Latest / The Town Square Podcast / Pastor Justin Adams of NEW LIFE Praise Center | Faith & Community—Episode 99

Transcript

Pastor Justin Adams of NEW LIFE Praise Center | Faith & Community—Episode 99 · The Town Square Podcast

0:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the town square podcast where local advocates for a better community bring their different perspectives into the messy middle.
0:07
[SPEAKER_02]: The messiest of the middle.
0:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, sir.
0:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Have a conversation where aim is unity not uniformity already.
0:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm one of your host trade Bailey and this is I am Gabriel Stoke all glad to be back.
0:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's right.
0:19
[SPEAKER_02]: My feminine life and man, but I'm glad to be back with you today, man.
0:23
[SPEAKER_02]: This is this is this is second home for me.
0:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, we have, you know, thoughts and prayers and relationships.
0:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you and your family know you're going through a lot?
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[SPEAKER_00]: But, and we missed you, I missed y'all, man.
0:34
[SPEAKER_00]: I missed y'all, but we were definitely thinking about you.
0:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, indeed.
0:37
[SPEAKER_02]: You've had some good, some good, lively conversations.
0:40
[SPEAKER_02]: It's been a way.
0:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's not the same with that.
0:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Another, another host coming in there and keeping the seat warm, which is great, but now I am, I'm glad I'm glad to be back.
0:52
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I appreciate you keeping my space for me.
0:54
[SPEAKER_00]: And man, for this series, we're in the faith and community theories.
0:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
0:59
[SPEAKER_00]: This is one that you and I had talked about as we were planning our next steps for this fall and going into the winter.
1:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor Justin, we were just wanted to bring on pastors and local faith leaders of different denominations, different churches to kind of just express.
1:14
[SPEAKER_00]: not just what their church is about a new county or coming to the connoons right in jasper but we wanted to take to see like you know what what sets your part what makes things different what we wanted a little bit more of the denominational side even like what are these things about what are the different beliefs but we're welcoming back he's coming back and he's coming on my honor my honor
1:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor Justin Adams, new life praise.
1:36
[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for having me guys.
1:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I really appreciate it.
1:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm stoked to be here and Especially when you said it's about unity not uniformity.
1:43
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's a perfect segue.
1:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, yeah, and to the conversation.
1:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, absolutely We need more of that man.
1:51
[SPEAKER_02]: That's right.
1:51
[SPEAKER_02]: You need more of it.
1:52
[SPEAKER_02]: We got enough of the other stuff
1:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I don't know.
1:54
[SPEAKER_02]: So yeah.
1:54
[SPEAKER_02]: When it was division in the world, tons, tons, like, I'm, yeah, so we're glad to have you back past it.
2:01
[SPEAKER_02]: And, man, what's, I mean, I know there's some things to change with our setup here since you was last week.
2:07
[SPEAKER_02]: It looks beautiful.
2:08
[SPEAKER_02]: It's great.
2:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
2:10
[SPEAKER_02]: What's been happening, man, with you just kind of an overview type of a question of what's been happening with you with some highlights of your ministry since the last time.
2:21
[SPEAKER_01]: growth.
2:22
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, growth.
2:23
[SPEAKER_02]: That's a blast.
2:23
[SPEAKER_01]: That's that's about it.
2:24
[SPEAKER_01]: If I could sum up what's happening in the last.
2:27
[SPEAKER_01]: two, three years, it's just an explosion.
2:30
[SPEAKER_01]: We start out in January with a theme of expansion.
2:33
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's happened, like a build a new four year on the building, and it's just that.
2:37
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a place for community and welcoming and a place for people to gather after before during service.
2:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's just such a beautiful, we had local contractors donate their time and that's great.
2:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Labor and material, and 30, we've added 3,200 square feet.
2:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Glass three sides.
2:57
[SPEAKER_00]: It's beautiful.
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks, man.
2:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're so proud of it.
3:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's awesome.
3:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Great coffee and pastries and that.
3:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So the thing I like is that I have seen over the last year, two years.
3:11
[SPEAKER_01]: the community within our church has really just blossomed because when you get them a space they use it.
3:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
3:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And now we have a space for them together and talk.
3:23
[SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome.
3:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And families are we churches over and there's people still in the parking lot for hour.
3:29
[SPEAKER_01]: just hanging out.
3:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
3:30
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
3:30
[SPEAKER_02]: It's so cool.
3:31
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
3:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I had a pastor when I was growing up he said to me one time he said, one of the greatest tail tail signs of a growing healthy church is when people act like they don't want to leave.
3:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Yep.
3:42
[SPEAKER_02]: When they can't leave and they want to hang their linger.
3:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I agree.
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[SPEAKER_02]: Sign that your church is not even just growth, but it's healthy.
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[SPEAKER_02]: And that's the main thing.
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[SPEAKER_02]: That's the, that's awesome.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This episode of the Town Square podcast is brought to you by Luther Rice College in seminary.
3:56
[SPEAKER_00]: A community's well-being often reflects the spiritual health of its people.
4:00
[SPEAKER_00]: That's why a local Christian college like Luther Rice is a critical voice in our time and culture.
4:05
[SPEAKER_02]: You're absolutely right, Train.
4:06
[SPEAKER_02]: For me, this is more than just an ad-re, because I'm actually a Luther Rice alumnus.
4:11
[SPEAKER_02]: So my degree there helped prepare me not only for ministry, but also for engaging with the community and meaning for me.
4:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, same here.
4:18
[SPEAKER_00]: I trusted Luther Rice for my education too, and I can tell you firsthand they're committed to shaping leaders who impact the church, the marketplace, and the world.
4:26
[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely, so listen, whether you're high school student looking for a biblically-based dual enrollment option and adult learner wanting to deepen your biblical knowledge or a working professional looking for development to impact your workplace, Luther Rice is a trusted option for continuing your education for my Christian world view.
4:44
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4:54
[SPEAKER_00]: They have options for the entire community that are biblical, affordable, accredited and completely online.
5:00
[SPEAKER_02]: All right.
5:00
[SPEAKER_02]: So here's the call to action.
5:01
[SPEAKER_02]: Set your next step toward your calling visit looturice.edu to learn more again that's looturice.edu.
5:12
[SPEAKER_00]: When we were at East Ridge building the atrium on here, and I love a good atrium, right?
5:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, for all the reasons you just mentioned, but, you know, there were a lot of people just kind of watching the dollars and cents, making sure we kept it in the budget and all that stuff, and didn't really grasp, not just like the pragmatic part of it, this didn't grasp like what's about to happen in this room, until it's built, and then you walk in there for the first, like, do this.
5:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Can you tell us what it was like the first Sunday when you saw that thing filled with people hanging out drinking coffee talking to each other like what was it like got my heart heart was just like full I got a mask I mean it was better than Christmas morning in my opinion and it was just it was just full was loud
5:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm a loud guy, I'm just loud everywhere I go in the loud.
5:59
[SPEAKER_01]: In my house, like I wake up on a 10, right?
6:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
6:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was loud and it was laughter and my heart, I'm telling you, I was like a kid in Christmas.
6:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Just, wow, this is what it was about, just so much fun.
6:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And in the church world, we call it fellowship, right?
6:14
[SPEAKER_00]: But people have to get time.
6:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
6:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Enjoying being together.
6:16
[SPEAKER_02]: Connecting with each other and also, I mean, it's a lifeblood of a church.
6:19
[SPEAKER_02]: So that's awesome.
6:20
[SPEAKER_02]: That's awesome.
6:21
[SPEAKER_00]: I've known you for a long time.
6:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, I feel like it's been a long time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know we're kind of brothers.
6:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Co-laborers, we would say, in the ministry for our affairs grew up together.
6:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Great.
6:29
[SPEAKER_00]: It's way to get many years at least.
6:30
[SPEAKER_00]: It's all, and still, like,
6:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, yeah, they're going to go.
6:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they're going to go.
6:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they're going to go.
6:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they're going to go.
6:34
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, your twins are going to Georgia.
6:36
[SPEAKER_01]: My son's going to Georgia with move them in next weekend.
6:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, man.
6:39
[SPEAKER_00]: This is exactly the right way.
6:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Next Friday for us with time for Saturday.
6:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, that's right.
6:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
6:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Then we'll probably run into you.
6:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Listen, we're going to be right.
6:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Try war stories, man.
6:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Move in war stories.
6:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, that's going to be all.
6:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Just hand me some tissue because I'll be crying.
6:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure.
6:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm sure.
6:51
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm a baby.
6:52
[SPEAKER_02]: That's my boy right there.
6:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, indeed.
6:54
[SPEAKER_00]: I've known you for a long time, but not everybody that's going to within reach of this podcast now because it doesn't go out a lot for us, we anticipated it too.
7:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I've seen a look on the on Apple man.
7:05
[SPEAKER_01]: It was very cool.
7:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so proud of you guys.
7:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, we're having a good time.
7:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, tell people just who you are, like just who is just an Adam's apart from the pastor, like who are you, how do you get here?
7:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I've been in Covey to now for almost 30 years.
7:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Grow up with two great parents.
7:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Grow up around church, but, you know, knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus was two different than Jesus.
7:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, in my late teens early 20s, ended up becoming a drug addict.
7:33
[SPEAKER_01]: To be honest with you.
7:35
[SPEAKER_01]: and found Jesus on a January, this January coming will be 20 years.
7:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
7:40
[SPEAKER_01]: So found Jesus almost 20 years ago, he found me, everyone say it, right?
7:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And I've been sober ever since been serving the Lord living for the Lord's sold out for Jesus, like completely sold out for the last 20 years of my life.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And
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[SPEAKER_01]: just felt called a preach and started a church.
7:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And here we are, man, just crush and life because of his grace, his mercy.
8:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Mary, with two kids,
8:09
[SPEAKER_01]: best woman I've ever met in my life.
8:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I was saying, put that with you and probably the smartest person I ever known, right?
8:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:16
[SPEAKER_01]: But just got a passion for helping people find Jesus because I know what he did for me.
8:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
8:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And he just changed my life when nothing else would do it.
8:26
[SPEAKER_01]: He changed my life.
8:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I've spent the last 20 years just dedicated to that message that grace can change you.
8:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
8:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And so my, and to my last breath, I'll,
8:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll just share Jesus to everyone because without him nothing matters in my life.
8:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
8:41
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, you kind of touched on it a bit.
8:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to ask this question, um, you can fill a room with thousand people and probably get 999 different testimonies of how Jesus changed the person's life.
8:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Like for you, you say, hey, it's drug addict, it's that another, he changed it.
9:00
[SPEAKER_02]: How does that testimony?
9:03
[SPEAKER_02]: help you when it comes to just how you approach ministry, how you approach connecting people that you meet in the life of your church.
9:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I say this all the time that he'd done it for me, he can do it for you.
9:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
9:15
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's kind of like, you know, it's a faith right podcast series that you're starting.
9:22
[SPEAKER_01]: So what did Paul say?
9:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Chief, I'm chief of the centers, which I am among the chief of them.
9:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
9:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I feel like that.
9:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like I was the worst of the worst.
9:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I was the worst.
9:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I just, that was a bad dude, you know?
9:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So if he can do that for something like me, like there's nobody worse than I was in my opinion, right?
9:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to spend my life just telling people that Jesus can change your life like this authentic genuine real Jesus will change your life if you'll just surrender your will to him man he is he's just been so good to me.
9:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I could not count my blessings.
10:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I couldn't name everything that he brought me out of.
10:08
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I'll spend my last breath telling people about that message and they relate to that.
10:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
10:12
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what I was going to ask you know people relate to that.
10:15
[SPEAKER_01]: So I've never ran a recovery group, even though that's what I came out of, but like so when when I said Jesus, say my life, he's saying my marriage, so people relate to that.
10:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
10:27
[SPEAKER_01]: He's saying my parenting people relate to that.
10:29
[SPEAKER_01]: He did, he saved me out of drugs, alcohol, addiction, so people relate to that, but not on that.
10:36
[SPEAKER_01]: He saved me from death, like car wrecks, and also, it's a drill, a few car wrecks, right?
10:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I woke up in the Shepard Center one time.
10:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, wow.
10:47
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and so...
10:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I walked out of Sheper Center and the nurses lined the hall clapping.
10:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
10:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Because they don't have a lot of people walking out of the Sheper Center.
10:56
[SPEAKER_02]: That's crazy.
10:57
[SPEAKER_02]: You know.
10:57
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
10:58
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's that's the Lord because he knew this this moment was coming.
11:02
[SPEAKER_01]: He knew this was going to happen and he knew that I, you know, he was going to use me for his kingdom.
11:07
[SPEAKER_01]: He saved me from prison, multable, you know, they don't want to get in all that.
11:13
[SPEAKER_00]: The state's a little bit too dumb to show you as helpful whatever you've got to talk about.
11:16
[SPEAKER_01]: It came from the late 20 years ago, right?
11:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, right.
11:20
[SPEAKER_01]: And he saved me from all that.
11:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And I tell you, I'm very upfront with all that.
11:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I'm not a private person.
11:27
[SPEAKER_01]: I got him out there for the world to see.
11:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And people begin to go, wait a minute, he did that for that guy.
11:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, he can fix my depression.
11:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
11:35
[SPEAKER_01]: He did that for that guy.
11:36
[SPEAKER_01]: He can fix my anger.
11:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
11:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So when you measure your need next to mine or compare or whatever word you want to use, if he did it for that guy, maybe he can do it for me.
11:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
11:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Just make right.
11:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And then if they'll give him an opportunity, it's still just open the window.
11:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you'll break down the door of your heart, man, and you'll change your life.
11:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I should have anticipated to be preaching at the first time.
12:01
[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, what did you expect?
12:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I thought that was what you wanted.
12:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Exactly what we wanted.
12:05
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll double the other podcast.
12:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not running for anything.
12:07
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
12:08
[SPEAKER_01]: You just had all the candidates.
12:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.
12:10
[SPEAKER_02]: That's exactly what you hear.
12:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to be a candidate for Jesus.
12:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to.
12:15
[SPEAKER_01]: The candidates for Christ, baby.
12:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he has a podcast for all the candidates for the data centers and things like that.
12:20
[SPEAKER_01]: for trying or for not trying, but educating the public.
12:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, putting it out there letting people make their own decisions.
12:24
[SPEAKER_01]: That's very good.
12:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's what I do for Jesus.
12:25
[SPEAKER_01]: I just let him I present the evidence.
12:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
12:27
[SPEAKER_01]: We're getting ready to start a small group of the church called case for Christ.
12:29
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
12:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I just I taught the leaders and the leaders getting us we start that the in the August and the small groups are getting we start We're just presenting Jesus to people.
12:50
[SPEAKER_01]: That's also give them give him a chance give Jesus a chance.
12:53
[SPEAKER_02]: He'll change your life He promised you did you grow up in church and stray or did you Sure, yes, that's yeah, that's dead on yeah, I grew up in church dad mom very great parents They've been married.
13:04
[SPEAKER_01]: They celebrated their anniversary so it would be yesterday So days the fifth so August the fourth
13:10
[SPEAKER_01]: They celebrated 50, let's see, I'd be 47, 55 years of marriage.
13:17
[SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome.
13:18
[SPEAKER_00]: 54, 55 years of marriage.
13:20
[SPEAKER_00]: 54 years of marriage yesterday.
13:22
[SPEAKER_00]: That's amazing.
13:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And so they've been good to each other for 54 years.
13:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Been Christians for 50 years, I'd say, 47 years.
13:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Something like that.
13:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And...
13:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I knew, I knew, you know, I went to church as a rule, but, you know, high school.
13:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I got started wild enough and I got wilder and wilder.
13:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Sorry to laugh, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
14:02
[SPEAKER_01]: about my wife was about to leave me, about to take her.
14:04
[SPEAKER_01]: We had Charlie Girl, my daughter was one year's old.
14:07
[SPEAKER_01]: She was about to leave.
14:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Wow.
14:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Separate.
14:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I got an invite to go to church.
14:12
[SPEAKER_01]: I had tried jail.
14:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I tried jail.
14:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I tried rehab, I tried therapy, I tried counselors, I tried friends and none of that work, man.
14:23
[SPEAKER_01]: So I went to church one Sunday morning.
14:26
[SPEAKER_01]: gave my life to the Lord, dead sober since then.
14:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Like one encounter, one experience, one moment with Jesus.
14:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's crazy.
14:33
[SPEAKER_01]: No, like, well, we and myself up.
14:35
[SPEAKER_01]: No, and I, like I was high from the night before.
14:39
[SPEAKER_01]: In church, that morning had a bag of weed under the driver's seat car with my wife and kid in the car.
14:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Big dog, big bag of eyes.
14:47
[SPEAKER_01]: It is what it is, man.
14:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, wow.
14:49
[SPEAKER_00]: I know you're gonna post this for the world.
14:50
[SPEAKER_00]: See what I ain't nothing.
14:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't say from the state.
14:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I gave my life to the Lord, man, on the way to work Monday morning, I threw the weed out the window through what we all my gangster rap CDs.
15:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Man, I was a huge, two-pot big fan of him and then I did.
15:05
[SPEAKER_01]: It was, two-a-was.
15:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
15:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Man, I just been, like, sober, loving the Lord.
15:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And I mean, I mean, sold out, like, you know me, even know me.
15:14
[SPEAKER_01]: If I wanted to, you don't know me any other way.
15:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't.
15:17
[SPEAKER_01]: other than being just on a 10 for Jesus.
15:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I would assume then you were a 10 for the world every yeah, because I feel like that's your that's who I am.
15:27
[SPEAKER_01]: That's my personality.
15:28
[SPEAKER_00]: You've gone all in for Jesus.
15:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, this is where you're at.
15:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, I don't do anything halfway.
15:32
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
15:33
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
15:34
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
15:34
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not in me.
15:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
15:36
[SPEAKER_01]: If you want to if you want to build something race,
15:40
[SPEAKER_01]: whatever, Mario Kart.
15:42
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going all in, you better.
15:44
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm in the years back.
15:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to show it.
15:47
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'll get there soon, man.
15:49
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I'm talking about.
15:50
[SPEAKER_01]: No, but that's that's that's the story and a little nice.
15:52
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
15:53
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that it's refreshing first of all.
15:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for sharing it, but it's refreshing to hear pastors.
15:59
[SPEAKER_00]: tell their struggle still there, you know, not just their past, but even the current struggles and know that something that you still will do from the pulpit.
16:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I hear you, you know, I tune in, and you do see me coming.
16:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Text me, tell me, and I get message.
16:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
16:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, I think that's refreshing for people.
16:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I think people want to hear and see that.
16:16
[SPEAKER_00]: No, no, I've watched you preach
16:17
[SPEAKER_00]: same thing.
16:18
[SPEAKER_00]: You are as real as it gets.
16:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Listen, my philosophy has been for years, transparency is a ministry, and you don't bleed on people in healthily, but I think we're at this place and for me it's personal because I grew up in a church culture where the pastors and preachers would say.
16:37
[SPEAKER_02]: Basically, don't let them see you sweat, don't show that side, don't this don't that.
16:41
[SPEAKER_02]: And I get that there's a time in a place where you kind of have to present that more polished version of yourself.
16:50
[SPEAKER_02]: However, in my experience is 20, some years passed and 30, almost 30 years preaching.
16:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm looking and I'm like, man, people want to know
17:00
[SPEAKER_02]: How does this Jesus stuff work in real time?
17:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Like, it's one thing for you to be able to stand up and with the books that you got from seminary and you studies and all that, you be able to say, this, this, this, but what happened actually in your life?
17:14
[SPEAKER_02]: So that if I can see myself in your story, then I can say, all right, yeah, I'd be like, if he did it for me, you know, if he did it for him, he'd be doing for me, you know?
17:24
[SPEAKER_02]: So I love it, the transparency's ministry's always been my thing.
17:28
[SPEAKER_02]: And so,
17:29
[SPEAKER_02]: It is refreshing.
17:30
[SPEAKER_02]: I agree with you because there's still some, you know, still folks that shy away from that.
17:35
[SPEAKER_02]: But I think that's that when we're being real and honest, that's when we're at our best to try to help people really understand how to come to Grace.
17:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
17:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, so I'm a, I'm a.
17:45
[SPEAKER_00]: fan of the tagline.
17:46
[SPEAKER_00]: You guys use.
17:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if it's still like part of your your lingo, but you'd say you're rooted in the word, but led by the spirit, rooted in the word, led by the spirit.
17:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So I like I love a good Bible preacher, Bible teacher.
17:58
[SPEAKER_00]: I watch the phone line to try to learn more.
18:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
18:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, but so what do you mean though when you say like rooted in the word?
18:06
[SPEAKER_01]: But sure.
18:07
[SPEAKER_01]: They had by the spirit.
18:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
18:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, if you ask me, uh, rooted in the word means that
18:14
[SPEAKER_01]: We start everything in our church is centered around the Word of God.
18:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
18:19
[SPEAKER_01]: From the songs to the prayers.
18:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Like we start the message with scripture, we have a very Bible-based church.
18:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So you don't have to just howling about whatever you hear in the name of God.
18:30
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no, no.
18:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not just up her howling about my testimony either.
18:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Right.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Right.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Right.
18:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Right.
18:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Which is the thing with God.
18:37
[SPEAKER_02]: But it's not the whole thing.
18:39
[SPEAKER_02]: It can be.
18:39
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, right.
18:40
[SPEAKER_01]: It's trying to be grounded in the words.
18:44
[SPEAKER_01]: We just finished, and it's, I don't think it's embarrassing, but we just finished two years.
18:50
[SPEAKER_01]: We spent two years, Wednesday nights, 7 p.m., 81 11 brown bread bread bread.
18:57
[SPEAKER_01]: 81 11 brown bread bread bread bread.
18:58
[SPEAKER_01]: So, but we spent two years in the book of John.
19:02
[SPEAKER_01]: First by verse, chapter by chapter, spent two years studying in all Wednesday morning.
19:11
[SPEAKER_01]: starting what this will be.
19:12
[SPEAKER_01]: So tonight, I got church tonight.
19:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So nine weeks ago, I started a series in Revelation.
19:19
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, the revelation of Jesus.
19:21
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
19:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we are, I have, I am finishing chapter one tonight.
19:26
[SPEAKER_01]: We have nine weeks ago, nine weeks.
19:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So tonight is ninth, the ninth sermon from the first chapter of Revelation.
19:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Because we did a, we did a, what is
19:36
[SPEAKER_01]: a survey.
19:37
[SPEAKER_01]: That's it.
19:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
19:38
[SPEAKER_01]: What book of the Bible everybody wants to know, it was a book revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
19:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, and then I did another survey.
19:46
[SPEAKER_01]: What book does preachers don't want to preach?
19:48
[SPEAKER_01]: The revelation of Jesus Christ.
19:49
[SPEAKER_02]: That one is all I'm literally heard preachers say, don't pray.
19:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Don't pray for you.
19:56
[SPEAKER_01]: They literally, and we're serious about controversial, right?
19:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I was like, you know what?
20:01
[SPEAKER_01]: That's I love a challenge.
20:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Like that's just who I am.
20:05
[SPEAKER_01]: I love a challenge and so how decided to take it on and man It's been it's been fun.
20:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
20:11
[SPEAKER_01]: It's it's been challenging for me.
20:12
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kept me busier than what I wanted it to be Because I didn't realize how yeah, like just even chapter one like the description of Jesus Yeah, what does the eyes of fire mean like you let Bible interpret Bible?
20:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So you got to go back to Daniel in his EQ and I say
20:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And so man, I am just I'm loving it because it's fresh for me this right my 15th year passed during the church So there's not much I haven't preached right so to this is refreshing to me the people are digging it Mmm, they're loving it.
20:42
[SPEAKER_01]: That's all and I'm just I'm proud of it.
20:45
[SPEAKER_00]: It's how 21 chapters 22 chapters.
20:47
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, yeah, really Only two I think yeah
20:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And yet commentaries are like this big, right?
20:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, and that's just one guy.
20:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Just the category of the show in the chapter is just it's just trying to unpack all of that and make it make sense because it's also one of the most
21:02
[SPEAKER_02]: I think missing interpreted books of the Bible, missing understood books of the Bible, almost I would almost say weaponized because so many people with their conspiracy theories and all these things, a lot of them run to the book of Revelation to try to undergird it.
21:19
[SPEAKER_02]: So, it's, I love the fact that, you know, you're saying, hey, we're going to take time to treat it expository, verse by verse, line upon line, to get your understanding.
21:31
[SPEAKER_02]: And my teaching is not a dogmatic word.
21:34
[SPEAKER_01]: My view it has to be.
21:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, right.
21:36
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
21:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I try to present several different theories based on what could, you know, like the timeline.
21:45
[SPEAKER_01]: the thousand years, the antichrist, rapture, post, mid-trib, and all that.
21:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And I just give them, you know, this is where these theologians say, where these scholars say it comes from.
21:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And you make your own judgment.
22:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm not scared to tell them what I have.
22:03
[SPEAKER_01]: My opinion, right?
22:05
[SPEAKER_01]: But I guess the only real non-negotiable is that it's Jesus.
22:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
22:10
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the revelation of Jesus Christ.
22:12
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the name of the book.
22:13
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the revelation of Jesus Christ.
22:14
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what I try to admit to encourage Christians and persecution.
22:18
[SPEAKER_01]: And get them peace during some of the hearts of the life.
22:22
[SPEAKER_00]: that's the high level stuff, but I end look at theologians and pastors and saints of old have people who are I believe are probably all in heaven right now have all disagree on all the different parts of it.
22:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So vehemently disagree.
22:35
[SPEAKER_02]: He did times.
22:36
[SPEAKER_00]: How dare we say I got to figure that.
22:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you the secret sauce.
22:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
22:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, one question I have for you, and I don't know that I've ever asked you this, like even offline.
22:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if I've ever asked you this, if someone were to go to a new life price center, we probably haven't said that enough.
22:50
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a new life price center, 81, 11, Brownbird, 81, 11, Brownbird Road, the old solid rock.
22:56
[SPEAKER_00]: That's right, building people were familiar with that.
23:00
[SPEAKER_00]: What the what the nomination are you guys like?
23:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you have a denominator?
23:04
[SPEAKER_00]: We do not have a denomination.
23:06
[SPEAKER_00]: We are a non-denominational church.
23:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
23:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
23:08
[SPEAKER_01]: That means that we don't belong to an organization.
23:11
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't belong to any.
23:14
[SPEAKER_01]: We're not affiliated with any organization.
23:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
23:17
[SPEAKER_01]: lonely then it can't it can be but I'm man so I've had great friends like tray Bailey you know what I mean that I remember Scott's just been almost so it'd be 12 years ago right like I maybe 10 years ago said that poured into us letting us borrow church bands and
23:37
[SPEAKER_01]: friends like Gary Thompson life now yeah shout out I'd lunch with him yesterday friends friends like anyway some churches in the area that have really just helped us and got it us and and let me pick their brains from time to time so it can get lonely to that but it's not because you know
24:01
[SPEAKER_01]: people like me for some reason, but I love people, so that's why, you know, maybe that's probably it.
24:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So it does get lonely, but we're just a non-anominational church believing that God's the Word of God is the infallible in air at Word of God, teaching that Jesus is the Son of God, He is the incarnate, He is God in flesh, that He died, rose and
24:22
[SPEAKER_01]: or Dodd-Berry was rose and that through faith in him and his grace, you can be saved.
24:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think that's about every denomination though.
24:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, in a strong belief in the Holy Spirit.
24:33
[SPEAKER_00]: So there's a trinity right, trinity beliefs, I guess, there.
24:36
[SPEAKER_01]: God reveals himself.
24:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
24:38
[SPEAKER_01]: How he decides to do it.
24:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
24:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
24:40
[SPEAKER_01]: And so God revealed himself as Father in creation.
24:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
24:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Son and redemption spirit in his sanctification.
24:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
24:46
[SPEAKER_01]: There is one Lord, one God, one faith, one baptism.
24:49
[SPEAKER_01]: He can reveal himself how he wants to.
24:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
24:53
[SPEAKER_00]: So no, like, close, like, if or somewhere to go, all right, this feels like what is a nomination.
24:57
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying to pigeon hold you out.
24:59
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah.
24:59
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to let you.
25:01
[SPEAKER_01]: That was the reason we're not in all the nation.
25:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
25:04
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, that was actually going to be my question.
25:08
[SPEAKER_02]: Like what went into the mind of saying, hey, this is how I want to build this.
25:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, our church is not even called a church.
25:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
25:18
[UNKNOWN]: Hmm.
25:19
[SPEAKER_01]: It's called New Life Praise Center.
25:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
25:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
25:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I've kept it.
25:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
25:23
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
25:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, there's meaning in those parts of the community.
25:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And that was the whole reason I did it.
25:27
[SPEAKER_01]: I did, you know, when we started the church, I didn't want it to be called a church.
25:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, because people get, they've been church hurt.
25:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, they got on believe in church hurt because nobody's ever been restaurant heard or GM heard or whatever and they stopped going to have a restaurant because that restaurant anyways.
25:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's just an excuse, that's another podcast for another time.
25:46
[SPEAKER_01]: That is hilarious.
25:47
[SPEAKER_00]: But, GM heard.
25:48
[SPEAKER_02]: He sounds like he sounds like he sounds like my bishop and that, you know, we've had discussions about that.
25:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I just didn't want it to be called a church.
25:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So we just cut it on the where praise center and it's a place where you can come and praise the Lord because of the new life that he's given you Okay, new life praise center.
26:03
[SPEAKER_00]: That's good stuff.
26:04
[SPEAKER_00]: That's good stuff.
26:04
[SPEAKER_00]: That's good stuff.
26:06
[SPEAKER_00]: This episode is brought to you by Busy Bee exterminators.
26:10
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26:12
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26:14
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26:20
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26:26
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26:34
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26:45
[SPEAKER_00]: That's Busybeeaz-Z-Z-Y- Busybeeexterminators.com.
26:50
[SPEAKER_00]: A huge thanks to Busybee for sponsoring this episode.
26:55
[SPEAKER_00]: within, what's the setting one he looked like then?
26:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure, so we have two services on Sunday, nine and 11 a.m.
27:03
[SPEAKER_01]: So when you walk into, you park the car.
27:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully somebody is holding a sign, greeting you and waving at you, telling you, welcome home or welcome to the family or we're glad you're here.
27:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And then hopefully somebody's parking, help when you find a parking spot.
27:17
[SPEAKER_01]: And then somebody opens the door for you and you walk into our brand new four years, I love it.
27:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And now you get some coffee, check in at the desk,
27:25
[SPEAKER_01]: connect desk and see, you know, where you check your kids in, where do you, what's going on, and they'll fill you in, but their signs everywhere for you to kind of figure it out for yourself.
27:35
[SPEAKER_01]: You walk in and then there's a five minute countdown starts, five minutes before 9 or 11, and then there is some amazing worship, very contemporary songs.
27:47
[SPEAKER_01]: very current songs.
27:49
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of loud.
27:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to be.
27:52
[SPEAKER_01]: We've spent everything's on to end.
27:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
27:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Like we have invested not just money, but time and effort and research on our worship experience.
28:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
28:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And when I say experience, you can call it a concert.
28:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Some people do.
28:08
[SPEAKER_01]: We get criticized that it looks like a concert.
28:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And I go, it is.
28:12
[SPEAKER_01]: We have an audience of one right right right we are putting on it is a spirit of excellence for an audience of one Yeah, I like that.
28:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I know you know what I get it, you know Yeah, if you want your podcast to go a little bit more viral can be a little bit more So long you know you get criticized if you spend too much money or too much time or too much effort in certain things, right?
28:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, Judas criticized the woman with the oil because she put too much effort in worshiping the Lord.
28:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And so he didn't really care about the poor, he didn't care about none of that.
28:50
[SPEAKER_01]: He was, we spent a lot of time effort money in worshiping the Lord.
28:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying you can't worship the Lord with a tambourine.
28:59
[SPEAKER_01]: and an average speaker, but if you want to do it well, man, let's do it well.
29:05
[SPEAKER_01]: He deserves our very best.
29:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we cut the grass with the best lawnmower, right?
29:10
[SPEAKER_01]: So why not worship music with the best?
29:14
[SPEAKER_01]: You want the best AC?
29:16
[SPEAKER_01]: You want to be cool?
29:16
[SPEAKER_01]: I do.
29:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Especially now.
29:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's give God our very best.
29:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So we worship anywhere from two to four or five songs, however long, I don't plan that anymore.
29:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Praise the Lord.
29:28
[SPEAKER_01]: We have people do all of that.
29:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And then then it transitions into me and you get a 20 minute to 30, 40 minute message based on the Bible with another song at the end of it, kind of an invitation to accept the Lord or to
29:47
[SPEAKER_01]: ask the Lord for more help or a prayer from people that have been trained to pray with you at the altar or at your seat or just somewhere wherever you raise your hand, you know.
29:57
[SPEAKER_00]: And then that's kind of a rundown of a service.
30:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
30:00
[SPEAKER_00]: So you'll do it.
30:02
[SPEAKER_00]: You take communion or lower supper periodically or every Sunday and I forget.
30:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, once a month, once a month, I think it's the first Sunday of the month or second Sunday, depending on holidays and different things, you know, so it's on Sunday more than, okay, and we used to do it only on Wednesday, but then we noticed that.
30:22
[SPEAKER_01]: the church was just so growing and there is actually, if you ask me, there's probably like three churches within our church.
30:31
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a Wednesday night church and then Sunday nine a.m. church or Sunday 11 a.m. so we had to start doing it on Sunday because the Wednesday and Sunday crowd does overlap some, but we're finding now that a lot of people are working on Sundays and Wednesday night is the only time they can't come to church.
30:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So we'll probably have to start doing communion on Wednesday night as well.
30:50
[SPEAKER_01]: The first Wednesday stuff like that.
30:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Who commune you in service?
30:53
[SPEAKER_02]: That's a good thing.
30:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I think so too.
30:56
[SPEAKER_02]: I think so too.
30:57
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, when you when you start talking about, you know, growth and different things of that nature and and you you mentioned you started off talking about.
31:06
[SPEAKER_02]: That was the word you wrote, explosive expansion, and that's every, you know, pastor, I think every pastor, every church member wants to see that in one's way, shape or form.
31:17
[SPEAKER_02]: And so when you see it, it's like, oh, wow, it's awesome.
31:20
[SPEAKER_02]: What's the flip side of it?
31:21
[SPEAKER_02]: What's the other side of it?
31:23
[SPEAKER_02]: The challenge side of it?
31:24
[SPEAKER_02]: If you will, that may be
31:27
[SPEAKER_02]: If you were sitting with a pastor in a mentorship stand, capacity, and he's like, pastor Justin, my church is just growing, growing, growing, you know, what can I expect out of this growth?
31:40
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, how would you kind of talk about the challenging side of that?
31:43
[SPEAKER_02]: Because I feel like a lot of times we were romanticized the big numbers and all of that, which is great, you know,
31:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so they talked about that question wasn't in the notes you gave me.
31:58
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
32:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't this this big church.
32:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
32:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so currently we run close to a thousand people in person every Sunday.
32:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
32:23
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
32:23
[SPEAKER_01]: That's that's that's a significant number and I don't want interrupt you, but tell them when Wednesday night.
32:28
[SPEAKER_00]: Like this is what surprises me.
32:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
32:29
[SPEAKER_01]: There's almost 500 people.
32:31
[SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome.
32:31
[SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome.
32:32
[SPEAKER_02]: That's awesome.
32:33
[SPEAKER_02]: That's awesome.
32:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And then that's everybody that's, you know, that's and like you don't raise parents here.
32:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're pregnant, we count you twice.
32:41
[SPEAKER_01]: There you go.
32:42
[SPEAKER_01]: There you go.
32:44
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
32:44
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a running joke.
32:45
[SPEAKER_01]: You should not be big.
32:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
32:47
[SPEAKER_01]: So we started church 15 years ago.
32:48
[SPEAKER_01]: There was like eight people.
32:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Twenty people came.
32:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Just kept growing.
32:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Keep growing.
32:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Keep growing.
32:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So now this big of a church.
32:59
[SPEAKER_01]: What would I tell a pastor saying, what can I expect as the church grows?
33:03
[SPEAKER_01]: So I would expect.
33:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I would tell that person to expect.
33:12
[SPEAKER_01]: a lot of effort.
33:13
[SPEAKER_01]: That's good to get prepared for.
33:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
33:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
33:17
[SPEAKER_01]: You need to prepare for what you want.
33:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't prepare for what you have.
33:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
33:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
33:23
[SPEAKER_01]: That's so I can remember when we were running maybe 50 to 100 people.
33:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And I said, we need a student center.
33:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So when the teenagers come, they have their own place.
33:36
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we started to remodel in a little.
33:39
[SPEAKER_01]: So they, and then all of a sudden, they were five, 10, 20, 30.
33:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
33:43
[SPEAKER_01]: So what, what is it to fill the dreams?
33:46
[SPEAKER_01]: When he says, you have to build it, they will come.
33:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And now we're showing our age.
33:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, no.
33:51
[SPEAKER_01]: So let's see, a number one, I would say, expect the effort to build.
33:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you,
33:58
[SPEAKER_01]: if you want your church to grow, you better be healthy personally.
34:02
[SPEAKER_01]: That's good.
34:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Spearously, you better be ready to put in the work.
34:08
[SPEAKER_01]: That's good.
34:08
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, what's the joke?
34:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, you work one day a week.
34:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:16
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what they think.
34:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So my work day would be 80 hour work day then.
34:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
34:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So there you go.
34:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Just be ready for the work.
34:23
[SPEAKER_01]: Be ready to do the work.
34:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Not that volunteers can help you.
34:28
[SPEAKER_01]: They will help run.
34:31
[SPEAKER_01]: But at the end of the day, they have to volunteer.
34:33
[SPEAKER_01]: They're not there.
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And so some of those tool, some of those sheet rock holes, some of those lights, some of those tool-paper hangers, have to be hung by the guy who also is in the words.
34:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So get ready for the long nights, long days.
34:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you ain't in it for that, stop.
34:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
34:51
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're not willing to do the little things, then you're never going to be given the big things.
34:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
35:02
[SPEAKER_01]: never forget the grace that you were given so you can get others.
35:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Let the God of all comfort comfort you so you may be a comfort to others.
35:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Let the God let the grace that you were given always be the grace that you give others.
35:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Because people are messy.
35:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, Lord.
35:25
[SPEAKER_01]: to help other broken people, but now you've got to, you've got to be able to help those and understand that not everybody's going to experience what the hell I did, right?
35:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Not everybody's going to get Jesus on a Sunday morning and then instantly be changed, right?
35:41
[SPEAKER_02]: Sold out from date from that day, not everybody gets that experience.
35:45
[SPEAKER_01]: It's congressional for some people.
35:47
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'll tell you this, and I use this story on a platform from time to time, and I love this story.
35:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I grew up,
35:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I grew up in the hills of West Virginia.
35:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if you can hear it in the accent.
35:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I've been trying to lose it, but it won't go anywhere.
36:00
[SPEAKER_01]: It's still there.
36:01
[SPEAKER_01]: No, whatever.
36:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So we had two trees, two apple trees, little green apple trees.
36:06
[SPEAKER_01]: One tree would always bloom every year, produce fruit every year, just nice, sour apples.
36:13
[SPEAKER_01]: hanging branches hanging over beautiful tree, but there was one that would only produce one or two, three or four, maybe a handful every year, then when you're producing a lot, then the next three or four years is one or two.
36:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Daddy never cut the tree down.
36:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Just because it didn't produce as much as the other.
36:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
36:30
[SPEAKER_01]: Some people just produce really fast, really quick and thank God for those people.
36:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But don't discount or disqualify or disvalue the people that don't produce as much as the other one does.
36:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
36:40
[SPEAKER_01]: They're still doing some good.
36:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
36:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
36:44
[SPEAKER_02]: That's good.
36:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's what I would expect.
36:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Just to expect for some messy, grace, broken, but also, man, there's some joy that comes with it.
36:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
36:55
[SPEAKER_01]: And don't let
36:58
[SPEAKER_01]: 20% of your problems occupy 80% of your mind.
37:03
[SPEAKER_01]: You are a bumper sticker machine over there.
37:05
[SPEAKER_02]: But I mean, this, that's real.
37:06
[SPEAKER_02]: It's for a minute, man.
37:07
[SPEAKER_02]: That's real, huh?
37:08
[SPEAKER_02]: That's real.
37:09
[SPEAKER_02]: It's for a minute.
37:10
[SPEAKER_02]: That's real.
37:11
[SPEAKER_00]: So what you're describing to our people.
37:14
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think this is what is sometimes lost in a home folks when they think about a big church is that you have
37:21
[SPEAKER_00]: people all over the map as far as their journeys, right?
37:25
[SPEAKER_00]: They're brand new Christians.
37:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Some people have been Christians for 50 years or whatever.
37:28
[SPEAKER_00]: And so they're all in different places.
37:30
[SPEAKER_00]: And you've got to preach to all of them at one time, right?
37:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Like you still got to feed the baby Christian and you've got to feed the mature Christian, right?
37:37
[SPEAKER_00]: And you've got to encourage them to be self-feeters too, right?
37:40
[SPEAKER_00]: You've got to have challenging Bible studies on Wednesday, night and other things for them.
37:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
37:46
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you, how do you juggle that part of it?
37:50
[SPEAKER_00]: where, you know, you have some seasoned Christians, obviously, I mean, you know, you're that's one of the deacons elders, whatever you guys call it, right?
37:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the church leader board members and so you've got people who've really been in it in the trenches for a long time.
38:02
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you maybe utilize that group of people?
38:04
[SPEAKER_00]: And then what do you do for the young Christians who were just brand new in there and they're trying to find their way?
38:10
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, the guys who are still stumbling every other weekend, right?
38:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'm, I got to say, but I still can't quite get all that.
38:14
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't quite get that thing out of me yet or whatever.
38:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure, sure, sure.
38:17
[SPEAKER_00]: How do you handle both of those how do I appreciate them is that what you're just how do I if you're helping Disciple them right like we use that word a lot teach them disciple them train them up in the ways of Christ And about how do you take those two different people and then everybody in between okay?
38:32
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a giant question.
38:33
[SPEAKER_00]: So sure.
38:33
[SPEAKER_00]: God.
38:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't
38:35
[SPEAKER_01]: One day I did a survey in the church I was preaching and and I'm I'm a very hands-on very in like particular class or a crowd participation.
38:46
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
38:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Come back to me.
38:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
38:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I did just I like one day I did a survey and this I don't
38:57
[SPEAKER_01]: that did not have running water in their house.
39:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
39:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, all right.
39:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Now just think about this for a minute.
39:04
[SPEAKER_01]: There was, let's say 20% of the people, which I didn't remember, they remembered not having running water in their house.
39:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
39:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Or remember having an outhouse.
39:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
39:16
[SPEAKER_01]: That's, you know, you're just talking about a 70-year-old people, right?
39:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Exactly.
39:20
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not that long ago that outhouse is exist, yeah.
39:23
[SPEAKER_01]: This is true.
39:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
39:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I said, all right.
39:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, how many in here never remember not having an internet connection in your home?
39:30
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no, no, no.
39:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not 20% of all right.
39:33
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
39:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Here we go.
39:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I said, now my job is to preach to both generation and ever.
39:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I said, how many remember having three channels?
39:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
39:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to tell you.
39:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I remember that.
39:42
[SPEAKER_01]: Said, how many remember the party line?
39:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, sir.
39:44
[SPEAKER_01]: On the phone.
39:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
39:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I said, how many remember having a cell phone never, never, never,
39:50
[SPEAKER_01]: worried about having a cell phone on there.
39:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
39:52
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a bit right.
39:53
[SPEAKER_01]: How many remember a pager?
39:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
39:55
[SPEAKER_01]: How many don't even know what a pager is right?
39:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So you've got all these people.
39:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I said, now, that's what the Christian life is for a lot of people.
40:02
[SPEAKER_01]: You have a lot of a variety of people.
40:04
[SPEAKER_01]: You have people in different walks of life.
40:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So how do we minister to these people, right?
40:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I compared it to that.
40:10
[SPEAKER_01]: I said to those that remember never having a cell or always having a cell phone, you probably need to link up with somebody that remembers a party line and let that person help you navigate life together.
40:23
[SPEAKER_01]: And so if you want my opinion, how do we get these people?
40:27
[SPEAKER_01]: How do we help everyone grow?
40:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Keep growing is.
40:32
[SPEAKER_01]: If you are mature Christian, then you need to be training Christians.
40:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
40:36
[SPEAKER_02]: That's good.
40:37
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
40:37
[SPEAKER_02]: That's really good.
40:38
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're an immature Christian, then you need to be around mature Christians.
40:41
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's not necessarily a program type thing.
40:43
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, this is just who we are.
40:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, this is what we learned.
40:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
40:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
40:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
40:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Now we do have sure.
40:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I would I would call it indirect programs and systems available.
40:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
40:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So.
40:57
[SPEAKER_01]: We have serving teams, life teams, meaning that we have a young adult group, we have a core group that is 30 to 59 and we have a senior age group where they're 16 older and they meet once a month, each group of them meet once a month together, their own age.
41:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Then so you find community people going through the same things that you do, right, then we have small groups and we do those six to 12 weeks twice a year So you're thinking anywhere from 12 to 24 weeks a year you get in a group and in that group You're going to have indirect right disciples.
41:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's right which is intentional from my point of view as the leader.
41:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I am
41:40
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a system, but it'll happen naturally, because I'm going to link up, me and my wife are going to link up with somebody that's only been married for a couple years during that small group and kind of teach them role model that, you know, then we have serving teams.
41:56
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you decide that this is your home church,
42:00
[SPEAKER_01]: then you join a serving team, anywhere from parking to kids to youth, to singing to avial production, cleaning, there's a whole bunch of, they all know a better and I do, I need to bring my wife with me, she gets hit and so you get involved in those teams.
42:19
[SPEAKER_01]: and indirectly from those teams, you're going to find that 40-year-old Chris, the 40, somebody who's been serving Christ for 40 years, is going to still be parking cars or still going to be teaching or still going to be volunteering.
42:33
[SPEAKER_01]: That's just what we do as mature a Christian, we're still going to be serving.
42:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And we teach our older mature, I say older, but mature a Christian is what I should say, our veteran Christians to look
42:45
[SPEAKER_01]: and find those younger Christians.
42:46
[SPEAKER_01]: You can get them connected.
42:49
[SPEAKER_01]: We have every three months.
42:52
[SPEAKER_01]: We teach a faith.
42:53
[SPEAKER_01]: It's called faith grounded.
42:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's like a new believers class.
42:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
42:58
[SPEAKER_01]: So every three months we have a new believers class.
43:00
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a three week class.
43:01
[SPEAKER_01]: where you could come in, it's very basic.
43:03
[SPEAKER_01]: What is the Bible?
43:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Who is Jesus?
43:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
43:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Who is God?
43:07
[SPEAKER_00]: What is the Holy Spirit?
43:08
[SPEAKER_00]: So we have all these classes.
43:10
[SPEAKER_00]: So someone does come in on Sunday morning and has the experience that you had.
43:13
[SPEAKER_00]: And like, hey, I've got saved or whatever the language is.
43:16
[SPEAKER_00]: You're like, you have a place for them to go and kind of learn the basics.
43:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And immediately.
43:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, that's great.
43:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, immediately.
43:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Very cool.
43:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Immediately.
43:23
[SPEAKER_01]: We can get you connected.
43:25
[SPEAKER_01]: If I could say anything, I would like to have that class offered every week.
43:29
[SPEAKER_01]: every Monday night, right?
43:31
[SPEAKER_01]: But volunteers, you know, in time and it is what it is.
43:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And then even, you know, we get a lot of people that come in our church from all different backgrounds, all different denominations.
43:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So we have a class called Next Steps,
43:46
[SPEAKER_01]: that's where you find out about our church.
43:47
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't have church membership.
43:49
[SPEAKER_01]: It's no offense to any pastors out there watching.
43:52
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's a praise center.
43:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but I can't find church membership in the Bible.
43:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Right, right.
43:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Nobody joined the church.
43:57
[SPEAKER_01]: You just went to the church because you lived in Ephesus.
44:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
44:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
44:01
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, if you want to know more about this church to make it your home church, then we have what's called a next step's class.
44:08
[SPEAKER_01]: We do that about every three months as well.
44:10
[SPEAKER_01]: where you can I come to the class and I start to class off with Q&A.
44:15
[SPEAKER_01]: I give the history of the church and then you get to ask especially just any question whatsoever.
44:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I bet you get some good ones.
44:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
44:22
[SPEAKER_00]: It's my favorite.
44:24
[SPEAKER_01]: my favorite class I would imagine man they keep me on my toes you know because they ask about gifts of the spirit or gifts of the spirit fruit of the spirit what doctrines we believe while we baptize when we do communion some of these questions that they only get answered if they attend for two or three months but when I'm there they get to ask everything and it's cool man it's fun
44:45
[SPEAKER_00]: So the old baptize babies or do you baptize it?
44:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so you do not have to say they have to believe in somebody that can express what baptism means.
44:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, absolutely.
44:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't have an age limit, but I'll just use an eight-year-old.
44:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's what's second grade.
44:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll just use an eight-year-old.
45:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's what's second grade.
45:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Second grade.
45:05
[SPEAKER_01]: That, that that, what we have found is at that level is that cognitive, as the word I'm looking for, the understanding of things is really changing at that moment and if they can explain that baptism means that I am buried with Christ and as Christ was buried in the grave and he rose, I am buried with Him in water baptism and I rise out of the water and creation of Christ.
45:27
[SPEAKER_01]: If they can kind of explain that to us what it means, then we will say yes.
45:32
[SPEAKER_01]: If they say, if they don't know what it means, and they just seen their cousin do it, we go, well, I tell you what, you're close, and we coach them through it.
45:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Our pastors tell the parents how to teach them, even I think we even have curriculum.
45:46
[SPEAKER_01]: We print all forms, so they can teach them at home.
45:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
45:48
[SPEAKER_01]: And then after a couple of weeks, the parent will bring it back to the past here and say, hey, I think they're ready.
45:53
[SPEAKER_01]: Would you like to answer and ask them questions?
45:55
[SPEAKER_01]: That's good.
45:56
[SPEAKER_01]: But no, we don't do babies because they cannot profess faith.
45:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
46:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And so that makes sense.
46:02
[SPEAKER_02]: You know, you alluded to this a bit where you talked about, um, you'll have you all get folks from all walks of life diverse, the nomination will believe all kinds of lifestyles, probably everything.
46:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Um, and then as a part of your mission, you say, hey,
46:19
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody's welcome.
46:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Now a lot of churches say that.
46:24
[SPEAKER_02]: How do y'all go about like what does that actually look like for your church?
46:29
[SPEAKER_02]: Because obviously you have things that you believe you have things that you stand on others may come they may come with different you know life styles different thoughts different things.
46:38
[SPEAKER_02]: How does that?
46:39
[SPEAKER_02]: How do you, I guess, I don't even want to use a word like a simulator or anything, but like how how does that play out for your folks when you're when your mission is met with those diverse that diversity.
46:50
[SPEAKER_02]: So you, that's our bread and butter.
46:51
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
46:54
[SPEAKER_01]: Everyone's welcome.
46:56
[SPEAKER_01]: That's on our website.
46:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It's on our social media platforms on our everyone.
47:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything we do is everyone's welcome And unwritten after that says everyone's welcome and we mean it.
47:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay now when I say everyone's welcome
47:12
[SPEAKER_01]: That means everyone is welcome to walk through the doors, a new live praise center, sit down in our church and listen to the word, listen along with the songs.
47:22
[SPEAKER_01]: We've got the words on the wall for you, if you don't know, whether you're an atheist, whether you're
47:28
[SPEAKER_01]: 40-year veteran Christian or anything in between that.
47:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Culture, class, creed, race, sexuality, whatever, whoever you are welcome in our church.
47:43
[SPEAKER_01]: That's one of the reasons we don't have church membership.
47:46
[SPEAKER_00]: So you don't have to have it together to come to your church.
47:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Gosh, no.
47:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Then I wouldn't be able to come.
47:53
[SPEAKER_01]: So, but no matter your background, you know, you're welcome on our church and I guarantee somebody's going to love you, somebody's going to be kind to you, somebody's going to welcome you, somebody will say hello to you, offer you their seat and it's, it's a beautiful thing and I say it.
48:17
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a cultural thing.
48:19
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the culture of our churches, everyone's welcome, because everyone can have that Sunday morning experience that I had 20 years ago.
48:28
[SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of the foundations that you're looking for that.
48:30
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm looking for that.
48:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like it's if somebody is like, if any pastor is watching, like, if you have somebody you don't want to throw to your church, send it to us.
48:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
48:56
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't, I don't have to agree with who you married for you to come to church.
48:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to agree with what you call yourself.
49:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Just come to church.
49:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
49:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
49:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Because like what, what did he say, he's a cast your net on the other side.
49:11
[SPEAKER_01]: They told one of the disciples, cast your net on the other side.
49:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And they hauled in the fish and they brought the fish up.
49:20
[SPEAKER_00]: That's all we're.
49:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
49:22
[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't go out.
49:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Not that one.
49:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Not the cash.
49:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
49:25
[SPEAKER_00]: Not the bad.
49:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Not the bread.
49:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
49:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Put the bird.
49:28
[SPEAKER_00]: You're not the sun fish.
49:29
[SPEAKER_00]: You don't want to.
49:30
[SPEAKER_00]: He said.
49:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Cast your net.
49:31
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
49:32
[SPEAKER_00]: If I remember right, the nets were almost breaking.
49:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
49:34
[SPEAKER_00]: There's so many fish.
49:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But if we, if we, if we, when, if they would have brought the net in and then they would have started throwing out some of the fish they didn't want as they came to the surface, the nets wouldn't have broke.
49:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
49:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's, I'm telling you man, it works.
49:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, with everyone's welcome and we mean it, you get everyone's problems and everyone's messiness.
49:56
[SPEAKER_01]: This will be prepared for that.
49:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
49:58
[SPEAKER_01]: But that's okay.
49:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's what Jesus does best.
50:01
[SPEAKER_01]: He cleans fish.
50:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
50:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
50:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
50:04
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's funny.
50:05
[SPEAKER_00]: I've been, uh, I like his church.
50:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you ever, if you ever thought to see like the spectrum of different folks, right, and I'm not trying to,
50:14
[SPEAKER_00]: put people in categories, but you can have the guy in the three-piece suit and you got the guy in the new life, biker jacket, like the leather jacket, they're just like the beard and just got the, you know, bandana, it just pulled up as Harley and it is like, you know, it is every and everything in between.
50:31
[SPEAKER_00]: If that's the two extremes, like everything in between.
50:34
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there is white black, yellow, brown, it doesn't matter.
50:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I ride motorcycle with them.
50:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
50:40
[SPEAKER_01]: road with a group a couple of the guys last night right before around yesterday evening after dinner just took an hour and rode together and you know that everyone's welcome mainly mean it that's good stuff it's it's been fun it's because I was welcomed I was the drug addict who got invited to a holiness pin a costal church
51:06
[SPEAKER_01]: I was there, God.
51:07
[SPEAKER_01]: They got welcomed.
51:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I still bloodshot from the night before, but they welcomed me.
51:12
[SPEAKER_01]: They let me sit.
51:14
[SPEAKER_01]: They didn't judge me.
51:15
[SPEAKER_01]: They just preached.
51:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And the power God moved in my life that day.
51:19
[SPEAKER_01]: But if I wouldn't have been welcomed at the door,
51:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, a lot of that you're talking about being welcomed serving others in the church where we'll call that like being being the hands and feet of Jesus like actually being Jesus in the flesh to someone actually serving them as Jesus would.
51:35
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you what some some of the ways maybe you guys participate in the community I know you're you've you've adopted several schools or partners in education with several schools you you guys.
51:45
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even know all of what that entails, but I know you guys are.
51:49
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, plugged in that way, maybe you have some members that are active in the community that we might have seen around like what's happening outside of the walls of the church.
51:57
[SPEAKER_00]: You've talked a lot about what's happening in some of the side.
52:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I do know that the biggest one of the biggest areas that we that we pour into is the partners in education.
52:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
52:11
[SPEAKER_01]: So I try to tell our church folks all the time that.
52:14
[SPEAKER_01]: the church is designed to prepare you to go out.
52:19
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
52:19
[SPEAKER_01]: It's good.
52:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
52:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And I kind of learned it from you.
52:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what you're talking about.
52:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you, you were mentored me at one time.
52:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love I love
52:57
[SPEAKER_01]: you are getting prepared.
52:59
[SPEAKER_01]: This is the basic training for the war.
53:03
[SPEAKER_01]: This is where you get your equipment.
53:05
[SPEAKER_01]: This is where you get your armor.
53:07
[SPEAKER_01]: This is where you get the sword of the spirit.
53:09
[SPEAKER_01]: This is all this is where you get it.
53:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Now go out and let's win some souls.
53:13
[SPEAKER_01]: The war is outside the four walls.
53:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we're the hands and feet.
53:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So I know personally at our church that we serve with anywhere from four to ten public schools any given year.
53:29
[SPEAKER_01]: We were partner education one year.
53:31
[SPEAKER_00]: The part of the education, the whole thing, 150 partners in education, new life pressure was the number one that has been several years ago.
53:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think we would win it again, but I don't think you can win more than once.
53:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's pretty good, that's pretty good, that's pretty good.
53:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we've partnered with several schools and that could be simply, I know, for can we say the schools online and what we do for those, I don't know,
53:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Porterdale in elementary school, they have a, I don't know, I'm going to say it wrong, and I love the principle.
54:06
[SPEAKER_01]: They're like a clothing closet and hygiene closet, but it's not a closet.
54:10
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just a classroom that's empty with toiletries and and clothes, right?
54:18
[SPEAKER_01]: I think they steal where uniforms at Porterdale in elementary school.
54:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't remember, I should probably know that.
54:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know either, but we buy clothes
54:29
[SPEAKER_01]: At Cousins Middle School, I actually, for the last two or three years, I have taught a Bible study to the teachers before school starts.
54:40
[SPEAKER_01]: They were before school starts, I knew.
54:42
[SPEAKER_01]: We didn't make sure we put that in a different place.
54:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Right?
54:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Because that was part of their culture, sure.
54:47
[SPEAKER_01]: The principles were challenged to help create a culture, and they had some options.
54:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And as long as it was before school,
54:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it was legal, pretty sure.
54:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And so they invited me to come in.
54:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I taught a Bible study.
54:58
[SPEAKER_01]: They loved it.
54:59
[SPEAKER_01]: That was awesome.
55:00
[SPEAKER_01]: So we do that.
55:01
[SPEAKER_01]: We purchase gift cards for teacher attendance.
55:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And then so I was a school teacher.
55:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I was a school teacher for 11 years.
55:14
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what my bachelor's degrees in.
55:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And study says that teacher attendance
55:22
[SPEAKER_01]: promotes student performance, right?
55:24
[SPEAKER_01]: So if the teachers in the classroom, the majority of the time students will perform.
55:27
[SPEAKER_01]: So what we do is when testing gets ready to happen like an April, March, we'll give the principles and gift cards.
55:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And so whatever teacher does it miss a day of school that month gets entered into a contest to win $50, $100, $500 gift card, whatever.
55:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It's significant amount of money.
55:47
[SPEAKER_01]: So we love our schools, I think.
55:51
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I just love them.
55:54
[SPEAKER_01]: And so that's something local.
55:57
[SPEAKER_01]: We do support several different recovery ministries, addiction ministries.
56:02
[SPEAKER_01]: We've had a couple of them meeting in our church.
56:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Actually three, we've had three meeting in our church.
56:07
[SPEAKER_01]: recently.
56:08
[SPEAKER_01]: We give, uh, we collect food for local food banks and then take it to them.
56:16
[SPEAKER_01]: We, um, our life groups, such as our age groups, like if you're a young adult group, or our core group middle age and then seniors, they have outreach days instead of just meeting and
56:29
[SPEAKER_01]: eating and fellowship, they'll have an active community to serve.
56:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
56:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So shout out to Lakeside Food Pantry.
56:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if y'all've ever heard of Lakeside Food Pantry down on 36.
56:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Towards the edge down in Buds County, New County line.
56:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's where that's at.
56:44
[SPEAKER_01]: But they go down there and help restock the shelves and prepare the boxes to give out.
56:49
[SPEAKER_01]: And we did it at the Methodist Church has won.
56:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
56:52
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't remember the name of that one.
56:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you MCs?
56:55
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember always the if anyone.
56:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
56:57
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, so our our our our our members are helping our our helping our helping hands.
57:02
[SPEAKER_01]: They're helping to do those things.
57:04
[SPEAKER_01]: So, and then we recently I'm so proud of this.
57:08
[SPEAKER_01]: We have recently.
57:10
[SPEAKER_01]: started partnering and sending missionaries to Honduras help Jimmy and then so we actually now have a Not full-time position, but we actually have a head missionary now.
57:26
[SPEAKER_01]: He is leading his first missionotry Wow, that's great man's taken two other people with him
57:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, and the church has paid for.
57:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, damn to go.
57:37
[SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
57:38
[SPEAKER_01]: And they go, and either what it could be food, it could be dentistry, health care, or teaching, or building, whatever week they go, and that whatever that week's happening down there is that's what they'll go into.
57:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
57:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And they're just helping out there.
57:52
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm really excited that we get to do that for them.
57:54
[SPEAKER_00]: That's awesome.
57:56
[SPEAKER_00]: He love it, man.
57:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I love it.
57:57
[SPEAKER_00]: I love it.
57:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Somebody told me one time said, if you church building wasn't there, and you left with the community issue.
58:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And I say, yeah, I think they would miss it.
58:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Based on what you said, I think they would go, oh, remember when new life used to do that?
58:12
[SPEAKER_02]: So we wrap up with a good question here.
58:17
[SPEAKER_02]: What do you feel like, you know, or what do you think God is saying to you in terms of, hey, here's where we go next.
58:25
[SPEAKER_02]: Here's our next front tier, you know, praise God for everything.
58:29
[SPEAKER_02]: It has happened, praise God for everything.
58:31
[SPEAKER_02]: It's happening, but here's our next front tier.
58:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
58:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
58:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
58:41
[SPEAKER_01]: It's okay that you know this.
58:42
[SPEAKER_01]: I do know this.
58:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I want, I want whatever God has for us.
58:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
58:47
[SPEAKER_01]: So when we started the church, I was driving around.
58:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I've seen a storefront that was empty, knocked on the door.
58:59
[SPEAKER_01]: and ask the person in the building who end up owning the building, what are you doing with this room, told him what I wanted to do in it?
59:07
[SPEAKER_01]: And he said, well, let me ask our business partner and see what I didn't want for rent and what did never end signed and have a lease sign or, you know, any rent it does?
59:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
59:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Then we saved some money, bought the building on Shore Street on Stoneout Street, shout out St. Paul, AME.
59:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I will always love that group of people, Pastor.
59:29
[SPEAKER_01]: I think his last name was Stovol at the time.
59:32
[SPEAKER_01]: No, Stigol.
59:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, sorry.
59:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Stigol, I apologize.
59:35
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's some family out there somewhere.
59:37
[SPEAKER_01]: So Pastor Stigol, I think he's went on to become...
59:40
[SPEAKER_01]: some big wig in the AME church.
59:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So I love him, but so we bought that one.
59:46
[SPEAKER_01]: They were building another one down on Salem Road that area, but it wasn't for sale or for rent.
59:52
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, so we stayed there for seven and a half years and then the church building that we're currently at didn't have a for sale sign or rent sign or anything on it.
1:00:01
[SPEAKER_01]: So now I get a phone call you want a buy building.
1:00:04
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:00:05
[SPEAKER_00]: All right.
1:00:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's do it.
1:00:07
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:00:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I remember calling.
1:00:09
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
1:00:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I remember taking you on a tour before we did.
1:00:11
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't even think we signed.
1:00:12
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if we had signed the.
1:00:13
[SPEAKER_00]: We looked at it first.
1:00:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:00:15
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't remember.
1:00:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know what God has next, whether it's multiple campuses, whether it's a bigger I just want what he has for us.
1:00:28
[SPEAKER_01]: And so my prayer isn't simply for new life to become bigger or bigger church.
1:00:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I just want us to stay healthy.
1:00:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I want us to we call it and you probably both of you, if you don't
1:00:40
[SPEAKER_01]: You need to study this, but we want people to become parents in the Disciple world, not adults.
1:00:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Not adults.
1:00:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Parents reproduce.
1:00:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
1:00:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
1:00:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to give her just a discipleship.
1:00:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I like that.
1:00:53
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
1:00:54
[SPEAKER_01]: We want you to go from newborn to toddler to young adult to parent, parents reproduce.
1:01:00
[SPEAKER_01]: And we want them to reproduce disciples of Jesus Christ.
1:01:03
[SPEAKER_01]: That's good.
1:01:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Because if you want your community better,
1:01:08
[SPEAKER_01]: be a disciple of Jesus.
1:01:10
[SPEAKER_01]: If we want crime to reduce, be a disciple of Jesus.
1:01:14
[SPEAKER_01]: If we want fatherless homes to reduce, be a disciple of Jesus.
1:01:18
[SPEAKER_01]: If we want marriages to be successful, be a disciple of Jesus.
1:01:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I want people reflecting him in their lives.
1:01:26
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's how it does it.
1:01:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So the vision, I guess the next would be to strengthen families, raise up leaders, reach the next generation, leave a legacy for the next generation, build beyond ourselves.
1:01:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
1:01:43
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what I see.
1:01:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know what it's going to look like.
1:01:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Uh, that's kind of the fun of it though, man.
1:01:49
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
1:01:49
[SPEAKER_02]: I'll just think how God nets the pieces together.
1:01:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
1:01:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I remember starting, you know, with two services, going to two services.
1:01:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Big deal.
1:01:59
[SPEAKER_01]: It was huge.
1:02:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:02:00
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, how are we going to do this?
1:02:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:02:02
[SPEAKER_01]: And so we started an analog service.
1:02:07
[SPEAKER_01]: 50 people show them.
1:02:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:02:09
[SPEAKER_01]: We got 300 to 11 o'clock.
1:02:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm 50 people come to the most of them came to the 11 clock too.
1:02:16
[SPEAKER_01]: And we did this for a year.
1:02:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:02:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was going to stop it.
1:02:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I was going to go work.
1:02:22
[SPEAKER_01]: So we and then God would tell me not to stop it.
1:02:25
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
1:02:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Six months later, I was going to stop it.
1:02:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't stop it.
1:02:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And now, our Sunday morning, 9 a.m. service is pretty crowded.
1:02:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:02:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's beautiful.
1:02:36
[SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, and his ways are not my ways.
1:02:39
[SPEAKER_01]: This is true.
1:02:40
[SPEAKER_01]: And so I'm just trying to hang on at the end of the day, I just want people to find hope, healing, and community, and find Jesus.
1:02:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And what if that looks like if it's several campuses, if it's a third service, fourth service, if it's multiple nights a week,
1:02:56
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, if they have found Jesus, I think we've accomplished a mission, I want to help people be saved.
1:03:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I want them to experience Jesus and counter Jesus, live with Jesus, walk with Jesus, let him change their lives.
1:03:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Because he didn't mind.
1:03:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:03:09
[SPEAKER_00]: I love it.
1:03:09
[SPEAKER_01]: You have powerful testimony.
1:03:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:03:12
[SPEAKER_00]: And God be the glory.
1:03:13
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
1:03:13
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a God.
1:03:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Be the glory.
1:03:14
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's one of the, like, thank you for what you do for a community.
1:03:18
[SPEAKER_01]: You're making it.
1:03:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Not all.
1:03:20
[SPEAKER_00]: The Lord is making it different through you and through your congregation.
1:03:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
1:03:23
[SPEAKER_00]: It's hard to miss.
1:03:24
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's part to miss the work of new life presence.
1:03:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for noticing, right?
1:03:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's it's truly I have no idea why I was born for this.
1:03:33
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like there's no doubt in my mind that the Lord
1:03:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Designed me for this and I get to do it.
1:03:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I love it.
1:03:47
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the hardest job I've ever had.
1:03:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I worked with more hours than I ever.
1:03:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I was a school teacher.
1:03:51
[SPEAKER_01]: I had summers off.
1:03:54
[SPEAKER_01]: That was amazing.
1:03:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Those things are married to a teacher, man.
1:03:57
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what?
1:03:58
[SPEAKER_01]: This is like your jealous of her when she is off work.
1:04:01
[SPEAKER_00]: I know, yeah.
1:04:02
[SPEAKER_01]: So, so this is the long I put in more hours.
1:04:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I cry more tears because you get invested in people and then something happens to them and they leave you or they move away or you know somebody gets mad at least the church you can't stop those things from happening.
1:04:21
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd love to do four podcasts with y'all and just direct it to all the pastors that watch and let them talk about the pain they go through so people can see that pastors are real people.
1:04:31
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm actually not a bad idea.
1:04:33
[SPEAKER_01]: And even charge you for that.
1:04:35
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a free.
1:04:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate that.
1:04:37
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a free.
1:04:38
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a free.
1:04:39
[SPEAKER_01]: But I love what I do.
1:04:39
[SPEAKER_01]: I get to do it.
1:04:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I get to see Jesus change people.
1:04:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
1:04:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I get to see him save marriages.
1:04:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I get to see him.
1:04:52
[SPEAKER_01]: free addicts, you know, I get to see this happen.
1:04:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm a small little part of it.
1:05:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, you know, at the end of the day, it's not about a building or multiple campuses or
1:05:09
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just it's about the people that get to find Jesus and so I don't know.
1:05:13
[SPEAKER_00]: That's great, man.
1:05:14
[SPEAKER_00]: We'll look for those people looking for a church and this is what we say in a really and everyone of these episodes in faith in community we're saying you just don't know to you go.
1:05:22
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
1:05:22
[SPEAKER_00]: We can try to explain it.
1:05:24
[SPEAKER_00]: You got experience it.
1:05:26
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't explain it.
1:05:26
[SPEAKER_00]: You got experience it.
1:05:27
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you're looking for a church then check out new life praise centers.
1:05:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Come on, let's 80-1-11.
1:05:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Brown Bridge Road and Pastor Justin will wave to you when you come in along with all the other folks, but Thank you for being here.
1:05:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
1:05:42
[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for having me.
1:05:44
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel honored to be, I guess, I think this is, I'm the first one of your faith in Unity and community series.
1:05:50
[SPEAKER_01]: I see Father.
1:05:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they'll be a few that have they'll flow out before like we didn't always go out right after this Okay, I'm not I'm honored even be asked to be this one Right, I mean I'm in our heart I love that I get to help.
1:06:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, thank you for being here appreciate it.
1:06:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, all right.
1:06:11
[SPEAKER_01]: See you guys