'd always prayed, Raise up a minister in every generation to follow me.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And her daughter married a minister, and he had uh one of his sons became a minister, my w mother married a minister, and so it just as it has multiplied out.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Where and actually right now, my sister's also an ordained minister, and her husband's an ordained minister, my wife's an ordained minister.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh our son is, his wife is, our grandson is.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Isn't that there's right now there are nine ordained ministers within the family that are still living that are living?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: That are still living.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's unbelievable.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think you could get a world record for that.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's probably a Guinness Book record.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um I just uh I'm curious because this conversation's a little bit more about being a person, you know, and your personal life and your personal journey and your lessons as a person.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's a lot of years of ministry.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: You could really find your identity if you weren't careful in being a pastor, couldn't you?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, with being part of a long lineage like that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean there's so many ramifications of that.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Is if my identity's in my being a minister, then I become very vulnerable because you can mess up my ministry.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you're one of my parishioners, you can mess up my ministry, which then feels like a personal attack on my identity.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And but we're not called to have our identity in a church, pastor at our absolutely not.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: My identity is in Christ.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: My life is in Christ.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: He is my life.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: But it's so easy for us to slip into again the kingdom of this world.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Identity is all about what do you do?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's the first conversation you have.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Always, isn't it?
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then the second is and how's it going?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: You know, in pastoral ministry or wherever.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Because your identity is tied to what you do and your success in that.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in the church, that's just disastrous.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me about read the person and how you began to recognize that that there's life outside of ministry.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know what, that goes back to, I think my dad and mom were good at that.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh I think that was a foundation for me.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so thankful for that, in that uh my dad uh my dad was very good at at separating ministry from family life and and putting family life first and his relationships with us first.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that helped build a foundation there that who I am isn't just my ministry.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so I I can't I had that in the background as I moved into it.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I saw fairly early on so many ministers and friends in ministry who were just uh carrying the weight of that ident my my ministry is my identity.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's hard to have joy in your life as a person, as a as a follower of Jesus, when you feel like your identity is outside there and therefore controlled by circumstances and people.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can I can try to do the very best at being a pastor or minister, but the reality is the chances and changes of life and the the geography in which we live, the spiritual environment in which we live, the people that we're serving, they all really can totally affect your identity as a pastor.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: But they can affect my identity of who I am in Christ.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Reed, do you remember the conversation we had in the network years ago uh when we were talking about you know our calling and we worked on developing a calling statement, uh, which was a very healthy experience.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we examined the roles that God gave us to carry that call out in.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: And we were surprised that our calling is much bigger than the local church, yeah, you know, and um and God calls us to live that out in other roles we've been given, uh as father, um as uh friend, you know, as in your situation, as motorcycle teacher.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, yeah.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: I your calling has been lived out as a motorcycle teacher, but you were called to flourish the kingdom.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me about that experience.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a that's an interesting direction God took me in.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um in that um at one point in our church it was it it became a little bit necessary to be somewhat bivocational.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: And this whole motorcycle uh training uh opened up to me because I was a motorcyclist.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: And uh anyway, I and I I began to move into that.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, I've had now 25 years of training training people in motorcycles.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm retiring from that this fall for the first time ever, but moved through that becoming a chief trainer, becoming part of the advisory council for the province, and all kinds of things.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it I mean, a totally different venue than the church.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, good grief.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: That whole motorcycle environment is so different.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and and again, I think I think this is part of what we're talking about.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: If I know who I am in Christ and my calling and the understanding of advancing and establishing the kingdom, it looks very different in my motorcycle training area than it does in my Sunday morning church area.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: But it's the same calling.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: But it's the call.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same calling, and it's the same mission is to see the kingdom of heaven come on the earth.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And and so, yeah, I mean, it's been an incredibly positive experience for me, wonderful experience for me.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And uh and it has helped me be real in my ministry in the church.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Because like it's like sometimes as pastors, we can be in our office and our Bible.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: That's such a good point.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and well, I mean, out I I've I felt like I gained some respect from people.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, you're in the real world when you're out there training motorcycle trainers and people.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it and it also gave me perspective of a different perspective in my preaching and teaching as well.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you're coming alongside people in their everyday experience of life.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, sometimes if we everything we know is within the walls of the church, we begin to view everything through the walls of the church and not be able to relate in the same way to the things that people go through every day in the pew.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I think it's but you know, it's part of that again, perhaps where I can begin to feel my calling is to run a church.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Boy, that's good.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And and therefore I lose the perspective of my calling is to advance the kingdom.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Advance the kingdom, to part with Jesus and whatever he's doing wherever I am.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And and to see that his kingdom come, his will be done.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's so good.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a that's a big shift.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: So that becomes part of your call, part of the dimension of your life.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um what do you have to say to pastors who don't have hobbies?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is what hobbies I think do for us is it helps us understand that God enjoys our life outside of ministry.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, for me, motorcycling is a hobby in some way, but it's like I find I feel his joy in me in a different way when I'm out rumbling down the road on my old bike than I do when I'm in a poem.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's a different, it's a and it's like it's like he enjoys that.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: He enjoys that I enjoy it.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Just like in our own children.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: When we see them doing something they enjoy, it brings joy to us.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting, Reed, because uh I remember Dr.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Cheryl Ann Beale.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: She, when she was doing some of her talks on the network, and she encouraged uh a hobby.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I had never heard anybody talk about that that's in ministry and talk to pastors about it.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought about it and I thought, you know, that's so relevant and real.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: I went out and bought myself an ATV.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, cool.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Back in the day.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I that is my way.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: It has become my way to first of all get out of the pressure and the responsibility.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, two, it there's a sense of uh a sense of adventure that comes with it.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: And we're born for adventure.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like I bet when you take your motorcycle up to Cape Breton and ride through those mountains, that's adventure.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it just does something for you.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: It does, yeah.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so there's there's adventure, but you know, there's also time with God because uh I have you know rode uh my bike through uh the valley on the rail trail, you know, and you get down towards Annapolis Royal, and the Annapolis River is winding on one side, and there's rolling green hills with cows and mountainous areas up both sides, and it's just like the most incredible environment to worship the Lord.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and a lot I very, very often just talk to the Lord and worship while I'm riding along on my bike, and it's some of the richest experience that I have.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think that's so important because I think I've come to really believe that part of God's joy in creating us like we're not just a servant, we're friends.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And we're children.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: Boy, they're that's good.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and and I think if we just have a servant mentality, uh we become the elder brother.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: In the Luke 15 story.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: I've served you, I've obeyed, but I haven't really had any joy here.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's the Mary and Martha thing, too.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like I I really believe God has created us uh for far more than just to do ministry.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think if Mary got praise for being at his feet, we should get praise for being on our bikes.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I yeah, I mean, I believe that with all my heart.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I remember watching the movie Chariots of Fire.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember the the the lead character there saying, I feel his joy in me when I run.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, his pleasure.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's r yeah, even more than saying get a hobby, I would say find something that you do that you feel his joy in you.
• 12:52
  unknown: Yeah.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Outside of your ministry.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, whatever that is.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like my dad's painting, he's been an artist for he's painted thousands of amazing artists, still is, still paints.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: But like I I've heard him so often talk about I feel God in that.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I feel I feel uh there's worship comes up in me as I'm painting a scene and and so on.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I feel like he's got my hand and he's painting.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, I think there's something about feeling the joy of God outside of what we do for him.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: Just what we're doing with him.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: No, absolutely.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what have you learned about finding joy and contentment in everyday life?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's that's a hard one, isn't it?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, again, our whole our whole kingdom of this world is constantly telling us you won't be happy and content until you get the latest, the newest, the upgraded, the or you have this amount, or exactly.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we can so miss.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I I love the apostle policy, I've learned to be content when I'm living in a five-star hotel with Filet Mignon, you know.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm I'm content and full of joy when I don't know where the next meal's coming from.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sleeping outdoors in a tent.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like somehow learning to enjoy every moment.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy every moment.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and even, yeah, well, now the Lord's speaking to me too, because I'm going to be driving home in traffic after this, and that's not one of my joy moments.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: But can I find joy in that?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that maybe I'm just sitting there and I've got the the the worship on, and anyway, but finding joy in every moment and and in every person, like that's hard to sometimes too.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I like what you're saying because in reality, we can live so much for the future and the vision that God puts in our heart, yeah, that we lose life every day.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're we're a slave to the vision, which the vision is important, but we've got to trust that God will realize the vision.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And we need to work hard.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: We can't be lazy.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we would need to put everything there, but it really is about developing um a healthy uh breadth of encountering God and um balancing his uh life and calling in us.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, he created us for relationship with him.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: That was our main purpose.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Not even, I mean, yes, he called me to be a minister, but that wasn't why he created me.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: He created me because he wanted me to enjoy Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relationship, be part of the Trinity, be part of the that that's why he created me.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so if I'm only about ministry, I miss all of that.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and and the other dimensions we're talking about bring so much back into ministry.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that that's a really good point, too.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a trail we could go down for a long time.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: But that the the the fruit of my ministry, I believe, is so tied to the richness of my private life or my relationship with the Lord Jesus.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: No, yeah.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I feel sometimes we forget that in churches, that my greatest benefit to the church is not my organizational skills or even my preaching skills.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's the richness of abiding in Christ and the fruitfulness that flows out of that.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Life begets life.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: If God is building and establishing life within us, it overflows and bears new life in others.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yes.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I've experienced that just recently in this interim pastor, I've been doing, and like I've just been I've been so thankful to the Lord because a number of people say, like, there's such a joy in you that it's renewed my joy for for befor walking with the Lord.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, thank you, Father.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like it doesn't get much better than that.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like, really, double joy, you know, and fruitfulness that flows out of that.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now, in your everyday life, Reed, um, not going over to ministry, but your everyday life, as a father, you know, as a grandfather, and a great grandfather now.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: A great grandfather, as a, you know, as a friend, as a son, uh, what are some of the things you understand differently now than you did when you were younger?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost embarrassing sometimes, isn't it?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: What we thought when we were young was important and and isn't uh I I yeah, I I I think the number one thing for me has come has been to learn the joy of fellowship with the Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and just that that's that's the greatest joy of life, and that everything has to flow out of that.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: What's the difference between striving in that and joy and resting and and uh and there being a fellowship in that?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, in other words, there are individuals who can find themselves literally driven in prayer and in the word, uh which being in prayer and the word is exceptionally good, but yet lose the joy and the fellowship and the intimacy and the lightheartedness and the relationship in that place.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me, uh and this is something that's so transformed my life, is beginning to understand grace.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's the it's the prodigal son kind of thing that God wants to hug the stuffing out of me, even when I still smell like pig poop.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like when I've totally failed and totally messed up, because all he cares about is having his son close.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: All he really cares about for me today is that we spend close time, that we're close.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, I think that's just but understanding like if I'm if I'm thinking if I'm older brother-oriented, then I think he will get pleasure out of me or pleased with me if I work hard and produce in my prayer life and in my word time that I'm studying the scriptures and I'm learning this, you know, it becomes a drivenness to prove something or to earn something rather than he's created all of that for me to enjoy.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like it's the difference between I think it's sort of like this.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's the difference between eating a meal as a food critic and eating a meal as just a hungry lover of food.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one I'm rating it was the steak cooked as a temperature bright and it becomes very mechanical.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: The other one is just like, let me dive in and have that lobster.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Dip it in the butter, give me some more.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's okay.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if we could somehow could approach our our relationship with God, our prayer, our meditation, our worship like that.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's preparing a feast for me.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's that's so good.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh that's a great example.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's then it becomes the banqueting table.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And who doesn't want to be there?
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's so good.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you could encourage someone who's just beginning their adult life, what would you want them to know?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: So uh pull out that sage list.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I'm number one for me would be just learn to joy learn the joy of being in relationship with him.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Go deep in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like that's the that's everything.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's everything.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's the key to everything.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean is it of any significance?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: Christ in you is your hope of glory, your hope of significance, your hope of joy, your hope of fulfillment.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's all in him.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: And like no matter what else you do, and it's not, and again, it's not like you gotta do this.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, folks, this is awesome.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is a grand adventure.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh get in on it and and and uh hang in there and immerse yourself in it.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, and then trust that he will do what needs to be done.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: Trust he'll be like that was uh a lesson for me.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, I remember Psalm 138.8, I spoke at the well one morning, and that was that revelation for me.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: It says, God will fulfill his purpose for my life.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like he will get done what he needs to do through my life, my creational purpose, if I'm just walking with him, he'll get it done, and that takes all that drivenness and that stress and that expectation off of me that I've got to accomplish something for God.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean it's it's John 15, isn't it?
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: You abide, you'll be fruitful.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, Reed, if you could go back to that younger self, 20 years old, 20 year old Reed, if you could go back and talk to him, what would the 70 something year old read?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Say to the 20 year old read.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, wow.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: And we'd have a couple of days conversations probably.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean I I I would uh yeah, I would just say chill out with God.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Chill out, stop being like I I mean I I grew up in a in a fairly legalistic environment, church environment as a young person, and always felt like you were failing.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: You were never quite measuring up uh, you know, to the standards God expected of you, uh sort of thing.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that that is a joy robber, it's a killer, and it and it it it leads to that drivenness thing.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you know, learn to rest in Christ, learn to enjoy him, um, and and partner with him uh in whatever he has for your life and and and enjoy the moments.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy the journey.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, wherever it is, there's always something wherever you are at the moment, even when it's in the darkness, even when it's in the painful moments, there's still something there in that relationship with Jesus that is rich and deep.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and it's like don't miss those.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Don't miss those.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: It goes by too quick.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I know no young person wants to hear that, and every old person wants to say it.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Life is so short, you know.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: Don't, don't, don't, don't rush it, just enjoy it.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: But it's true, it's just true.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and uh I would say this as well.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know what, Reed, when you're you 20-year-old Reed, when you are 76, you are gonna have so much joy in the Lord beyond what you do now.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: But just look forward to it.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's good.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Reed, would you pray for the young leaders?
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's according to our demographics that we get back once in a while from the broadcast, we have a lot of young leaders that listen to the program.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, there's middle-aged and older leaders as well.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but can you pray for them?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'd be honored to, yeah.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Abba this day.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: You are so amazingly good and gracious and joyful.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: And and Lord, I I just thank you for this time together.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: But Lord, I I lift up the young leaders, the young uh people who are listening to this at middle-aged, whatever, but oh God, the enemy is constantly trying to rob us of our joy in you, constantly trying to push us into a performance-based relationship with you.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: I pray today, deliver us, deliver us from that.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: I pray that you would bring resources, you would bring scripture, you would bring worship, you would bring uh podcasts, you'd bring books, whatever it takes to lead the young men and women into that deep relationship with you, where you become their everything, and where they are free, set free from this performance-based relationship with you in their personal lives and in their ministries.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Father, we need you to do it.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: We can't do it, we can't fix these young people.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: We can't fix them.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: All we can do is say it's worth the journey to go deep in Christ, to go deep in the Spirit, to go deep in the Father and in His love and in His grace and in His joy and in His mercy.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, Father, today we just ask that over these next few days, even, that you will set them apart to this calling to come deep into relationship with you, because that will transform and change everything.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: Father, I just pray that in Jesus' mighty name.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Reed stares, friends.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Reed, great to have you here today as always.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's been so good.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll see you next time on the Healthy Christian Leader.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks for joining this conversation.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: I trust that you were encouraged and challenged by the stories and experiences that were shared today.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: Would you join us next week?
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: You can find new episodes weekly in video form on the Erin Ministries YouTube page and in audio form wherever you get your podcast.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Erin Ministries is an interdenominational network of friends in ministry with a mission to foster healthy Christian leadership.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: Check out our website, Erin Ministries.com, for more information and resources and on how you can donate to our ministry and potentially start a healthy Christian leader gathering in your area.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: Until we meet again, may you experience the Lord's blessing, grace, and peace.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see you next week.