Comfort Is Killing Your Calling | POP Podcast Ep. 2

Well, hello, friend. You are here to the most fun podcast you've ever listened to or watched. Start over. Start over. Start over. Start over. Start over. Start over. Where did it go? That was good. Start over. Start over. 5, 4, 3, 2. And my name is Michael, and we are excited about the conversation we are about to have today. Let's redo it one more time. Progression. Pop, pop time. Progression is the key. Perfection is overrated. What I've learned is you can't label your discomfort too quick. Yikes. Because if you label it too quick, we just make it bad. And what people don't understand is discomfort is usually the tool that God uses to develop. Bought a Land Rover with probably negative 400 credit score, and then it broke down on me. And I'm doing all of this stuff for an image of perfection. I wish I could say I didn't have the same testimony, but I do. All right.

That's a wrap for episode two. We're trying. We're trying. Well, hello, and welcome to the Progression Over Perfection podcast. It's Pop, and it's episode two. My name is Charles. Let's go. And my name is Michael, and we are here to let you know that life is about going forward. And this podcast is to help leaders. It's to help individuals. It's to help single moms. It's to help athletes understand that the life that God desires for you to live comes with you having to make steps forward no matter what comes. Progression is the key because perfection is overrated. Overrated. And we're here to help you by sharing from our real stories and our real life and what God's doing in us today. And this is a different platform for us that we just wanted to come as friends, as pastors, as leaders. Be humble, open, and transparent. And let people know that literally perfection is expensive. But progression is free. You can start with a step today. There you go, man. That was great.

Hey, that felt good. That was great. Bro, this is our second time doing it. You nailed that. Let's hear it real quick. Let's go, baby. Well, hey, listen. It's episode two, and we are here. We're excited. And when we're jumping in, make sure you do all the things. Like, subscribe, share. Send this to somebody you know right now. But we're jumping in today, and we're talking about comfort versus calling. Uh-oh. One of the biggest showdowns, the biggest fight is about to happen. But I think all of us, we all, the starting idea is we've all got a call. God has asked all of us to do something, regardless of. So, Charles, before you go to the deep thing, what's the wildest call you've ever gotten? Ooh. Like, just like, if we're going to talk about calls, like, what is like, somebody called you, you picked up the phone, and was like, is such-and-such talking to me right now? Like, what's the wildest call you've ever gotten? There are two things that went through my head. There was one, I got a call.

With the first call, which I went super emotional, was when Abby called me and said, we are having a baby. Like, it was, I was up here with you in a meeting. And Abby was like, I am like, and I was like, OK, got to go. So that call. And then, I can't say the person's name, but a very influential person, I got a text message. It said, this is so-and-so. I'm about to call you. And I was like, I showed it to Abby. I was like, bro, they is tripping. And I answer the phone, they're like, hey, Charles, this is so-and-so. I was like, oh, my god. So yeah, I think having a baby. And then, I don't know how that brother got my number, but shout out to God. Shout out to God. Yeah, I think the wildest call that I've gotten, I'm going to protect the person's identity. But somebody called me that knew I was in the town, and was like, hey, I would like to meet with you before you leave. And I was like, uh, how did you even know I was here? Like, I don't even, you know what I'm saying? And let's just say we had to drive out to a compound. Ah, that call. You know what I'm talking about. I know this call. And to go to the compound, I had to miss my Delta flight,

and they ended up flying me home on a plane. That is crazy. I know this call. I haven't received that call yet. That call. Hold on, hold on. Hold on. Hello. That call was crazy, because it was a call not about any of the things. The conversation I had with that person, that person told me I was one of one. They really, I mean, they're in a whole different field. Don't even know what God is doing. And through our conversation, God used that person to really encourage me. So that was a wild call. And then the call I got, let me tell a funny story. 10 months of insanity when me and Natalie were not together. The infamous 10 months of insanity. We were not together. I should have obeyed God. And I started talking to some other girls. And Natalie called me, because she saw me at a Christmas play with the other. the girl. And she said it's either me or her. And that call right there, I'm gonna have to have her come up here and tell that story. But that call right there, brother, shook my core. And I'm telling you, that call, since then, I straightened up and flew right. You made your choice. I flew, I made my choice, it's been made, huh? I flew right.

Bro, our Abby found, you know, Abby is the most, the term is granola, which is like you have all these weird things that we do in our house. Our kids don't watch real TV. But anyways, we, she found like a, there's a new company, it's called Tin Can, but they make, this is not an ad, so we're not sponsored, but Tin Can, shout out. But shout out, Tin Can. But shout out, we'll take it. But it's like a home phone. It's like a home phone that runs off Wi-Fi. So we have a Metcalf Kids home phone. Okay. And I get random calls all day long. From your kids. From my kids. It's just on the little, it just says Metcalf Kids, but Blue doesn't know how to work it, so she'll call, and she'll be like, hello? And I'll be like, yes, Blue. She'll go, dad, yes, I can't see you, because she knows FaceTime. Because she thinks FaceTime. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's crazy. But I get calls, I just, I'm not, just 30 missed calls a day. Just from your kids. From Metcalf home phone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's really a cool segue, because back in the day, we're both old enough to remember not having cell phones. So when I think about a call, a call was like a big deal in the house. It was like a thing. Like, you could be in your house, somebody could be in one room, somebody could be outside, somebody, and depending on the type of phone you had, that thing went off. It was like a central meeting, because I think everybody thought they were special. Everybody thought the call was for them. And knowing that we didn't have no business, and it was not something that was already designated to one person. The call would come, and we had to find out who the call was for. Very good. And I just think about this topic we're about to talk about today, like the call of God

versus our comfort. Like, the first thing that you gotta think about when you get a call is, is the call for you. That's so good. And I think about, for me, and for you, and for so many people that are watching this, God has put a specific call just for you. Like, it's not a call that is tailored and literally for anybody else. Like, if anybody else answered, they're gonna say, could you still put Charles on the phone? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, that was the beautiful thing. Anybody that calls my phone, right now my cell phone, they're calling for me. Yes, yeah. But back then, when there was a call, the person had to identify who the call was for. That's good. And I believe that's how God still identifies callings. They're personal. They're intentional. They're for a specific person. Now, I know y'all all have the same last name, but I'm looking specifically for this person. And I think that's beautiful, because the call being unique to you and how God wired you and made you is a special thing. But the thing that fights it, you said it earlier, a showdown, it comes from the comfort that we want to experience and the calling that God's calling us to. So, today's podcast is about to be fire. It's about to be fire. I just thought of the real-life Bible version of the illustration you just gave with the phone, is when the prophet shows up and he says, yo, I'm looking for one of your sons. And the dad brings out all 12 of his sons, and he's like, it's not this one, it's not this one. He's like, I got one more. And it was David. David was out in the field. And that's the encouraging part, is your call will find you. It'll find you. And that's the thing, I think, I spend a lot of time trying to run from my call. Sometimes people feel overwhelmed, like, how am I going to know? What am I going to do? And I just

think the story of our God is a God who will chase you down, and that call will find you. So, yeah, today's conversation is going to be beautiful. But this idea, calling versus comfort. I mean, when you hear that, first of all, I think it's important to acknowledge that comfort is a natural human desire that we all have that isn't innately bad. But it's what our comfort starts costing us is when it becomes a problem. Well, comfort will always cost you. Like, let me be very clear with anybody that's watching this. If you aspire to do anything great for God, it's going to cost you a level of comfort that he doesn't promise to give back in the same way you lost it. So, a lot of people want anonymity when God's called them to do something great. A lot of people don't want nobody to talk to them when their whole job is to help people. Like, a lot of people want the opposite, which I just came to let somebody know that beginning to live comfortably uncomfortable is the way to get comfortable. Like, there's no place in my life that everything feels like, whew, no stretch, no strain, no pull, no adjustment. I now get scared when I feel that because that either means God has moved from that place and he's somewhere else or I have disobeyed him. him to the point where I do not feel growth anymore. That's so good. Because you could say that comfort and growth can't coexist. Yep. There is nothing that is growing that is fully comfortable. Yep. That means that if you desire to grow or this podcast, Progress, which is another synonym for grow or progress, you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable because what's on the other side of the discomfort is something that is a part of your destiny and somebody else's destiny. Absolutely. And so for me, bro, this took me a while to get.

Yeah. Because I like being comfortable. Absolutely. I mean, if we can be honest like, okay, what are your three like just, let's go like just things that make you comfortable in life. Like just three things that make you comfortable. First thing, man, this is a- We'll go back and forth. Okay, okay. You give one and I'll give one. My first one, this is wild, man. This is wild. If I go home and I'm like, ah, I just wanna, I'm just comfortable, I will get a, like the cheap cinnamon rolls, like just a roll, cook all six of them, eat all six of them. All six, Charles? Absolutely, bro. Where does it go? Because you've got 2% body fat. If I eat six rolls, you'll see it right here. It'll all be right here tomorrow. Bro, that is legit. That's crazy. Like I always have just a can of cinnamon rolls stashed in the back of the fridge. That makes you feel comfortable. Oh my gosh. Okay, so the first one will be food for me too.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. Comfort food is cookies and cream blue bell ice cream. I haven't had it in six months, brother. But I promise you on spring break or whenever my kid's next vacation is, I'm going to have some ice cream. But it just, I don't know, it's just a fat kid in me that just, no, I'm not even playing. You was never even a fat kid. Yes, I was. I got pictures to prove it, brother. I just knew how to wear 2X and 3X before. You knew how to style it. I knew how to style that mug, you hear what I'm saying? But I promise you, it was rolling under. You had rolls that you ate. I had rolls on my stomach. Do you hear what I'm saying? God has delivered me and transformed me since then. But blue bell ice cream comfort, okay? Second comfort thing, what just makes you comfortable? Comfortable, what makes me comfortable? And in the chat right now, I need you to put what makes you comfortable. Do not leave me and Charles out here by ourselves. This is the progression over, this is the progression over perfection podcast and we're going to be honest, okay? So pop off in the comments real quick.

I think the next thing that makes me comfortable, what would it be? Oh my gosh. I think to me, it's music. Okay, I like it. It's immediately, and I know you, but to me, I need the, our house, we got the speakers on those things in our house and it's just music on all the time. And so for me, when I walk in, I have to adjust the music to your mood. The mood. So this morning I had this old jazz album go, just blaring in the house. The kids left and Abby went to take them on a little field trip thing before I had to come in. So yeah, it's the music. Like if I can get the music set right, the right volume, that gets me. The comfort for me is water. Oh, I like, I don't care. You know that's not the case for me, brother. No, I know, I know. But for me, it's any type of water. It's the pool, the shower, the jacuzzi, and it's got to be hot. Like I'm talking about, you know how, like you gotta, what? Like you gotta adjust in that mug. I don't know what it is I have to have,

like I feel comfortable like in hot water. That is crazy. I don't know, it just, it soothes me, the steam, the calm, the jacuzzi, anything. That's, it makes me feel comfortable. One more. Dang, comfort, my last one would just be a cup of coffee, man. Yeah, that's my heart. That's, I know. I love, the first time we ever met, I was like, let's go to a coffee shop. And you were like, absolutely. And literally like the first four or five times we hung out, I had no idea, like, this guy hates coffee, he's never drank coffee in his life. Never drank coffee, but I want to relationship with you. And that's how much I knew you loved me. Yes, so. So I appreciate that. I mean, a cup of coffee every single morning, or just if I'm just bored, I just get a cup of coffee, you know, for no reason. I got you, I got you. Comfort, my last one would be, and this is new over the last two years, a weighted blanket. Ooh, a weighted blanket. A weighted blanket will. That'll save my life.

Brother, that mug will soup you up. Like, knocked out. That's the truth, man. And MJ started using a weighted blanket, and one day I just got up under that mug, I said, Jesus. I'm like, it was powerful. That's true, man. But I think about that, what happens in our life when we don't have those things? Like, and we're being superficial about the things, but I think about, there are certain comforts like our cell phone, certain comforts like a certain group of friends, or things done a certain way. What happens to you when those comforts are not how you would have them? And I think a lot of people get so uncomfortable that they can't show up for their calling. And this fight is the fight of humanity. It's like, how do I show up and do what God's called me to do as a leader, as a person, as a friend? as a parent, as a pastor. And this is so uncomfortable right now. And today we just wanna give you some practical handles to be able to figure out like, that is okay to be uncomfortable and it's okay to still do what God's called you to do. Because that is the best place

for God to develop something in you that was not there before. I cannot tell you, I have never been developed like I have in uncomfortable seasons. When you allow God to do the work in you in uncomfortable seasons, it changes, number one, your ability to deal with discomfort, pain, frustration, strain, but it makes you appreciate those moments too. Charles, what were some of the forming moments that felt uncomfortable in the moment, but they turned out to be some of your most formidable years like God used that to make you who you are today? That's so good. I think I grew, there's two things that came to mind. One was growing up playing sports, I was always super small, like tiny. I'm not big now. So I'm not, I'm not, yeah. You're not huge now, brother, but. Well, I'm talking about freshman year of high school. I was, hadn't hit five foot yet. Like I was tiny. I remember, and meaning that like being, I think I always had this sense, like I was fast and I knew I was good, but I was just so much smaller than everybody that being in a position of being a running back or wide receiver, I always felt pressed in like, oh gosh, and it was in a football form,

but I think I always felt that way on the inside. Like, I'm good, I have some natural stuff, but like, am I big enough to do this? Like, do I have what it takes? And the other one that comes to mind is there was a season, my first job in ministry, the leader that I had, we were just exact opposite personalities and what then I looked back on as one of the most pressure and difficult and felt misunderstood and all the things, it really shaped me as a leader. It taught me so much about learning yourself. It taught me so much about strategy and systems and I think sometimes, what I've learned is you can't label your discomfort too quick. Yikes. Cause if you label it too quick, we just make it bad. Come on, that season was bad. This relationship was bad or that job was bad and everything that bad, it is bad, could also be said was just uncomfortable and everything that was uncomfortable is also could be said that it's an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to learn. So when I, I think that's something that when I look back on my past, whether it was sports, just being smaller, everybody that gave me this chip on my shoulder and underdog and all these things that I had to work out

and then also even when I stepped into ministry, feeling like, I don't know if I fit in or do I dress the part or do I look the part? I think being able to take like, okay, this isn't bad, this isn't wrong, what can I learn from this has really shaped a lot about my life. What about you? Man, I think about, I told in the first episode, I've been playing drums since I was two and from two to 11, I was just naturally good. Like, I was just like, sit down, amaze people and then like walk off and be like, yeah, give me some fruit snacks. Like, you know what I'm saying? Only accept payment in Pop-Tarts. Yeah, like it was like, what are you doing? But what ended up happening is my dad saw that for me to actually be excellent, I needed a teacher and he went up to our minister of music at the time at Higher Dimensions, David Smith, and he asked him, do you know anybody that gives good drum lessons? And he would give Michael drum lessons and he told him about this guy named Arthur Thompson. So my dad was like, you're getting into drum lessons. I was like, I don't need no drum lessons, I'm 11. Talking about, I don't need no drum lessons, boy. I was like, I don't need no drum lessons. And he was like, you're getting into lessons and thank God for my father who saw what I did not see

and didn't take my bravado as serious. He knew what I needed, I needed a teacher. And so I go and we go to the basement of this building downtown Tulsa and this guy has drums everywhere. I mean, African drums, Latino drum. From all over the world and huge drums. I was like in heaven and he was like, sit down, let me see what you can do. And boy. I know you acted a fool. Boy, I gave that man the works. I think my hands literally were smoking by the end of it. I hit everything 7,000 times. I was going crazy. And at the end of that, he was like, yeah. He didn't really have no response. And that was the first time I was like, hold on. You was expecting him to, yeah, yeah. He don't know. And what happened was he came back and he said, hey, I'm gonna take the drum set away from you for six months and I'm gonna give you this pillow. and you're gonna learn how to play drums fundamentally. And you're gonna learn rudiments. And when I tell you at 12 years old, I thought my dad sent me to a torture chamber every week. Oh my gosh. Because it literally took away what I was comfortable with and gave me a pillow.

And he was taking me back to the basics. And he was trying to show me that you have to be a student again. Even though you're great, like you gotta be a student again. And I was on a pillow for six months. My dad was paying him every week. And I was trying to convince my dad, this doesn't make no sense. I can do this at home. I don't have to do this. You don't have to pay him. Don't you want to be a better person with your money? This is a waste of your money. Like I'm doing all this to my dad. Like what are you talking about? And those rudiments, left, left, right, right, right, right, left, left, paradiddle, paradiddle, paradiddle, paradiddle. Six months later, he put me back on the drum set without showing me anything. And the level of fluidity and the things that I could do because he took me through a season of being discomfort. He was trying to develop me. And what people don't understand is discomfort is usually the tool that God uses to develop. He puts you in something that is not naturally comfortable so that one, you can rely on him.

Two, you can find out something about yourself. And three, that you can experience something that will give you teachability to somebody else later. Yeah, that's good. And I have literally since 12 years old used that example as one of the huge shifting moments of me not looking at discomfort as a bad thing. It just needed to go through the whole process. That's why I had to progress. But he knew to progress, I was going to have to come to another level of discomfort. And brother, it changed my life forever. I ended up, the guy he played for, Wayman Tisdale, which is an Oklahoma hero, he was his drummer. I ended up taking his spot and playing for Wayman Tisdale in high school. Did the NBA All-Star game, did all of these different things because he took me through a season of discomfort. That's so good. And so, yeah, man. That's incredible. It's so crazy, but that's what came to my head. Well, when I think about we all, again, there's a sense of like call and this grandness that we're all kind of feel drawn to. And usually that has like a picture, like, oh, I'm going to do this thing and this is what I'm going to be in.

And it's easy to look at that thing. But I think your ability to reach that picture or that call is really a question of how uncomfortable are you willing to be for how long when nobody's looking? Oh, the practical thing I think about right now, my side quest is cycling. So this is going to be my first full year. There's races on the calendar that I've committed to. I want to win and all these things. But any cyclist will tell you the way you win races in June is, I can tell you if you're going to win in June if I look at your November to February, because that's when it's cold outside. It's when it's freezing outside. It's when nobody wants to ride their bike. It's fun to ride your bike in April because it's sun outside and it's beautiful and the temperatures, but it is, will you be uncomfortable when it's, you have to be sitting on a bike, staring at a wall for like, and that's what it takes is, how long can I be uncomfortable when nobody sees? When nobody sees, and I'm in there on the pillow, when nobody sees me working on this project or working on my game or working on my craft. And I think that's the thing that even I've had to grow in is like, how long am I willing to be uncomfortable

for this thing that I say I really want to do? Do you think that's even possible now, Charles, with Instagram and Facebook and TikTok? Because it feels like so many people want people to validate their call while they're still developing in it. That's good, yeah. And I don't know, I'm just posing this question that I just feel like there is a now secret enemy against our calling because we're trying to reveal something that hasn't fully developed. I think about an old school picture. Now we all got iPhones and you could just click a picture and see it, but for pictures to be developed back in the day some of y'all remember the snap cameras, the ones that you had to wind up. Yeah, and even I hear that it's making a comeback that people are taking real photos again because they want to be able to tangibly touch something. But the thing about a real photo is a real photo had to be taken, then they had to take the negatives and they took the negatives into a dark room. And they could not be exposed to light prematurely because if you expose them to light prematurely then they were overexposed and you could not see the image. And I just think there are so many people right now that you may be in a season where God has called you to something that it is not time to post about it. You may be in a season right now

and it is not time to get people to be a part of the bandwagon or join your circle or be able to support it. You might still be in a season of development and you put the light on it too soon, it might expose that picture and it never gets to be. and it's fullness, it's richness, it's true color, and I know for me, I thank God for the dark seasons that I had, the dark room seasons that I had where God was developed me. I think about So Fly and those messages I used to preach that were two and a half, three hours long. People think I preach long now. Brother, brother, I was up there preaching for three hours on Sunday night, just going, like, and but, and I thank God that there's very little video evidence of it, you understand what I'm saying? But that was the, the training room for me. That's where God was teaching me how to develop leaders, like, that's where God was teaching me how to not say everything that came to my head. That's where God was teaching me how to ask for help, and I just think that there's somebody listening right now that knows God has called you, but you're trying to show somebody he's called you. You're trying to prove that he called you, and what I want you to understand is that you do not have to verify what God has already verified. They will see by your fruit what God is doing, and I just can remember tons of stories, and I know we're gonna get into some more, but I'm just, I just want somebody to realize, like, the season you're in is not punishment. It's making you. It's, it's just because it's not shining for everybody to see right now doesn't mean you're not progressing, and I think the image of presenting, like, oh man, our church is doing this, oh man, my family's doing this, where you might be in a season of just learning each other. Ain't no pictures to post right now. Like, we used to didn't like each other, and we are progressing to just have date night once a month. Yeah, yeah. Like, I think that's beautiful, and just don't be so quick to post everything that God's doing in you if he's still trying to develop these things, because it

will sometimes overexpose you to what doesn't need to be seen yet. Something we talk about a lot that you, it's been so helpful to me, is this idea of manufactured pressure. Yikes. And that, I remember what I was talking about that, man, and that, that, that sticks with me so much, that some of us, there's so much manufactured pressure that we create with our call, because we're trying to prove to people, we're trying to show them, like, I am called, and I am important, and really what it is, is you just feel insecure in that. You don't believe it. You don't believe you, like, and I think. That's okay. That's okay. Let's be honest about that, like, and I think I've had to wrestle with that so much. Even my first book, God Chose Me, that's the whole idea, is me trying to wrestle with, I know he said he called me, but I don't believe it, so I'm trying to prove it. Yeah. But when you settle in that, you don't have the pressure to prove it. You don't have to, to make people see what you really are. Well, this, this idea of manufactured pressure came from me being in a season where I knew what God said, but I thought, because God said this, that means this, this, and this has to happen too. And there are many times where we inflate God's instruction into the idea or the picture of what we want it to look like. Yeah. So, so, like, God will be like, start a Bible study, and you'll be like, well, if I'm gonna start a Bible study, it's got to be at a loft, and because it's at a loft, then we got to have food, and because we got to have food, we have to have catered Chinese food, and because we have catered Chinese food, now I got to figure out a way to pay it, so I'm gonna make shirts that are like the catered Chinese food, like, and now I can't even have, I can't even, brother, and now I've started a Chinese clothing company, and I'm, uh, partnered with Timu to try to get, like, it's all of these things that I've done. Nothing to do with what God asked you. Nothing. He said, start the Bible study. That's good. And there are so many people that are missing their calling right now because of all the ancillary things that you made up. These were your conditions, not his calling. That's good. The conditions you have has nothing to do with your obedience to God, and many times, I would find myself taking his instruction and then elaborating, and when you elaborate on what he didn't call for,

you got to pay for that. Yeesh. God only provides for what he calls for, and there are a lot of people right now not walking in everything that God has called them to because they've literally blown this thing up into, I can think of so many examples. Okay, can I tell a real story? Yes. Okay, so, real story. When I got the call from Pastor Steven Furtick to preach at, for the first time, at Elevation Church. You, you kind of know where I'm about to go. So, I had just done Relationship Goals in August. Yep. December, it starts blowing up. He calls me in January, and bro, we freaked out. I remember that, bro. Do you remember that? I would have thought you were talking to Moses. Like, it was like, who is on, oh my God. Like, it was the craziest thing, because people don't know, and we'll probably tell this on a different journey. Before I started youth pastoring, me, Natalie, Bree, and Aaron drove from Tulsa to Elevation Church to just be on the property. We watched, literally. documentary five years of how they changed the world we got so inspired I mean it was just a blueprint of what I thought church could represent and represent and it was just so many things and so four years into ministry to get a voice note from Stephen Furtick that was like hey bro I don't know who you are where you're from but I just want to let you know this is his words that you're called I didn't even remember that into this moment yeah he literally I'm gonna find it yeah he's like I want to let you know you're called and your message inspired me and da-da-da-da and I'm literally sitting there that's like if you're a basketball player on a JV league and Michael Jordan calls you it's like bro I like your jump socks yeah what the heck is literally yeah but in that moment he called and asked for me to come speak the weekend after Easter at Elevation Church yeah so I'm thinking amazing this is it this is it this is the moment this is the moment what I don't have any product because think about I don't have any product cuz what I'd I'd found from the the old-school generation is like when you go somewhere you gotta have CDs tapes DVDs videos bro I printed up I can't even I'm gonna find the document and I'll show it bro I had pencils erasers CDs like a scholastics book yes well I had a book

fair of marked paraphernalia brother I was about to match boxes brother I had everything I was like I'm gonna Elevation I'm gonna preach and then I'm gonna sell out like a New York store vendor on the side it was like what am I doing that's great and literally I was in prayer and the Holy Spirit say take nothing take yeah take nothing I'd already split some deposits down I had already and I didn't have no money so I want you to know that this was a huge ale this was ale after ale after ale after ale okay well but but hear me God said and this was the the learning out of it yeah cuz my ambition my god the ambition yeah was trying to make this add on to what was happening but God said go there preach take nothing yeah he said your first product into this world will be valuable mm-hmm yeah and the first product I ever put into the world was relationship goals yeah but I had to deny my natural urge to seize a moment yeah yeah and that's what I'm saying like sometimes the call gets conflated because we actually add so much extra to what God said yeah and it is uncomfortable yeah to sometimes have to deny what seems natural to actually do what God wants to happen for your purpose yeah and I just think I've never told this that's so you you've seen oh yeah bro hey we on the pop podcast we don't hear it I'm gonna tell you the stories that are part of my progression journey because it's brought me here yeah everything either Romans 828 is real or not yeah all things yeah work together for the good of those who are called yeah and that love him and today we're talking on the podcast about calling versus comfort so good yeah I think man the the the tension is how do I wrestle with what really is my call and what is the extra stuff yeah because I think that sometimes I feel that way of like okay I feel really clear on this but my brain wants to figure it out and wants to and the truth is many of us that that wrestle with our call is really a searching for control oh it's a searching for like okay this is what got so it must mean this and it must mean that and I think I'm learning so much right now of like I'm just not a control because and you've said this so many times the the right thing at the wrong time yes sir is not a blessing it is a curse and when I say a curse is confusion

yep it's when I say curse I mean it's literal like I'm doing the right thing and why is this not working and why is this stuff and people have literally missed out on moments I know so many I have missed out on moments because it was the right thing at the wrong time yeah and and this is where I think that you have to have the three anchors of our podcast you have to have theology what is the Word of God say about it you have to have therapy a place where you can actually get tools and unpack what's going on inside of you and you gotta have community because without other people sometimes you think you right that's the truth man like the Bible says it like this like your way seems right yeah man there's a way that seems right to me but it ends in destruction like and sometimes you need people around you to be like bro put down that mark t-shirt like brother take that eraser I had an eraser, a pencil, Charles, can you believe I was about to take marked pencils? Could you imagine walking up there? Could you imagine me saying, guys, go to the back. I have a 12 pack. If you're looking for something to write the word of God down, could you imagine how lame that would be? Yeah, this would have been a lot different way, man. This would have been, they'd be like, get him out of here. Get him out of here. He is marked to never come back. Do you understand? Like, yeah, God used that moment in my obedience to touch a lot of people. And so I thank God for friends that said, put them pencils down. Oh my God. About how funny that is. Brother, I had hats, I had stickers. I was about to make a prayer. You were about to make a TikTok shop.

I was going to. It was the original TikTok shop. That was going to be so bad. I'm sharing from my real life now, y'all. I need y'all to hear me. I need you to hear me. Relationship goals being my first project was a miracle. That was a miracle. I thank God. I just need to lift my hands and praise him because this could be completely different. That's why you owe him praise. I owe him praise right now. You owe him praise for that. Oh God, you saved me. He saved me. Marked pencils. Oh God, I thank you. That is hilarious, bro. But the truth of the matter is how dumb do we all look when we just rely many times on what we think we're supposed to do. That's why we need our calling, watch this, to be submitted. So good. To his word. Being submitted to others around us that can speak into it. And a lot of people, man, I meet people like, no, God told me this, and I ain't changing nothing. This is what he said. I'm like, okay. Yep. But the Bible tells us there's wisdom in the multitude of counsel, and there are times

that you got to stand on business on what God told you to do because nobody else knows. There are other times you have to be humble enough to say, you know what, them pencils are not a good idea. You know what, now that I think about that, now that I think about that, you are right. I would never buy no pencils from somebody. What? Bro, I can't even. That's crazy. Oh God. What do you, let's talk about this. That made me sweat. If it, that was hilarious. I think of my, my, I mean, I'm young now. We're both still young now. And bro, it seemed like we owed. It feel like we owe. We've been doing this for a minute. Doing this for a minute. In ministry years, maybe ministry years are like dog years. It feel that way. And the kid years. We got four kids. It feel like once you get past two kids, it's an extra life. You get older. You do for sure. But we still have a lot of youth. We had a lot of youth. But I think of myself just really, really young. And let me ask you this question. What are some ways that marriage, let's go marriage for a second.

What are some ways that, well, I last night, let me tell you, last night I got to talk to our youth ministry, sit youth. And I got to talk about sex to the young people. It was amazing. I was just talking crazy to them in the best way, but they were so uncomfortable. They were like, but what are some ways I was talking about marriage and I was, I was saying to them, I was like, some of us, we have this idea that getting married is going to fix our relationship to sex and it's going to fix everything. And it's because we have this picture of what it's going to be. I'm so curious what either in marriage or parenting, what is something that like you thought it was going to be a certain way. And then when you really got in it, it was not comfortable in the way that you thought it was. Number one, getting up to get my kids to school. Let me just say to everybody, getting your kids to school on time is overrated. I just, I would like to say like, and I have three girls and a son with hair, so everybody's hair has to get done. Everybody got to have lunch. Everybody thing. I'm really considering homeschool starting at 10 o'clock cause oh yeah, Metcalf kids, they go to school. Look, our school started nine and it's upstairs. We got to leave the house at 715, so like we got to get up at 615 and I just, I'd be thinking about like, uh, I'm going to just make enough money to give y'all jobs. Like in my mind, like I'd be thinking like, you know what, let me just, y'all just do some other stuff so I can go to sleep. So I never, I never thought about like, it doesn't matter what I have to do in the day. No matter what I did that night, no matter how many people I counseled or prayed for, that six alarm is going to go off and I'm up there brushing teeth with Gigi. It's sometimes it's uncomfortable.

It is uncomfortable. I think one more that in marriage, like that's uncomfortable is like when you have to talk about something hard and it's your fault and then you have to go and make it right before there's any. real connection. Yeah. And I'm not even just talking about sex, I'm just talking about like. Yeah, it's that awkward phase. It's that awkward. You just walk around the house picking up stuff. Just picking up stuff. Why am I holding this pillow? I don't even, I don't, why is this pillow in my hand? People don't talk about that. Y'all don't talk about this. See, y'all don't, I'm, we trying to give you the real, hot, humble, open, and transparent. Like, this is it. Like, and then you knowing as the leader of your household and the leader of, and this is what I say, the man is not just the leader of the household, they're the leader of reconciliation. That's good, yeah. So as the man, I lead in reconciliation. So if something is off. Yeah. I know like, I got to be the one to step up and to do something. And it's like, you hungry? Yeah. What you want to eat? They won't give you nothing. Nothing. Not nothing. Nothing. What you want to eat? Whatever you want. Goddangit. Okay. Hey, all right. Yeah, man. All right. I'm gonna get us something. And then it's like, gotta go back and got a game plan. Like, all right, what am I about to do right now? Because, and that's when I have to tap down into the vulnerability. Yeah. That's, I got to go down deep and I know I'm going deep on this, but somebody, I'm giving you game right now. Like, this is going to help you. Like, I have to be like, hey, earlier when I was talking to you, I was frustrated about some other stuff. And I was a little frustrated about what you were talking about, but you didn't deserve the energy and the tone that came with that. Yeah. That's some stuff I got to work on over here, but I apologize for bringing that energy to you. And I just want to know, can we have a reset? Yeah. Brother, it's like air comes back into the room and like connection is like, all right, we locked in and now we can eat. Like, you know what I'm saying? But I think that people don't talk about those uncomfortable moments that is not just like going from picture to fun things to all that stuff. It's that awkward moment when you holding a pillow that you was like, where's this even go? You know what I'm saying? What about you, bro? Man, I think, yeah, I think I, I just didn't, I completely underestimated how good I was going to be at a husband. You know,

I overestimated. That's what it was. I overestimated. Like, I just thought like, because I'm naturally like an emotional person, I thought that would be the trump card. Cause it's always like, man, don't understand emotions. I'm like, cry all the time. She gonna love this. So I really thought I was going to be locked in. But I think, and even now, like on, uh, in May, we celebrate 10 years of being married. And big 10, big 10, man. And it's like, how much I still don't know that girl. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I just thought, oh, at 10, it'll be like, we won't argue like that. We won't. And again, it's the whole idea of his progression. It's not perfection. And, uh, but it is so beautiful that you, because of all the progression steps, you don't want to do it with nobody else. Yeah. Yeah. Like I think about the people that I've gone through things with, it makes me be like, these are the people that I want to keep going through things with really good. Like, and this is why having the right people around you, not just married, just business partners, friends, um, people at your church tribes, community groups. It's so important because like when you actually do go through seasons that challenge your calling because you're uncomfortable and you make it through that season with somebody, with their encouragement, with their words, with the labs, with the game nights, with the, whatever y'all do, it makes you be like, bro, I don't want to go through anything without these people. And I think that's the beauty of, uh, under talked about value of discomfort is discomfort distills your relationships. That's good. You find out real people in real relationships when you're in seasons of discomfort, when stuff ain't cracking, when people ain't all around, like when you're struggling in depression, who's your friend when you were depressed? Yep. Who, who, who are the people that was rocking with you when you really didn't have money or a car or anything to contribute? Yep. Yep. You know, like when you find those people, it just, it makes their value go up. Shout out to Jay over there. Shout out to Josh. Shout out to Aaron. Shout out to Bree. Shout out to the pair. I mean, we really was thugging it. I didn't, I used to didn't have a car and I was the pastor of the church. Like I used to didn't have a vehicle. People would have to come pick me up to go preach to them about trusting God. You want to talk about progression over perfection. Some of y'all wouldn't have made it. You wouldn't have made it. Your pride wouldn't have made it. Walking to church and brother Glenn having to pick you up. I'm not playing with you. Shout out to brother Glenn, head usher. But just think about like,

what if you're in a season that you're supposed to look prestigious and God intentionally has you in seasons to create humility in you, that you're still walking to that place. You got the title, but no title to a car. I mean, just think! Bro, do you know what I had to become okay with the season I was in? Because I know I'm called to be this pastor, but I'm still learning financial stewardship. So because I bought a Land Rover when I had no money, I don't even know how I got that car. I don't even know why they allowed me to get that car, but I bought a Land Rover with a probably negative 400 credit score and was paying double digits of what the car even was worth, and then it broke down on me, and I'm doing all of this stuff, and I'm literally for an image of perfection. Yep, that's it. And a year later, I'm walking. Amen. I wish I could say I didn't have the same testimony, but I do. I got the same testimony, man. Got that Land Rover. This is a disclaimer. Unless you can for real pay for a Land Rover, don't get one. Listen, if you can't pay for it twice, don't get one. Because you think you got enough money to get it. That's not the money you need. No, you need the money to fix it. That's the thing, because one tire costs a Honda Accord. Oil change is an Acura. Oil change. Yes, sir. We'll take two Honda Civics. Brother, that thing broke down. Tailpipe realigned is a full Kia Soul. Brother, that thing sat in my driveway for two years. Bro, but just think about it. Paying the payments. Done. Cooked. Golly. Thank God for progression over perfection. And this is the stuff they don't show you on Instagram. And this is the stuff they won't tell you because everybody wants you to think they make all the right decisions. But the right decisions are the decisions you learn from. I'm going to say it again. The right decisions are the decisions you learn from.

And if you decide to go forward and progress, I can take that situation now and I can teach somebody. My boy JT just bought a car and I told JT off of my experience, JT got a nice car. I'm not going to tell you what type of car he got, but he got a nice car. But I was able to share with him, you might be able to on paper pay for whatever this is, but this is not the type of manufactured pressure you want. It would look sexy for you to drive up in that Beamer or that Mercedes or whatever right now. But bro, you're making decent money. Don't play yourself by putting it... Because it's only sexy that you drive up in that car once. Once. Nobody checks for you again after it's like, oh yeah, he got that car. That's it. And I'm just saying, and because I decided to go forward with that, I was able to share that with him. And so I'm just thinking many times part of our calling is not just to get our learnings for ourselves. Part of the calling is to actually be someone who takes the moments that weren't comfortable and uses it as a teaching mechanism for others. That's why the Bible says that we're supposed to teach people, that go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them all of these things I've taught you. That's what we're supposed to do. And many people think it's just teaching people the Bible, but some people are only going to be able to read your life. You're supposed to be the living epistle. And so how does the Bible apply to you? I learned that I wasn't being a good steward. And let me give you a real example of me not being a good steward was when I bought that Land Rover. And how God restored, redeemed, and how you can avoid going to this. Now, Land Rover, if you want to sponsor our podcast, we will give you a positive review along with 2026 Range Rovers. But until then, don't buy a Land Rover. Oh my goodness. Well, I want to talk about this. This is something I think is important. In both of our lives in different ways, I know it's now a conscious decision, but we practice discomfort. And people wouldn't connect these dots, but I know it to be true of you. A part of your regimen of working out is every single morning you are forcing yourself to do something uncomfortable. And it kind of gets you in that mode of, I've already done this, and I'm not looking for my life to be set up in a way where everything is easy. There was an amazing staff talk you gave where you said something around the idea that the best way

to set yourself up for failure is to imagine a day where life won't be difficult, where it won't be hard, where it'll be easy, where you'll be comfortable. And I think something that's helped me so much, something I know you do, is this idea of like, I got to practice being uncomfortable. I got to get, you said it earlier, but comfortable with being uncomfortable. Talk to me about that, because I don't know if... People would connect those, but I know it to be true that when you have a regimen and a habit in one area There's a book that's called Keystone Habits But it means it transfers all the way across in every area of your life. I think for me I was so intoxicated with comfort that it allowed me to try to Avoid the very things that I needed to go towards So I I wanted to be comfortable so bad. I would avoid everything that was uncomfortable Wow And I don't know if there's anybody out there like that, but like if it was a hard conversation I'd be like, I'm just not coming. Yeah, or if it was they're gonna require some physical activity Well, I don't like moving or shaking like that when I was bigger in front of people like I would always find a reason To go around and it was where I was supposed to be but my my addiction To comfort Wow was more It was an idol. Yeah, and so I remember when God told me One time in prayer because I was spiritual. I was praying I was I was hearing from God and He told me Just so deep and I wrote it down and I've told you I've shared it with the people close to me He said God told me he said I was unhealthy He said I only can bless the ministry to the level your body can take it. Mm-hmm, and I was like, that's not fair Honestly, I just want to say that's not yeah, I know some very Successful preachers that are By looks very unhealthy. Yes, and I want I want whatever they have like I don't I don't I would like that green light Like and told me he said that's not your calling. Yeah, you're calling us to be healthy Yeah, what I didn't know is that the path of health was going to teach me discipline That's it and I didn't know that discipline is a keystone trait to be a disciple which literally means

Discipline one. Yeah, and most people aren't disciples because they're not disciplined. That's good You cannot be a disciple if you don't walk with Jesus every day Yeah, like there were people that probably like yo, I would love to travel in but I yeah, I'm not gonna leave what I got Yeah, but some of the first disciples on their best business day Yeah, when when he told him to cast their nets to the other side They have the best catch of their life. Literally, they're both sinking. They got to share it with the competition Yeah, and then Jesus says yeah, you thought that was something leave all of that. Follow me Hmm, they had to be disciplined to leave what they knew to follow him. Yeah, and I had to leave what I knew of eating whatever I wanted to and showing up at Wingstop after preaching and getting 20 wings and a big old pop and then stopping that quick trip and getting Dr. Pepper and ice cream and gummy worm like yeah, that was comfort to me. That felt good after I Preached and prayed for people like what is for me? Yeah These trolleys like you don't upset like yeah That just felt good to me and it doesn't have to be what feels good to you It's that's what felt good to me for some people's sex for some people. It's beer for some people's alcohol But if anything is bringing you comfort, yeah that is killing your calling that's too heavy of a cost. Mm-hmm and so what God began doing me said Mike I need you to get healthy and so My mind was the hardest thing to change Because it had been wired for comfort dang. Yeah, so when he talks about being transformed in your mind Yeah, I had to literally change the way I thought yeah So I literally went to the scripture wrote on the the wall of my my Spiral at the time no discipline is enjoyable at the time. Mm-hmm But it creates a lifestyle of peace for those who are submitted to it. Yeah, it's in Hebrews Yeah, literally, I believe it's Hebrews the 1211 or something like that Stephen. Can you find that for me? Yeah, but I literally would repeat that every day. That's no discipline is enjoyable while it's happening But everybody loves the benefit. Everybody reaps the benefit. Everybody loves the result LeBron James Everybody loves. Yep, or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, whoever you want to be won't have the goat debate right now Okay, but whoever you love Yeah

Hebrews 1211 while while divine discipline is painful and unpleasant in the moment it later produces a harvest of Righteousness and peace for those trained by it. I had to get trained by discipline Which meant I had to get trained by discomfort, that's good, man and bro, I started saying this mantra I'm gonna make myself do the hardest thing each day. So nothing else will seem that hard. Mm-hmm And for me working out was the hardest thing. Yeah pushing my 270 pound body up. I went from doing one push-up to now I can do a lot of them Yeah, I went from not being able to do a pull-up to being able to do as many as the coach tells me I've been I've literally transformed in my body, but that's an extension of the Transformation in my mind. Yeah, and it shows up everywhere Charles. Yeah, I mean, you know, yeah Cuz you met me in that transition period it has shown up in every place in my show up in my finances It showed up in my marriage. It's shown up in my relationship half our staff. Yeah is yeah, literally like athletes. Yeah Not even like Athletes and people are progressing on their journey and have lost weight and have started working out and started training not because I made it We're the workout church with the truth I've never ever one time said anything, but I knew when my life got in order people would see the fruit of that Yep, and they started working in it. And so I think for me Part of my mind change and something I would encourage people is go ahead and go towards the hard thing. Mm-hmm go towards it Yeah, it gets less scary. Yep. Now. I love the gym. Yeah, like absolutely before we started these pockets. I came in workout. Yeah Why because I now do not avoid yeah what used to scare me Yeah, I go towards it and realize that was a shadow. It just looked big. Mm-hmm, but it wasn't big You ever seen like when your kids put a light up in the shadow comes on. Yeah, it looks big, but it ain't big Yeah, that's good. And God has given us everything that we need. Yep, every day. Come on that back to my scripture He gives us everything we need Yeah, that that that and gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases him That's so good. And so for me bro, like I think that has been a big thing for me, but I want to know for you Mm-hmm. I Was with you in a season where you literally walked away from a church plant Mm-hmm. Yeah, and how do you reconcile? Yeah, you feeling called to be a pastor? Yeah, and then literally planting a church and then literally

Walking away from that church plant to follow the call of God into Partnership with me and transmission like I just yeah inquiring minds want to know Absolutely. Well, man, I think it is it starts with that call and the thing the beautiful thing about a call is is You can't call yourself and once you feel it you can't shake it and so I think I sensed that my whole Life and felt like oh, I don't know what it is But God's called me to do something and the call was born out of a burden And I think that's an important thing for people to know is There were a bunch of people in our life that were close to us but far from God and we felt like man We want a space for these people. So yeah, we start a church and I'll never forget the moment we're sitting in a conference and By the way, it's a conference that me and Charles didn't even know each other for real. Oh, no, literally I mean the context is literally I had DMG on Instagram because I had saw Gracie Gracie and started my little brother that was going to my church start going to his church on Sunday nights And I felt some type of way and he had me drop him off after I was preaching We'll talk about that So, yeah So G starts coming to the church and then I saw you and I always say this about you because it's just amazing This was 2016 2017 and it was a hip-hop beat under it and you were preaching and doing illustration You'd be the same for a long time, but I saw you I DMG and was just like yo I don't know what I'm doing and this is kind of working, you know And so could I ask you some questions and that was we had done that twice. We had met twice Yeah, so literally an hour conversation. We've talked to each other for two hours at this point You call me. I'm sitting Alabama. I was in a different conference in Alabama Dang, yeah like God said call him ask him to come to this other pastors conference with you and Pay for everything. Yeah, I remember I you you say that I was we were doing our little version of like growth track Yes in a studio apartment. There's like 30 people in chairs in our little apartment It's a break and I just answer the phone. You're like, hey, I'm like, yeah, sure I remember getting a text from Brie. I didn't know Brie at the time

But she's telling me stuff and we go there and I don't don't even know really why we're here It's just we're gonna learn and we're gonna learn how to be. Yeah, literally and I'm sitting in this session and it's kind of the way I always remember it is it's like the guy talking went Charlie Brown like the teacher was like wah-wah-wah-wah and I'm sitting there and there was a phrase. He said that I'll never forget but he said Older men have a responsibility to be fathers to younger men because there's a lot of orphans with dreams and When he said this orphans with dreams There was something it just hit me in a deep way and I was he broke down looked I was like at the end of the session going out of the session I'm trying to hold it together and I don't even really notice man Like so I now I'm an eight on the Enneagram my emotions seem kind of pointless sometimes and this man is old I don't What is going on I thought it was Honestly, and yeah, keep going bro. So I am broke down And it was just as part of me that felt like I don't it was I feel called But I don't know where I fit and that was this wrestle this thing of like, I know I've got this dream but blah blah blah We're driving in the car and it's kind of just like Quiet like I'm kind of like we went to the food court. We went to the mall Marcus it I'm trying to explain what I feel. I'm the shoe section crying. I'm just holding Sorry, brother. God's doing the work brother Churchy stuff you just say God's doing the work. He's really moving. He's moving in DS DSW shoes So, yeah, man, I think I'm wrestling with the call and The comfort because the comfort came out of this is what I thought the call would look And that is something that is tough what do you do when the call doesn't look like what you thought it was gonna look like cuz cuz because The honest statement at that point was part of my commitment Was under the condition of it's like this. I'll answer the call if it Happens like this. Yes, and because it was going the way I thought It was like, okay, this has to be this is it this is awesome

We're started a church and people are coming had been you had money. Oh, yeah Two of our friends moved from New York City another friend quit a job like this is going people are coming We have money in the bank We had signed a lease on a building that we later found out was the original Greenwood like but didn't know at the time But anyways in that moment, I hear the Holy Spirit say and I just had a strong sense he said I want you to serve and protect the vision of transformation Church and specifically pastors Michael and Natalie Todd and I Was like the first thought was there's no way this is like but I immediately knew I knew Because and this is something I think too I've I've talked to my mom about this but I've started praying this for my kids that they couldn't shake the voice of God because I Couldn't like it would violate everything in me if I knew that and tried to keep going and I just couldn't shake like we're not supposed to do this anymore like and And immediately with this is part of being uncomfortable is the idea of what that'll look like to other people Yeah, because we started this thing. It's been going about a year and it's successful and let me say it was sexy No, I don't I don't even I don't want anybody think that was like this was like a little yeah Look at Charles like I mean they had a really yeah Vibey anointed thing that was starting but God was calling him to something else. Listen to this We probably won't get into it fully in this episode, but it was something that he needed more than what he wanted God doesn't just see in front. He sees around the corner Yeah, and we've talked about this privately that church probably would have gone through a lot of Um Pain yeah, 100% based on Things that we had to walk through later together Oh my gosh The the I had somebody tell me in that journey and I was so mad when they told me this but it was so wise which is your church is gonna work for the first like three or four years and then it's gonna crush you and the idea was like People some people may not know part of my journey in 2020 was going through crippling depression and anxiety and suicide That was intense here. Yeah, put that as I've been pastoring a church for eight

There's no way we make it through that And so I think the wrestle was and my encouragement to anybody who's watching is if you're wrestling right now And you know, there's something that you've committed to that feels comfortable. It looks good It's the dream thing, but you sense a different call or the call even extending or expanding beyond your scope I'm telling you do not fight what you know and some of you you've been trying to act like so many times what we'll do And I did it myself is I prayed like I needed clarity. But what I needed was courage. You don't need clarity You heard God, you know what? He said, you know, you need to go back and apologize, you know, you need to go back and say I'm sorry to my kids You know, you need to apply for the job. You don't need more clarity What you need is the courage to recommit to the call and some of you right now You just need to go and make that choice. You may have just scrolled a process. You're listening to this God I'm recommitting to your call because what I knew is I can't claim This is God when it looks good And then all the sudden now it's not God when it doesn't look how I wanted to that talk and yeah, man So we had a our final Eden gathering preach the sermon on Abraham and Isaac and I preach this I recall this is God's dream and the idea is if it's God's dream if he gives it to you he gets to also always tell you what to do with it and I just knew like man, this is him and That decision to be uncomfortable got me closer to my call than that thing ever would have. And now I'm here, nine years later, grateful for that uncomfortable, grateful that that wasn't the season, seeing how God used that to be an example for other people. And you just have no idea, saying yes to God's call is always worth it. You don't know what's on the other side of your obedience. And progression is obedience in motion. Like when you obey what he says, no matter what, even when it's uncomfortable, that changes everything.

And you may be watching this and we only got to share like this much about this topic, but don't worry, this is only episode two of the Progression Over Perfection podcast. And we want your leadership to pop. We want your life, your marriage, your friendships to pop. We want you to know that God has a journey for you that is going to sometimes look uncomfortable. I mean, the scripture literally says, in this world, you're gonna have trouble, but take heart because I've overcome the world. So we get a promise, even with the reality of things being uncomfortable sometimes. But if you continue to be obedient, that's the direction that God is going to use you. And if you wanna hear more about this topic, there's a sermon I preached a while back that just came to my mind called Cuff to Comfort. And some of y'all need to go watch that message because it's gonna help you. And I tell more of my story and I give scriptures. And I just want people to know, Charles, that we're only here because we embraced not just the uncomfortable moments that have happened, but the ones that are up ahead. Absolutely. And it's easier to face when you're facing it with somebody. Yep, 100%. When you got the right people around you. And so again, we encourage you,

if there's some things that have been literally sparked in your heart, some ideas, some areas that you know that you've been ignoring the call of God, today I want you to do three things. Number one, I want you to go see what the word says about it. We believe in theology on this podcast. What does the word say about people who have been called? What happened with David? What happened with Daniel? What happened with so many that God put a word out for them to do what he called them to do? And then see if God doesn't speak to you. Second thing, I want you to think about therapy. I want you to think about unpacking some of the things. What do you do when the calling looks different than what you thought it was? Do you walk away from it? Or do you actually keep moving forward? And then the other thing is I want you to figure out who is the community? Who are the people that you're gonna talk to about it on the journey? Me and Charles have been able to walk through many seasons together because we were talking the whole time. We're walking through a season right now. There's really beautiful, big things on the horizon. But the whole reason we can go through this journey together is because when it's uncomfortable,

I got somebody to talk to. This is a topic we gonna keep coming back to. Absolutely. Because we gotta help people understand that it is progression over perfection because this whole journey, progression is the point. It's the point, man. And you can go forward. So if you watch this, you enjoyed what you saw, episode three dropping soon. Share this with somebody. Like tell somebody about this podcast. This is just us starting. And we're not trying to do anything contrived or anything that's like anybody else. We decided that we would sit down with two mics in a studio and just start trying to help people like us. People who have big dreams, know God's called them and just need some direction. And I hope you find this content valuable. I hope you go watch all the other content that we have from preaching. We got books, we got all that other stuff. But this is a different format where we wanted to be humble, open, and transparent. And we want your life to pop. So Charles, what they need to do? Man, we need you to like, subscribe, share, do all the things. And one thing I wanna add to that is let us know.

What do you wanna hear about? Maybe you've got some questions. You're like, I wanna know that story. Put that in the chat, comment, let us know. We got a team of people looking through that because we wanna be a help to you right where you are. But that's episode two, man. I hope until the next time you see us that your life would pop.