Ep 018 || How do I MOVE?

Well, what's up, Pando family? Excited to be back with you today. Hope that you all enjoyed all of those Move podcasts with Kyle, our senior pastor, and several other folks on our Southeast Christian Church staff. But we're back. We're kind of wrapping up the Pando series on Move and to be able to talk about that today. But I'm not alone. I'm here with three different people on our staff. We have Brandon, you guys know him, part of our online team. You have Matt, you guys have met him before. And we have Bree, who is a brand new face for us, who'll be on here with us moving forward every now and then. But would love to set you guys up, Matt and Bree, again, just to talk a little bit about who you are and what you do here at Southeast. Yeah, really, really glad to be back. So my name is Matt Robinson. I'm a pastor here at Southeast. I'm also a Grateful Recovering alcoholic and drug addict. I'm a person in long-term recovery, and really, it's a big deal, it's a big honor for me to continue to be able to come in and hang out in the space, and I'm glad to bring somebody from my team with me. I'll let her introduce herself. I'm Bree. I'm also on SDA Recovery. I'm also in long-term recovery. I'm a Grateful Recovering alcoholic and drug addict, survivor of abuse. Also, I'm super grateful just to be sitting in a seat like this, because who would have thought that someone with a past like mine could shout the good news of the Gospels? You know what I mean?

So, just grateful. Love that. Y'all, well, welcome. And so, Bree, maybe just a little bit, since this is your first time on here, give us just a couple minute snapshot of, like, hey, this is my story that I kind of want to share. Okay. Like my whole story? Yeah, whatever you want to share. We're up for it. This is good. Okay. So, yeah, I guess I'll start from the beginning. I grew up with a teenage mom. She had me and my sister very close together, ten months apart. We grew up in government welfare housing, you know, so, like, when we moved, we moved buildings. We grew up—me and my sister were super close, but we kind of grew up and were taught to survive at a very young age. I kind of took on this complex that I needed to protect her and keep her safe and all the things. My mom's parents did a great deal of raising us, so I was my papa's favorite, my sister was my nana's favorite, and we just kind of—we kind of just bounced around the family, you know, because my mom was—she's also an alcoholic, so she was not present much, and when she was, it was kind of crazy. So we moved to California, or to Kentucky, when I was a freshman in high school. That's when my mom met who me and my sister call dad now, and that was a really big move for us. It was a huge culture shock from California to Kentucky, and so that's about when I started going off the deep end with drugs and alcohol. I mean, I used to mask quickly, you know.

I think part of the ways I used to cope as a child was, like, through lying and stealing and fighting and things like that, and then as I got older and was shown different things, then I started to use those same coping skills, but then coupled it with drugs and alcohol. And the first time I found drugs and alcohol, you know, I was like—I had arrived in life. I could show up wherever I wanted to go and be comfortable. I could make friends. I could—you name it, I was good. Fast forward a little bit. I was put into state's custody at 15 years old, and that's kind of where I would say I emotionally became, like, out of control. I aged out of the state at 18 and thought I could take on the world, you know, and two weeks out of that was the first time I got arrested. So I started just going downhill from there, was introduced to hardcore drugs after that. I always say meth was, like, my fast-acting downward spiral. I became homeless very quick. I lost custody of my oldest child very quick, in and out of jail, but none of that scared me. You know what I'm saying? None of the consequences of my using scared me. I still was on this pursuit of proving whatever I was trying to prove to whoever, because nobody was talking to me at that point, and then became very suicidal and ended up going to treatment. My sister kind of found me in a trap house in Louisville, and to this day I will not ask her how she knew where I was at, but I was literally about to pull the trigger and take my own life. And there was a knock on the door, and here she came. And I was like, yep, I need help. I'm going. And so just kind of started the journey of recovery there, and that was in 2018. Wow.

Yeah. And my recovery journey has been like this also. Sure. You know what I mean? Had a relapse in 2021, and discovered Jesus after that relapse, and kind of, I always say I've had lots of rebirths in my life. There's been nothing like the rebirth. earth with Jesus. That's when my life actually started to change. There was this internal freedom I was experiencing, this healing, this peace, this joy. And so once you encounter the Spirit of the Lord, for me, you can't deny it. And I was on this pursuit to disprove people who believed in Jesus or any type of higher power, really. And now I just... That's why it's so funny to me, because I'm like, you got to know about Jesus. Sometimes I make the light too bright for people. I'm like, chill out. You know what I mean? So that's me in a very basic nutshell. Great job. I love that. Thank you for sharing that. That's great. So for both of you guys, walk us through a little bit. What does our recovery ministry do here at Southeast? And what are some examples for you guys that you're like, this is why I love getting to do what I do? Yeah, I love that. Yeah, so we partner with inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities, stabilization shelters, and facilities for women coming out of sex trafficking. And we're currently in five jails in the state of Kentucky now, and down in Nashville, Tennessee as well. And so we have a worship gathering that we put together specifically for folks in recovery of a team. There's eight of us on the team right now. And we travel all those places. We're present with worship services and discipleship curriculum that we created for specifically folks that are trying to find their way back to God. We feel like at the core, at least of my own story of addiction, my core misunderstandings of who God was and my beliefs in Him were kind of the foundation of my brokenness that put me on a path towards trying to fix stuff like Bree was talking about. So we created that and we work with those. I think what I love, the thing that I love most about what we do is people that are in broken places that feel like that this life that is described in church a lot,

like we watch, you watch church services and you watch stuff and it feels like a, like a pipe dream, like a fairy tale. It's like, this isn't for me. And when folks like, you know, my team show up and Bree's able to share part of her story, I'm able to share my story. Other people on my team that are in recovery share parts of their story. And it's like you watch this kind of like this belief for the first time start to come in their eyes a little bit like, wait a minute, you know what I mean? Because as much as I don't want to trust church, as much as I don't want to trust any of the things that have not worked, they can't say that it's not working for her. You know what I mean? And so like it creates space for that belief. And I think that's the thing I love most about it. Yeah, it's super similar. I really think that for me, like service is a huge part of recovery, servanthood. But I love that we get to step into pits with people who feel alone, or who feel like they're this unique case of pain. You know, like you have no idea what happened to me. And it's like, no, we get it. And we just get to speak life and truth over them. It's a different level of compassion, I feel like. But also like some of the facilities we work with are their DOC contracted facilities. So it's a lot of people who will, in lieu of doing time, will come to rehab. Gotcha, yeah. Yeah. The judges are cool with that. And so I always thought that I needed like freedom of circumstance. And then I've learned that like, God doesn't require a freedom of circumstance to bring a freedom of the soul. And so people being able to like, we get to speak that over people. You know what I mean? And a lot of times some, and I know this is true for me, like what I needed, I just needed someone to believe in me, but not take my crap. Yeah, for sure. I needed somebody to like, really speak the truth of the word. But also like know when to call me out. And we get to do that for people. And it's just, it's just, it's the best. Like sometimes I'm like, I can't believe this is what I call a job. You know, because it doesn't feel like a job. Just loving people. Yeah. Well, what a cool opportunity you guys have to speak into a part of people's lives that not many people get to. You know, you guys have a platform that is so unique and specific. And I know for so many people watching this today, maybe you've gone through something like that before, and maybe that's part of what maybe your future looks like. You know, but today,

one of the reasons why I'm so excited you guys are on here is that we kind of get to flesh out this whole MOVE midpoint journey, and we call it midpoint just because we did a MOVE series in 2025. We're doing one again in 2026. It ends, you know, kind of this time, 2027, maybe? Is that what we're calling it? Midpoint? But Brandon, why don't you kind of, you know, kick us off with the discussion of kind of what we've been talking about with MOVE, and then we'll kind of all flesh this out together. Yeah, yeah. So we've been, like you said, at this midpoint journey, we went through the Book of Philippians, right? Walking through this letter that Paul is writing while he's in prison to the church in Philippi, and talking to them about their partnership in the ministry, how they bring him joy. And we've been talking through... you know, these six ways we want to move as a congregation, that we want to move with gratitude and with boldness and humility and confidence and joy and contentment. And through the podcast that we've been releasing every week, we've kind of talked about the mirror side of that, right? That if we're going to move forward with gratitude, then the flip side of that is apathy, right? Because gratitude is this thankfulness for what God has done, and apathy is, I don't really care. Like, I don't care what He's done. If we're going to move forward with joy, then the flip side of that is worry. And I think that was last week's message, I think, just talking about the idea that joy and worry are both expectant, right? But joy is expectant that good things are going to happen, and worry is always expectant that bad things are going to happen. And the final week, which kind of brings us to where we're at now, is the difference between commitment or contentment, and then with comparison. That we get into the comparison game, think, well, I don't have anything to give. I don't have any way that I can contribute. And we compare ourselves to where other people are at. So as you guys kind of think through this series, as you think through Philippians, what has stood out to you?

Yeah, I love that. I think this is something that we've had to wrestle with, because one of the things I love about Southeast is when I was on staff as a campus pastor and then relapsed, and then they said, hey, if you want help, we'll help, and I got to go to treatment. Even outside of that, I was never treated, I was not treated like an outsider. It wasn't like, hey, you can stay on staff, but it's like, you're the broken guy that needs to sit in the back room and shut up and be grateful to be here. It was like, they very much like, you are a part of this church family, you're a part of the ministry that we do here. And that allows us like a pathway or a framework for folks that are not worshiping with us specifically in one of our local campuses, even an online team, but just in a local place. To know that the heart of this is not that you are on the side watching, where you're out there and we're in here, and we're just allowing you to look through the window of what we do. With the folks we get to walk with in treatment centers, it's like, we're doing the move stuff, and it's like, there's this, you know, this weekend was commitment, weekend, advanced commitment weekend. It's like, we got people sitting there going, well, guess what I'm not doing? I'm not walking up there and dropping a card in a box. I guess that means I'm not a part of this, you know what I mean? And it's like, so we've been able really to step into some specific things that are helpful to say like, no, you are at the table with us. You are not on the front porch looking through the window, you're not a part of us by association because you watch on an app, you are as much a part of Southeast Christian Church as the folks that are showing up in one of our regional campuses. And man, to be able to connect with Paul's letter to the Philippians, and I love you guys, you guys are contrasting that because when I got sober, it wasn't so much about learning new things as much as it was about unlearning things, I had to unlearn a lot of dysfunctional things in my mind. And I wasn't always very good at being able to say what I want to do or what I should

be doing. But Lord, I could write a book about what not to do. So if I'm struggling to connect, like gratitude, gosh, I don't know how to do that. And it's like, oh, apathy, I know all about that. So it's like, okay, let's just do some opposite work here, you know what I mean kind of thing. So I love that. It's actually funny, the way just our brains are wired. Because when we talked about gratitude and apathy, I went to Matt and was like, I'm pretty sure I'm apathetic. No, I don't think so. It's just funny how our brains are wired. But yeah, that what you said was really good. I agree with all that. But another thing is, I think Kyle has done a really good job about explaining move is kind of like the heart behind move is this discipleship journey. And I think whether people are in a confined space or not, some people might struggle to give and you know what I'm saying? That's just the reality. And so I love how it's always been like this first is 100% engagement. It's a discipleship journey. So it's this internal thing, internal obedience, you know, before any type of external freedom. And I think that's where I've seen a lot of good fruit in the facilities we're in from the series, because it's more like, we're going to choose to make some different choices in the heart. You know what I mean? So yeah, So you said internal obedience, walk us through that. So what do you mean by that? How do you see that playing out with yourself, people you're working with? Yeah, I would say, definitely like, I think about my will, right?

Like free will, like choosing to go to a meeting this week, even though I don't want to choosing to show up at group, even though I really don't want to choosing to be kind and loving instead of retaliation or reacting, you know what I mean? So there's a lot of different things that it takes this internal obedience and obedience is movement. You know what I mean? Before this external Circumstance changing or you know what I mean? Sure. So yeah Like that. Where do you see that coming? Yeah, I mean, I think we I like the internal piece of that Right because there's some of the external things right now for a lot of the folks that we love and walk with There's like they don't have control over you know I mean so They don't have a lot of say in some of the external things the spot that they're in right now some of those choices or Options are limited but like, you know, I love to say like I mean, I can't control my environment But I do believe because I believe I'm in control of my experience sure, you know I mean I control my experience in this I can't control what you guys do But I can control my experience in this and I love the idea like there was I need to look it up It just popped in my head, but I was like, you know, the salvation, you know goes through and through I like how when Paul write that like it's like it's like that it's gonna salvation Sometimes it takes more than once You know what? I mean and there's this inner wrestle that we end up in you know of like my will Versus what the what the spirit wants, you know in Galatians talks about that where you know The flesh wants one thing and the spirit wants another and those two war against each other and those of us in recovery It's like oh we get that You know, I mean we get that for sure and so to be able to participate in a discipleship journey, you know It's just God. What do you want to do in us and through us, you know? and so this weekend the service pops and it's this obvious time where people that if you're in a regional campus and That's the seat that you're in right now or that's the setting that you're in

Then some logical next steps are for you to participate like this and it's a financial commitment you know what I mean, but there's so much space for people that are in Involved in a part of our church that are not in a spot to do that and it's not There's it's not just people that are not in regional services that are not in a place to make these major Financial commitments or to participate like that, but man really locking in on that that what do you want to do in me? And through me, you know I mean and for some of it is like Bree's talking about like I need I'm gonna do what's healthy for me This is healthy, you know what I mean? Like I don't want to I want to do these other things that sound really good But it's healthy for me to go to a meeting. It's healthy for me to go to group and so, you know, you know Pando it's like I want to you know, do something else, but it's like no I'm gonna carve out this time and I'm gonna watch the service this week. I really don't want to But I'm gonna do that, you know There's something that I can I can do something an act of service or I can do something to be kind To the human being that is next to me. Mm-hmm. I don't want to do that Yeah, but I'm gonna choose I'm gonna choose to do that You know, I think there's an interesting picture though it's interesting that we're talking about Philippians in the middle of this I was talking about with my group a little bit last night is that Philippians exists right because Paul was in prison a Lot of the New Testament exists because Paul was in prison and you have to think about the fact like in that moment He's probably very frustrated with like hey, I'm like I can't go preach the gospel I can't go do the things I want to do like I can't you know I I can't go out and plant new churches I do Romans tells us he wants to go to Spain at one point and spread the gospel there But but this fact that Paul is still utilizing that time, right? And and this impact that he's having now 2,000 years still later still preaching to us in Philippians and teaching us about these things I think really speaks to that Idea of like, you know He's still using where he's at and what he has to be able to make an impact not in the church in his day

But even now For sure. Yeah, I think we've talked a little bit about this before of like, you know We've we've had several people from our panda family that have reached out and they're like, you know I think like if this were different or if that were different then then I'd be able to do this thing and Trying to just encourage them of like hey, you know, like use the time that you have right now And so how have you guys seen that in your own life? Because I think I forget which week it was and move we were talking about that like maybe it was with the joy like our joy is not tied to our circumstances and So, how do you guys how do you guys kind of navigate that through your life? For some including myself like my joy tends to be tied to my circumstances a lot of times So, how do you guys process through that? That's good someone told me when I first so I was homeless with all three of my kids for a brief moment of time and I was fortunate enough to have somebody tell me like Some of God's biggest movements in Scripture happened in confined spaces, right? So prisons pits the exile the wilderness, you know what I mean? And so when I started choosing Right to speak the truth of the word over myself so that I could be transformed by the renewing of my mind when I started to choose forgiveness when I started to choose these things then God started to move and so what I learned in that is like I got to the Point where I still just say like if I'm willing God can move Period you know what? I mean? And so and what's interesting is I really thought that well If I just had an apartment Well, if I just had a little bit more money, if I just had this, and that's not really actually what my spirit needed at all. My spirit needed peace, it needed joy in the midst of all of that. That way I could move through it, and then wouldn't you know, everything else kind of falls into place. And some things just didn't. But it was better when it didn't, because of the direction the Lord was taking me and my kids, you know what I mean? So. So Bree, when you say you had to learn to speak truth over yourself and your life, what does that practically mean? Like, what did that look like for you? What does that look like

for you right now? Yeah, so like, I have what I call, like, life verses, you know, like Romans 8 28. I love that verse. But it's funny, because Sunday, a big part of this move series in the facilities is we were all committing to something, right? It's not a financial commitment for them. But women were coming up, and they're like, you know, I'm committed to forgiving my dad. I'm committed to, I'm committed to memorizing this verse. Could you give me a verse? You know, I'm committed to praying over two people this week. I'm committed to being vulnerable this week. You know what I mean? And so that's kind of how it looks for me. Like, I commit to, I'm going to read this chunk of the Bible. I'm going to memorize a verse. I'm going to speak something. And so when all these, because I'm still a human, right? So when my flesh kicks in, or intrusive thoughts come on, I know exactly what to do if I choose to do it. You know, I'm going to choose to speak this verse over myself so that I can feel peace, so that I can experience joy. But I think a lot for me is I've, like, I'll use anxiety as an example. If I start to get anxious, sometimes I'm not all the way aware that I'm trying to combat it with my own knowledge. And the only thing that combats it is the truth of the word. You know what I mean? So that's me. Yeah. That's such great advice, because that, gosh, that advice works, and it has so much wisdom, because that literally doesn't matter what your circumstances are, where you're at, where you live, what language you speak, what you look like. That wisdom, it goes with everyone. It does. What were you going to say? I love it. I think today, were you saying, like, the mirror thing was a comparison? Yes. Okay, yeah. I love that, because I think that, I mean, the devil is in the comparison. That is the thief of all things, right? And I think even if we're not able to look in and compare, like, oh, I like the way he looks, or his outfit, or something like that, but we do compare in that, well, if I just had this, so much of my life that fed the discontentment internally that led to me looking for substances to change the way I felt was, if I could just get here, then everything would be okay. And so, like, I would effort like crazy to get to whatever that was, and then you get to it, and you're like, crap. Still not enough.

This didn't work. This ain't enough. You know, this didn't work. You know what I mean? And so, being able to not compare what it is of, like, well, if I could just get this, then, because I think about, like, in my recovery, we talk about, like, I think conditions drove me to be an addict, right? Like, if you had my life, you would, this would have, you would have this too, you know what I mean? And when I worked step one, and my sponsor had me write out this chronological timeline of every time I caught negative consequences that substances were involved, okay? And I mean, I had to go back to 13, the first hangover, you know, it was like, everything that went like that. And it was like, so tell me what one situation was involved in all those that caused that to be there. The only thing that was in common was, it was me. You know what I mean? Like, it was me. Like, it wasn't because money was tied. It wasn't because we had young kids at home. It wasn't because the church that I was starting was struggling. It wasn't because of anything else. It was like, it was a problem here. It was a problem here. It was a problem here. It was a problem here. And I was constantly looking for this thing of, oh, if I could just get this, then I'll be okay. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. And yeah, I think for so many of us, we are so tied, at least I am, we're tied to our circumstances being the thing, it's like, well, if that were just different, if that were just different, if this was different in my life, and gosh, the goalpost always moves, especially with comparison. Like comparison is a killer of joy in our life. And which is why I love, you know, it's funny, like you were mentioning, Brandon, you know, Paul wanting to go and do all these different things and build the church, and yet so much of our New Testament are his words, right, that are helping build and equip believers all over the world even today. But in the midst of this move journey, one of the things that I think you both had mentioned was that for some people, right, this move journey, making this commitment, it's not financial, right? Just because of circumstances are legit in this situation of like, okay, it doesn't flesh itself out that way. So what does it look like then in the midst of this move series, taking the financial part of this off the table? How can we still live out the heartbeat of move? I love it. I think, for me, my mind kind of directly goes to like one of the principles of the kingdom of heaven is that like, that the resources are not needed. You know what I mean? Like God's not in heaven going...

and I could do some things if you would just give me this. Like, he's lightning. God does not need our money. He does not need. He's not doing that comparison thing. Yeah, yeah. He's just curious. Oh, for sure. Yeah, so I think that's, and I think we see that kind of all through scripture. And I love when you said, like, right out of the pit, I'm doing a Bible reading plan. And what God was pointing out yesterday, I was listening on a podcast as I was driving. He was like, every time Abraham, I read in the Old Testament, Abraham, every time Abraham went into something that was really, really hard, he came out on the other side with more than what he went in. You know what I mean? And I'm like, I looked back through, like reading through Deuteronomy and stuff like that, going, oh man, that's really cool. That's how God does it. You know, and we look at like the, it shows up a couple of times, like the resources are not what's going on. It's like Brie talks about that internal obedience or that what's happening inside, right?

Like that, you know, when Jesus makes a big deal out of somebody giving something, it wasn't, it was a direct contrast to the people who were able to give a lot. And he points out the widow's mite, right? Where she was like, she dropped in two copper coins, which were, you don't think this says, was worth less than a penny. And Jesus stops everybody that was with him, all of his boys, and says, hey, look up, that girl right there, she gave the most. You know what I mean? Like we think about the feeding of 5,000, right? All these people are 5,000 men, plus county women and children, right on this hillside, and it's like, okay, we got to feed them. And it's like, it wasn't like, okay, we got to, the disciples are wrestling with like looking at the earthly things, the comparison of the crowd of people with how much they had, which was like, you know, some sardines and a few crackers. You know what I mean? And he's like, Jesus, like, just bring it to me. Just bring it to me. So know how, the insignificant that we've, the insignificance we feel, of like, how much can I give? Like, cause right, you mentioned some tangible things.

I'm gonna choose to work on forgiving my father. That's a big freaking deal. That's a big deal. You know what I mean? I'm gonna commit to like trying to memorize this verse. I'm gonna commit to praying for people this week. You know what I mean? And we think, well that, but compared to somebody else, look what they can do, you know, versus what I'm able to do in this moment. But like, that it's not the amount of what we can give. It's not like how significant it looks like from others. The kingdom of heaven is like, no, it's the attitude behind it that matters. You know what I mean? And somebody being able to walk up, someone who has experienced whatever they've experienced in their life with the wounds that they've participated in, or the wounds that have been present, like somebody did things to them. You know what I mean? That directly impacted the path that they were on for that person to walk up and say, I committing to being vulnerable this week. That's the stuff. That's the stuff that stops things in heaven. God's like, okay, I can do something. Right here we go. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I just really love, and I'm gonna go back to it. Cause again, I think Kyle did such a good job about saying the heart of this move journey is a discipleship journey, right? And so if we were to like redefine move and not it being financial obligation, I would think of move of the heart, move of the mind, and a move of the will. You know what I mean? So in the heart, meaning like, I'm gonna choose to allow softening instead of continuing to harden the heart. I would choose forgiveness. I'm gonna choose to interrupt my own way of thinking and I'm gonna speak truth at it. I'm gonna choose going to groups. I'm gonna choose to participate in things that otherwise I'd sit around in my own self pity. So that's kind of how I would lump it. Move of the heart, move of the mind, move of the will. That's such a great way to put it. Yeah, cause one of the things that's challenged me in this whole series is just how much, even when I process through my own life, my kid's life, my marriage, finances, work, whatever it is, all these things that I'm privileged to have in my life, right? It's really cool that those things exist in my life. And yet so many of those things that I care about the most

are the things that I kind of like white knuckle grip onto. And I realized that like, man, my human flesh, I don't want, even though I conceptually know that Jesus is worthy to have that, for whatever reason, I still trust in myself more than I trust in Christ, if I'm being honest. And that's a hard thing to swallow. And so in the midst of this move, I love that because there have been several things over the past year or so where it's, I have had to ask myself that question of like, okay, are you white knuckling onto this idea of what you think is going to be best for your life? And it goes back to that, what'd you say again? It was the heart, the mind, and the will, because all are involved in it, right? And it's this idea of getting to a place of just total, complete surrender. And it's exhausting enough to. do it in one area of our life, much less all areas, which Christ wants, but there's a lot of freedom that comes with that. One of the stuff that struck me about what Bree said, like, is it 12 or 12 or the big book, Bree, where it says, like, fear, it defines fear, fear of we're gonna lose something that we have or not get something that we want, you know what I mean? It's one of the recovery resources we lean into a lot, that this comes from that self-centered,

it's that fear that I'm gonna lose something, I'm gonna lose something that I've got or I'm not gonna get something that I want, you know what I mean? And when you mentioned one, like, I'm gonna pray for my father, I'm gonna work on forgiving my father, or I'm gonna move into vulnerability, like, you made the thing, I'm gonna let down the walls, right, like, why did you build the walls? Like, why do we build walls? Well, to protect. Yeah, to protect, keep something out. It's for protection. Yeah, like, you know, we don't wake up one day and be like, hey, I wanna be completely closed off emotionally and hate everybody that's close to me, you know what I mean? Like, it's like, this is the planned pathway to the life everlasting is this right here. Like, we do that because at some point in time, we were open, some point in time, she was vulnerable, and it hurt, and it came back to bite her, you know what I mean? And our brains are not wired for what's healthy, our brains are wired for what's familiar, you know what I mean? And so it's like, hey, guess what? We're not letting happen again. Bam, they throw those walls up,

so I don't want anything to ever be able to get close. I'm not going through that again. Yeah, it's like a preventative, like, this is harm reduction, so I'm just gonna throw up this wall because it's easier like that. But I love what you were saying too, because I think, I always say, like, welcome to being a human, you know what I mean? Like, that's not uncommon. But thank goodness that God is kind enough to reveal those things, because then we recognize our need for a savior every day. And one of the things we say in recovery all the time is I just need to be present in the places that I'm at. And when I'm present in those places, and I experience God and what he has me, what he wants me to do in that moment, this is my assignment, this is my post. You know what I'm saying? And when we can accept that, because acceptance is the answer to most of the problems that I deal with, then I can experience God's love, and I can be loving to somebody else. Say it again, to be present in the places that you're sent. That we're at. That we're at, present in the places that we're at. I like that, I like that. Do you have anything? Did you flip over to Philippians 4?

No, I don't have it, I was just looking. I was just browsing. Okay, yeah, I think we lock in on that phrase a lot. We get asked a lot, well, what is God's will for me? You know, what is God's will for me? And where we lock at is God's will for you is to be present in the places you're supposed to be. And where you are is where you're at, so you might as well be there. You know what I mean? And so we do that usually in the context of a stabilization shelter for someone coming out of sex trafficking, or we do that in the context of someone that's in a residential treatment facility for addiction. That's the normal context that we normally speak into, but it's like the reality is this is where I'm at. You know what I mean? And God will meet you in that moment. You know what I mean? Not being able to like, you know, we spend a lot of time, I spend a lot of my time, you know, like morbidly just thinking about all the past, you know, the things in the past that I wish I would have been different. All the regrets, all the resentments. Yeah. All the what ifs, woulda, coulda, shouldas, all that stuff. Or then I step into the front

where I start worrying about what could happen, or what is this gonna look like, and is this gonna go well? And for the context, you know, in Pando, it's like, you know, is this gonna work out where there is a different stage of my life where I don't find myself in a place where I have to rely on a Pando app or an app to be able to connect with prison? When you mentioned about Paul being in prison, it made me think about like, I wonder if there was times in his life when he, how like, when he, in his incarceration, where it hit and he was like, gosh, this is so frustrating. You know what I mean? Because like, even while I'm talking right now, you watch how I'm like, I move my hands a lot. And if I'm thinking about something and I can see if I'm writing or if I'm doing, I'm pacing, you know what I mean? Like, and it's like, you know, he's chained to stuff, and like, he's pacing around a room, and he's getting fired up because he's about to drop this Philippians 4 verse that everybody knows is a really big deal, and he's about to drop Philippians 4, and he's walking, and all of a sudden, the chain catches, and it's like, ding! You know, and he can't walk any farther,

and it's like, gosh, I hate this, you know? Like, the frustrations in those moments of being incarcerated, but God was still present in that spot for him, and it was like, that's where he was. Like, I'm here in this moment. This is as far as I can physically walk, and God is locked in with me in this thing, and that's his will for us to be present in the places, you know, that we're supposed to be. And that's where he meets us out, and some of the most, like you pointed out, some of the most beautiful things, like the most beautiful things in our life, came out of when I was in that pit. That's the most beautiful moments of my connection with God. You know, it wasn't like I was in the pit, and it was like I had the plan to fix this or that, or it wasn't, it was in the pit and that brokenness. It's one of the most beautiful things in my connection with the Lord. Same. Yeah, you had mentioned, you know, Philippians 4.13, which a lot of times maybe in our American culture we attribute it to sports, maybe at different times. But a couple of verses before that leading into it, or even just the verse before, it says, I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. This is Paul speaking again. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry,

both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. And a lot of times it's this, you know, sometimes we can believe it's this thing where it's like, hey, I can do anything with God, right? With God I can do anything. And that's, you know, probably conceptually true in most ways probably, probably not in the ways that serve ourselves, probably a better way to say it. But that Paul has learned, like even, like there's a lot of power in knowing he's writing this as he's in chains, right? He's limited by his circumstances in the moment, but being able to say and write, like I can face... I've learned I can face anything, right? Because I know Jesus, right? Because I know Jesus. And what's interesting to me is that we believe that, like obviously the early church and the church ever since have believed that this is a legit letter from the Apostle Paul, right? Written to the church in Philippi. And for whatever reason, like the Lord made sure that Paul in his circumstance here was going to be the same thing we were going to be reading 2,000 some years later, us not in chains, right? Not in jail right at this moment, at least for us here at this table where we can kind of be free and go. But for all of us folks watching Pando, that may not be a reality, right? But there's still a power and a strength in the heart behind that verse that we can face any circumstance. Our joy does not have to be tied. Our peace does not have to be tied to a circumstance. And even as he had said earlier, that he counted all things at a loss, not for the joy of becoming a better person or for having a bunch of money or having a great platform, no, he counted all those things at a loss for knowing Jesus, right?

Because of the impact Jesus is gonna make in his life. And so as we wrap up, Matt and Brie, I wanna give you guys kind of the final word here of Pando family as we're watching this right now. We really do believe that as we're having this discussion, you're always that next person sitting here at the table with us. And so maybe today you're that fifth person sitting here with us. And so Brie, Matt, what would your encouragement or challenge be for someone in our Pando audience who would be sitting right here at the table with us in terms of, hey, this is how I would challenge you to take what you've just learned over the last six weeks of MOVE. That's good. You wanna go? You want me to go? Either one. I can go. Rock, paper, scissors? Yeah, let's go. It's rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Yeah. One, two, three, shoot. Ready? Of course. Hey. There you go. You're up. There you go. Okay. So encouragement. So there was something you said a minute ago about like, you can get stuck in morbid reflection or all those things. And I think that's anybody, but I also think if I'm caught up in the what ifs, then I'm

living in fear. And if I'm caught in the even ifs, then I'm living in faith. And so I have to be super aware of that daily. And I think that's very practical for people to start applying now. But I think my encouragement would be is if I'm willing, God can move, right? So I have to just be willing. I have to accept where I'm at, be present in the places that I'm at. And just see what God has for me. That's my post. This is my assignment. So the heart, the mind, the will, you know, it doesn't have to be overly complicated. It doesn't have to be anything like that. And I love how you just read that because and praise God that he was in prison when he wrote that. Because for me, some of the hardest things I had to do was just accept a circumstance. I needed God's strength to do that. Some of the hardest things were like, okay, I'm willing to forgive somebody. Thank goodness for God's strength to do that. You know what I mean? So it doesn't have to be these huge things. Like the littlest things are some of the most profound things for an individual. And it's just meant for them and Jesus. You know? So that would be my encouragement. If I'm willing, God can move. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, I think my number one thing would be that like, you are as much a part of Southeast Christian Church as anybody that's sitting at a regional campus. Like you are the, we are not us without you. You know, so because you weren't in a place to go drop a card in a box does not mean you're

on the outside looking in, that we are not who God wants us to be if you are not a part of this journey with us. And I would say, I loved it when Derek read that in Philippians 4, because one of the translations is used, it says that we, you know, I found the secret to being content in any and every situation, is how that, as one of the translations says that. And to be in content in any and every situation is because that I can do all things because of Jesus, you know, and so what I highlight is that God showed up in a freaking powerful way, in the Apostle Paul's life while dude was locked up. He was locked up and God showed up in a powerful, powerful way. Please don't think that I, well, once if I can get here or if I can get out or if I can get this done, then God can move in my life. Like God showed up while dude was in chains and in such a way that it is blessing and encouraging all of us thousands of years later, as Derek pointed out. You know, so you can be, don't think that God can't show up in that spot that you're in and that it won't be used to reverberate and to bless people for a long time. And man, like, please more than anything, know that wherever spot that you're in in this moment, that God will meet you in it. Psalm 139 says,

if I go to the tops of the mountains, God, you are there. So if I'm running from God and I'm getting as far away as I can go, he's still there. And it says, if I make my bed in the depths of hell, is what David said, still, you were there with me. That God is with you in this moment and he is showing up to move in a powerful way. I think that's what I would leave with. That's so good. So good. Well, y'all, we are so glad you decided to join us today. We hope that this MOVE series has been a good and challenging sermon series. We hope that you enjoy getting to hear from Matt and Brie. They'll be with us again. But what we want you to know, like Matt and Brie, Brandon, myself, like we're trying to remind you is that no matter where you're at, you're part of our church family, right? You did not have to turn in a commitment card this weekend to know that you are loved and seen and prayed for from us here at Southeast. But at the same time, if you're sitting there and processing through all this and you're like, man, I would love to do something. Well, here would be a tangible thing you could do. In the description of this video, in the description of our weekend services, you have the address to our church.

We would love for you to write us and let us know how this whole series has hit you. But especially, even more important, let us know how we can pray for you and your story. Share your story with us. If there's one way that you can jump in in the midst of this, we'd love to hear from you. Our team's greatly encouraged by getting to hear from you. We have dozens of letters that come in every week. And just the joy of getting to pray for you fills our cup and know how this is hitting you. Y'all, we love you. We're so grateful for you. So for everybody that's here at the table, we're so grateful that you guys are here today getting to talk about this stuff. Y'all, we love you. We'll see you next time.