I'm a Pastor. Anything You Want to Talk About?

is trying to learn what it looks like to fully live and follow Jesus in the middle of real life. It is one thing to be someone on Sundays, but what about Monday through Saturday? And so here, we're going to talk about faith and making a difference in the messy, ordinary moments where it's often the hardest to live out. Some weeks, I'll share what God is teaching me. Other weeks, I'll sit down with leaders, pastors, athletes, friends. There's no fluff, just encouragement and truth for your life between Sundays. I'm so glad you're here. Well, hey, crew. What's up? Welcome back to Life Between Sundays. Here we go. It is Adam and Emily here joining me for episode 354. I'm so excited about this episode. Super glad that you guys hit play on this episode today. Super glad that you're here. Super excited. Just share more share this episode, by the way, leave a review. The more reviews, the more shares, the more people get to hear these these conversations. So yeah, there you go. Let's go on to keep this going. Yeah, we are on YouTube as well. Let people don't know that this one. I feel like is a good one for YouTube. I that's actually a great point. Yeah, there was ever a time to watch an episode on YouTube. It would be this one because I think it's just kind of interesting and fast, fascinating and whatever else. Yeah, before we get into the episode, we got to hit the high low buffalo. High low buffalo. Let's hear it. I think these are all highs. So one is my wife and I celebrated 22 years being married together. So I love my wife shout out to you, Becky. And we just did a quick trip to Minneapolis and had a blast. Just stayed downtown. Downtown Minneapolis at the canopy there. There was a cute outdoor market. It was awesome. Another high or buffalo, whatever it is, is we just wrapped up vision nights. When you're hearing this, we just wrapped up vision nights, sharing some exciting things we shared about where we've been as a church. And then some exciting things that God has put on our future. And so that was definitely a high as well. I feel like I have so many highs right now. I'm excited to be back preaching more often. I'm excited about fall being here. That's my wall, actually. I like fall. She does not like fall. I love fall. I don't like what follows fall. So I if fall could stay forever, that would be my favorite thing. Those are my highs. I think all of them are highs. Okay. Well, there you go. You can just we don't call a high low buffalo. It's just high, high, high. It's perfect. That's all I got. There you go. Okay. You mentioned watching this on

YouTube today. Yeah. Why? Why? We went to a street corner. If you notice you falls on Philips Avenue and I sat up my little makeshift desk there and then we had a sign at you know, I'm a pastor. Do you have anything you want to talk about? And these are four different conversations that I had with complete strangers there on the street corner. And I what's so fun is we have obviously no idea what to expect. We don't know if anybody's going to sit down. And yet people did and just had some fascinating conversations. You're going to listen. And if you're a Christ father, there's going to be a couple of them that you're like, Oh, yeah, that's I agree that I didn't think the same thing and file the same Jesus and whatever else. But there might also be a couple of people that I sat down with that you're like, Hey, I do not agree with where they're at. And yet that sounds like life. And so what I'm excited is people a want to have spiritual conversations. And so I think that's really exciting. And then be if you're like, I don't even know how to have these conversations with my my co workers or friends. Maybe this could be just some notes for you with that. So I'll share that the first one I sat down with is a gal named Laura. And she just began to ask me different questions. She goes to embrace, which was really, really fun. Several people walked by. I got a bottle of water given to me because it was boiling. Yeah, it was the best thing. But let's jump in on this first conversation with you. Something you've been wrestling with in your own walk with Jesus, like, do you think that way? I think I wrestle with taking time to pray, like, like, and intentionally praying. Because there'll be moments where I like, no, I mean, I can talk to Jesus. And like, if I'm in traffic and like, I'm getting fired up or anything, like, I can, I know I can talk to Jesus and I do. But I don't have, like, an intentional time that I sit down and, like, really do that. And so, I know how valuable it is to pray. Yeah. And I know, you know, I mean, you can literally change the world with one prayer, you know, and I believe that. But I just really struggle with, like, forcing myself to, like, sit and talk to Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I can definitely really, I've struck, 'cause I'm naturally restless too, and would much rather just be in a dad of four kids and married, it's like, oh, I don't have any time. I feel like maybe three, four years ago, it really shifted, where before a lot of times, I would have time with the Lord,

but it would just be super short or whatever. Now I feel like I have to have that time, and it feels less of like, I need a discipline myself to do this, more of like, if I skipped eating, how it would make myself-- - You'd be hungry. - Yeah, I feel like that's probably been a shift just in the last four or five years, and I always feel like it's not because I'm holy, it's just because I'm so needy. - Well, but you probably had to, it probably had to start as a discipline, I would imagine, right? - It did. - And then eventually it doesn't become a discipline, because I realize you need it, but like, yeah, and forcing myself to sit and be disciplined as a struggle, but my husband and I do try to do like, you know, Bible studies and stuff together, like through the Bible app, 'cause there's some really good stuff on there, and so we try, but we just gotta be consistent, so. - I think another thing that's been helpful for me is, again, I'm so antsy to sit still as painful. So even something I've been trying to do that I started years ago and still do is just, I go on walks almost every single day. - You know that's a great idea. - And that's been something that's been so helpful, is just to like go on a walk, not have my AirPods in. - Right.

- And just like talking with Jesus, just throughout. - Yeah, I love that. - Talking with Jesus throughout it. So that's been super helpful for me too. - What are your thoughts on? Do you feel like, like if you're listening to the Bible, if that is that the same as like sitting and reading, do you feel? - So I don't think there's a right or wrong way. I'd say that. And also like scripture was oral for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. - For me, I do best with it in front of me. - Yeah. - Like just actually on a physical Bible. - Right. - Because I'll reread it because I struggle to comprehend it. - Let's inter it. - Yeah, and so I'll just keep reading it or I'll underline it or I'll write notes in it. So for me, it's been helpful to have it right in front of me. But my wife and a close friend of the total opposite. So Becky almost solely listens to scripture. So she does the Bible app with the gumbles. - Yeah, okay. - So she does it through the Bible app. - Yeah. - So she listens to it every day. And then a friend of mine just struggles with reading comprehension.

- Yeah, I agree. - And he's a grown man. - Makes sense. - And so that's what's been helpful out there too. So for me, it's definitely better physical. - Yeah. - Just 'cause I can reread it, re like, what does that mean again? Reread it. What does that mean? Okay. - Yeah. - And then I like by the fourth time I'm like, okay, I feel like I finally have an idea of what it's trying to say. - I love that. No, I think that's important too for people to realize 'cause you don't have to be sitting and like necessarily just reading. - Yes. - Listening, you can be talking. You know? - Oh. - So valuable. - Yes. - And I feel like for me letting go of like, I felt guilt for not sitting and reading and instead wanting to like listen. Because I felt like it was so driven that you have to sit and be with your Bible instead of like the real purpose

which is to build your relationship with Jesus. - Yes. - Yeah. - I think, and I think we do that in so many areas of our walks with the Lord. We create these things that we think they need to be and need to look like. - Yes. - And it's like that's actually really, really new in the grand scheme of like history. - Right. - Right. - And so like, no, it's like it can be conversational with God, but even with others. - Yes. - I even think of how cool it would be if every morning you met a friend for a walk and you started out and just like, hey, let's read literally five verses quick. And then let's talk about it for our walk. - I love that. - I feel like that would be so, instead of it, oh, I gotta, and I get easily distracted and blah, blah, blah. It's like, but do you get distracted easily when you're with a friend and you're talking with each other? - That's such a good point. - Like just sometimes those simple ways.

I feel like I tell people even like in a marriage, a lot of times it's like doing fun, different things. - Yes. - Do a date night and do something totally, you know? But it's like the same thing with your walk with the Lord. - Yeah. - Like just switch it up and try something different. - I love that. That's great. Yeah. Yeah, Kenny and I like to do those like, we'll go on dates when we can, you know, we have two young kids. So it can be hard. - Yeah. - But we like to pull out questions and stuff. Or actually, a lot of times after service, we'll ask each other like, okay, you know, what were your thoughts on that? - I love that. - Or like, yeah, how did that make you feel? Like what, you know, when he asked this, like what came up for you? So we'll have some good conversations actually after, after church. - That's beautiful. - So yeah, I love it too. It's really nice to have that relationship with him where we are like, Oh, I love that. So this next conversation is with a gal named Skye. And I could not have enjoyed

this conversation with Skye. Awesome. She saw you on the corner. She's like, I like to talk right now. Okay. And I just again, you might disagree with a whole bunch of what Skye says. And that's, I would say that's okay. But I was just so grateful for her openness of just saying, hey, this is where I'm at. These are some of the questions that I have. If you're a Christ follower, you can just, maybe there's some things that like, again, how do I have a conversation with someone who disagrees with me? My hope is that by seeing the way I interact with Skye, I want her to feel seen and loved and valued. And then I also just wanted to share some of the things that I believe about Christ, even if that might be different than what she believes, which is totally cool. So I really just, I can't say enough about Skye. It was such an honor. Enjoy this conversation. What's your name? My name is Skye. Skye, Adam. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Where's home originally? I'm from Worthington, Minnesota. It's just about an hour away. I like the big city Worthington. Yeah. Yeah. I like the pheasant hat you got there too. I feel like I've seen that, but I don't know where did you get that thing at? A thrift store. Okay. I didn't know if Shields was doing that or not. I should have been wearing it earlier because I got a tick on my head. I was out on a walk and I got a tick on my head. Gosh. I have to think about something to talk about. You can talk. We can talk about anything. Can I ask you questions? Yeah, that would be better. And we don't have to talk only about spiritual things. You're background faith-wise. It's kind of complicated, but not really. I'm still from the Midwest. So it's not that crazy, you know? That's true. I was like baptized, Presbyterian, and then I was confirmed Lutheran, and I've been to some non-denominational churches when I was like, I was like super involved when I was younger. I went on all the trips at church, mostly through the Lutheran church. Oh, yeah. And it was super fun. It was a nice activity. But now I call myself a Christian witch. A Christian witch? Explain that. Yeah, it's like a thing. Because you can't erase those years of learning Christianity, you know? Like my grandma, my mom, they all have faith like in Jesus. Like typical stuff. Growing up in the church, did you feel a connection more than it, like being kind of fun and stuff? Was there much of a connection? Because I grew up Lutheran all my extended families, Catholic. And my earliest memories as a kid is not wanting anything to do a church. I just, it didn't feel, it felt like it kind of was like a bunch of empty hoops that you jumped through. And it just never connected with me. And then later on in life, against my will, I was still living with my parents. So they had the decision that we

went to church. And I went to a church. And for the first time, it actually felt like I had a heart connection. So growing up, was there, what do you feel like you had a heart? Oh, I super loved it. I super loved church as a kid. I mean, I kind of made a joke of it like a lot, because I just wanted to make people laugh. So I guess a lot of it was the community aspect. Because I love to sing and dance. My grandma played the organ. So it was just like a place where I could kind of like do the things I like to do. Yeah. But would you say, just, I'm totally curious, would you say there was a way from like the kind of the community part of it and like being able to like do things that you love? Do you feel like growing up there was much connection with God? I think I had a lot of anxiety. So I think I was always just like worried that I was going to do the wrong thing. Yeah. Like, I mean, it's not as strict as Catholic, but I was like, I think it was more like anxiety. So like, if I prayed, it was because I was like, oh, please don't let me fail this test. Like, oh, I heard this helped. But I think, you know, it was more about like the community aspect and having that with my mom and going into nature. We did like a nontraditional things too. Like she, she did a Bible study for teens with me. That's cool. And I did like a purity ring, like whole, like workshop type thing. And I asked my mom, she was like, what? And I was like, no, I think this is important. So I think there was part of me that wanted to be like connected to something that was like going to keep me on the right track. But definitely like kind of lost that throughout college because of like political reasons, because every church I found started mentioning things that were like not about actual like God, like they were about like pushing. when you're trying to find a connection, so kind of how to go off of my own at that point. Well, the first part, this is awesome by the way Skye, I'm like loving this way too much. The first part that I think most people, not most people, a lot of people feel that way of like I don't want to fail a test and like I'm not going to screw this up. I didn't have as much of that growing up. I had more, I just thought it was all nonsense. Oh yeah. That's my deepest thoughts were just, it felt like we talked about an amazing God while everyone was falling asleep and then outside church no one would talk about that amazing God. Yeah. When there's amazing things in my life, I want to talk about it all the time.

Yeah. If there's an amazing cute girl, I can't stop talking about her. That's true. Like an old car? Like are you kidding me, it's amazing. I need to tell everybody about this old car. Yeah. So for me, that was something I really wrestled with. I think for me, kind of a pivotal moment, like I've always struggled with belonging or feeling like I fit in, like my full life. And for me, when I began to hear, so again, we kind of grew up really traditional and then we switched churches and I began to hear that the God who set the stars in place wanted a relationship with me. That just like, I can remember it just rocking my world. Oh really? Because I felt so inadequate and just always so unsure of myself and to think that God wanted to pursue me was really a game-changing thing. What you said in college, I feel a lot of that as a pastor even right now. And I definitely have some political views as a Fowler of Jesus. But what I feel like I'm seeing so many people do is lead with politics even in the church. And it's like, I think before being a US citizen, I think we're supposed to be Fowler's of Jesus first. And it becomes something that just is used for our political platform rather than like, no, like I, so I can... It's good to tie things in. Like I like when I go to church on Mother's Day and they talk about mothers and stuff like that. And so when there's so much politics like kind of leading our lives and our social media feeds, I think it's natural. But yeah, I don't know.

I just got kind of complicated. I got more like spiritual. Yeah. During that phase, you know, going more to like yoga classes is where I find my fit. Like I still think of Sundays as my church day, even though I don't go to a church. Whoa. That's pretty wild. I was like to go on a hike on like Sundays just to kind of like curate the vibe of like, this is a sacred time to like refuel my energy and stuff like that. That's pretty cool that you still like have that even in your like, in your brain. Yeah, I think it really helped because I came from a small town that it was like non-conventional. Like my pastor in my hometown right now is a woman. And the like music director is a gay man. His husband comes to church. Like it was always shown as like, this is okay. And then Worthington is very, being very diverse. We would have certain weeks where it was just mostly about like, we would share our space with other denominations, with other faiths, with other walks, like like a lot of Ethiopian people and just different culture like that. So when I went to college, I was like, are you guys okay? Like this is not what I learned. So I just kind of didn't find like a community like I have in my hometown. Yeah. But I definitely still could go to the church in my hometown and feel pretty at ease with my new found beliefs or whatever. Yeah. Maybe that's all incredible. One thing I always try to tell people, even myself honestly, because there's been times where I've gotten really cynical towards Christians and the church myself. What I always try to separate is don't base your thoughts about Jesus off of his followers.

One of my favorite quotes from a guy, I don't even know where he's at faith wise. He always says, I have nothing wrong with Jesus. It's this fan club that annoys the crowd out of me. And so I think like maybe that's something I would maybe encourage you with is even like as you're thinking about spiritual things, even just maybe even like, hey Jesus, I don't want to base my thoughts off of you based off what other people have lived. if you follow me for five seconds, you'll be disappointed. - Yeah. - But if you follow Jesus, the guidance gets more wonderful, more full of grace and truth and everything, it's awesome that way. - Well, the other thing is I don't really align with the Jesus story as much anymore. I have a lot of quotes in my house and I still have a lot of different tools that I use. Next to my tarot cards is like a deck of Bible verses. Like I use them like together. And so like in my house, I don't have anything that says Jesus. I have a lot of things that say Christ or God because I think that's kind of broader terminology. So I'm more comfortable with that because it aligns with more people. And I think that we're all just kind of using the same, we're all trying to use different things to come to the same outcome of like, you know, just like that pure love. - Sky, I'm like honored to have this conversation with you. Away from a question, away from kind of seeing like politics being brought in with Jesus,

is there other things that you feel like with Jesus specifically that you kind of walked away from or changed your beliefs on? Like is there something that you would say like, not based off like what you were here in other Christians say, but is there anything with Jesus that you were like, man, I kind of struggle with this? Like anything there or no? - I guess it just goes back into the politics of people being like, oh, Jesus is a white man and he wanted it this way and blah blah instead of just like looking at the story. Like I understand it's just another name. And so I don't really have a problem with that. It's just like the connotation in my heart is like, I see that and I think about all the people who are saying, this is how it is, this is what you should be doing. This is why I'm allowed to be hateful to this certain group of people is because of this story. - You're preaching right now. - So I just get frustrated and that's in my own head. So like it doesn't really matter what other people are saying. It's like, if I see that word or hear somebody telling me something about Jesus this, Jesus that, I'm like, okay, what's behind that? - Yeah. - And so that's just like my own comfortability. - Last thing. - A, I'm honored that you'd say that and be so honest.

First thing I would say is I'm sorry for, like I'm speaking for all Christians here, which I shouldn't. But I'm sorry for just any of that bad connotations that you've whatever. It's like for me, me, when I think about Jesus, I think about the only one who truly loves unconditionally like a lot of people in our world will claim like, we love everybody and then you kind of find out, oh, they only like right or left. They still only love people who think like them, vote like them, talk like them. But what I love about Jesus is the only one who probably should have some different standards. Like he like is, so when I think about Jesus, I think about like the most like true source of love I've ever experienced and like grace. And so yeah, that's what I would pray for you is that, 'cause that's that I like, again, I feel bad and sorry that like that you have had those experiences. And again, at times I've had those experiences and I've needed to separate those two things out of like, okay, this is what someone is saying to me that claims to follow Jesus, but that's still a separate from that. - Yeah, I'm pretty lucky. I have limited, I know everybody, a lot of people, especially like in my wheelhouse, I guess, of like artists and creatives and queer people and just anybody would say like, oh, I have religious trauma. Like I had religious trauma as a child.

And I have looked into that myself of like how I feel I was brought up and I can honestly say that like, I don't have any religious trauma. Religion has always been a thing that's like saved my family. I've come from a lot of like, like my family's been addicts, you know, my family's been through turbulent times. And so that's the other thing where you're saying, Jesus, I was like, I did Jesus Christ superstar, the musical over here. And so I always like to refer to like, who Jesus hung out with, what Jesus like came out to do. Like I do have my own positive experience with Jesus, with the word Jesus, but it's just like kind of a boundary I have of like, you know, where you coming from when you're talking about Jesus, what kind of Jesus you know about. - Yeah, yeah. I'm, again, I'm honored that you would like to share all that. That's really, that's really power. Anything else that you want to chat about? You're awesome. - I don't know. I just, I just got accepted into USF today, (laughing) - Yeah, I believe, I believe it. - It's like a Christian-based college. - I'm, I'm, what's in like this area? - And how do you feel about that? - Well, my mom went there and so I,

and she was always like, "You need to apply." And I was like, "Mom, that's where the churchy people go." - Oh, like what? (laughing) - And now I'm like, okay, like it's just another school. - I just said, I just remember what I was gonna say, but you were talking about your creative friends and stuff like that. - Yeah. - But it's like, this is again, this makes me so sad to think about for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. When you thought about creatives and artists, you would have almost only thought about Christians. - Oh. - Like it's the craziest thing. - Why is that? Like just because of like churches? - That's who the artists were. So like if you, one of my favorite cities in the world is London, if you go to their art gallery, it is more Jesus-focused than any church in Sioux Falls. - Yeah. - 'Cause all the art is Jesus. - Yeah. - And so that's something that's like, for me, I grieve the fact that now, today, when you think about Christians, you think about like non-creative

and really- - Raiders, I think about haters. - Yeah, and it's just so cool to think like, back in the day, if you were an artist, like in like you did art, so much of it was Jesus-centered. - Oh, it's listening about that. - So it's like, how did we get like, that's again, like something I feel like, we have so many like misconceptions about Jesus. And like even like, I think it's really cool that one of the, like literally the very first verse in the Bible is in the beginning God created. - Yeah, yeah, that's good. - You know, it's so cool to think about like our, like God is like- - Isn't that an awesome God he raised from heaven above? - Let's go. (laughing) I know all the songs, I know all the songs. The sky, last thing I'll say is if for some crazy reason, you ever are like, hey, I wanna give church, and this isn't for this, I pass through embrace. It'd be an honor to have you come sometime. - Where's that? - We have a couple locations, but I preach, and there's a gal preaching this Sunday. - Oh, cool. - She, I preach at, it's 57th Street in Southeastern. It's the Old Glory Day Lutheran Church.

- Okay, yeah. I'm pretty down for church. My friend, he's like in a punk band, I almost said pumpkin. He's in a punk band and his dad is a pastor, and then my roommate's dad is a pastor, and they're very artsy individuals, and so I'm like, okay, let me come see your church band. My boyfriend goes to the Catholic Church, but he goes only to half the service. I'm like, I cannot do that. My Lutheran, my Lutheran, I'd be so embarrassed. You know, it's like we got a dress right, but we got to sing quietly. - No, or you can dress, you dress just like, if you ever come to a race, I want you to wear that exact outfit. - All right, I'm on it. - This is what I preach. - I need all my pockets. - You'll fit right on it. - Perfect. - Yeah. - Nice to meet you. - So nice to meet you. - Okay, before we go any further, there are just some awesome partners that we want to thank for making life between Sundays possible. Adam, who are our partners? - Our partners are amazing.

Our first partner is First Interstate Bank. I literally can't believe this every time I say this. I've been doing my personal banking with them since 2007. That's a long time. Their mission is to help people and their money work better together. They have over 300 locations, which I personally love, that it's not just local to one place. They're throughout 14 different states, Arizona, Colorado, Washington state, to the great state of South Dakota. If you're looking for a location near you, visit firstinterstatebank.com, highly recommend them. I mention are often joy at the 57th Street office. The branch there is awesome to work with. I have nothing but great things to say. Our second partner is Vernite Mitsubishi. Vernite is a growing employee-owned faith-based company that strives to deliver dreams and transform lives in their goal as excellence in everything that they do. Friends, I just cannot gush about them enough. It's not just on the podcast, literally with anybody in my life who mentions they're going to get a car or a snowmobile or a tractor. I'm like, you need to talk to Vernite, a boat. Literally, no matter what kind of vehicle you're looking for, Vernite is the place to go. And I say that because A, their customer service is top-notch. They have amazing brands that they represent,

Acra, Ford, Honda, and then BOC. Their impact outside though, the walls of their business is incredible. They're one of those businesses that truly impacts the world around them. And so I'm just so proud to be able to talk about them each and every week. So go to Vernite.com if you're looking for a vehicle of any kind, Vernite.com. Okay, so this next conversation was with a young man named John. and he shared about his foster dad. And I just thought that was really, really powerful. And then we ended up praying for his mom. And again, I feel like these conversations might seem really normal conversations for some people, but way out of like their comfort zone for other people. But it was just a joy to hear his story and also to pray for his mom. And if you would be praying for him as well, I think there's just power in prayer. And so as you're listening to John share about his mom and even as I'm praying for him, I just encourage you to pray for him too. It's so nice to meet you. Yes, it is. Where are you always from Sioux Falls? I am. Born and raised. I was born here. Yes. I lived in Jasper, Minnesota for a foster home when I was little. Is there any any way that that ways that I can be praying for you today? Because there's any good place for my family. That'd be beautiful. Yeah. My mom's here in town. She's she just got a new place. And is that foster mom biological mom biological mother? Okay. Okay. Her name. And her name. Crystal twigs. Crystal. Yes. So I could pray for your mom any any other ways that I can be like any other family wise or or anything else I can be praying for? No, no sir. That's fine. Yeah. I'll pray for her right now. Is it okay? Yes sir. Lord, I'm just so thankful for John and just his heart. I can just tell he's got a good soul on him. And just someone who's open to you and is seeking you. And I specifically pray for his mom. Lord, I'm not sure what specifically she's being challenged with right now or struggling with. But I pray even in this moment that you'd overwhelm her with your love for her. And just that you would guide her. Lord, if there's any if she if she's struggling with like

just having people in her life away from John, I pray you'd bring just a person who loves you and can love her and just help support her as well. Lord, I'm just so thankful for John's story. Even him talking about his foster dad just really just warms my soul. And I'm just thankful for him. And just the way that he's he's shown you and your love towards John and Lord. So we just love you. We pray all this your name. Amen. Amen. Yeah. Okay. So this last conversation is with a gal named Jordan. And it was so fun because she kept walking by. She was at work and she was walking by and then just was like, okay, I'm ready to sit down. And so we just had a conversation of like, what does it look like to bring faith into our everyday conversations? Now, those previous conversations you saw me do just that just casually, but also very intentionally, just weave in faith in. But I got really more specific with Jordan because she was just asking really specific questions. And so I I'm just guessing that you might have some of the same questions that Jordan has. And I really hope that this is encouraging to you. Whoever. Whoever. That's what you're listening. I actor. I actor? What is that? I actors are from Salem. Are they? Yes. I love that. Yes. Yes. There's an I actor. You know that they're from Salem. They're from Salem. And what is your what is like that background? What is that? German? Yeah. German. Is it? Yeah. That's what he says. I've never heard that. German. Yeah. So you got you got you got questions, Jordan? Yeah. So well, I just I was thinking and I've I think a lot of people have this, you know, question or concern. I got three kids and a husband. I have a dad who's raised me in a Christian household my whole life. So I'm pretty fortunate. But I think one thing and I know him and I have talked about this just through our even just with Bible studies. We've we've talked about it but still it sometimes just feels kind of intimidating to how do you share the gospel with those who you know don't go to church. Maybe they could be believers. You're just you just haven't crossed that line yet with them. You're not really sure where their faith is. How do you when you are so passionate about it, how do you then, you know, kind of just bring the invitation or begin talking about it because I want to be bold in my faith. So I'm wondering how you do that. I awesome question. I'm still learning. I just sat down with a person previous to this and kind of did that even there. Really? She was awesome. I think a couple things. First off, I would just be praying for opportunities. Like I think just like Lord, would you give me opportunities to have a conversation like a spiritual conversation with this person? Like this? - Yeah, really good, we're like, we're new.

Will you just give me an opportunity? And I'll just say it the longer you know somebody, the harder it is to have that conversation. Yeah, you're right. You haven't had that conversation. Yeah, because it's just like, that's what I feel. Jordan, we've never talked about this. Why are you asking me this? Right. I think I think a couple of things for me questions are oftentimes like, hey, Jordan, this kind of random, like, do you ever like think about like spiritual things or like just even something simple like that, even kind of acknowledging this is a little random. Hey, Jordan, this is a little bit random. Like, do you ever like do you ever pray or like think about God? Sure. And then just and just see what they would say. You know, like most times, if you come in really with a humble heart and not I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I'm not trying to pull one over or I don't have all the answers. But I think if you come with humility, if you've prayed first off prayer is huge just for opportunities. And then just asking a simple question. Or so I think that's one approach or another approach. Like, if your dad is going through something hard or if your friend or whatever, hey, Jordan, I just want you to know, like, I know that this test that is coming up or this doctor's appointment or what I know, I just want you to know I'm praying for you. Like, just that that seems like something that would be heavy on your heart and you're worried about and sometimes I just want you to know I'm just praying for God's peace or what. Sure. And then all of a sudden that my I'm yeah, I'm really scared about it. Like, you might get a reaction like that or you might get a thank you. I've never in my life said that and had someone be upset. Sure. So I think even some of those things can kind of like prime the pump or if somebody asked about your like, Hey, Jordan, how was your weekend? Oh, it was really good. This last Sunday I was at Embrace and the pastor talked about X, Y, and Z and that's just something that's really like been powerful for me. So like, yeah, we got in our car and we were talking about with my husband and kids. And so I think even just kind of bringing it in into that way. Yeah. Like, Oh, really? Like, where do you go to church at? Sure. Like, well, like the one gal she said, she felt like she needed to be like perfect to go to church. Oh, no, you Jordan, you can wear just like what you're wearing church. Like, so I think some of those conversations. Yeah. And then I think, like, if you've had some of those conversations, it might lead to something more, you know, then it's maybe like, if you've kind of had some of those conversations, like, Hey, Jordan, can I can I tell you about the most important thing in my life? Yeah. Yeah, you're like one of my best friends. Like, what do you want? I just like, I, you know, like my

upbringing, I didn't have a connection with God, but Jesus just changed my life. And that's just something as one of my friends I've always wanted to tell you about. It's like, this is the, this is my why, like, this is why this is what brought me through this horrible thing that you know about five years ago. This is what brought me through that. Sure. And I just like, you're one of my best friends or you're my dad or you're my brother. Yeah. And I just wanted to tell you, like, that God loves you. And he cares about you. And I never wanted to be weird between us. But like, if you ever have questions, I'd be honored to share. Sure. So I think even something like that could be another way. Or even, even like, I type a lot of Bible verses, like on a note card, like, if I knew you were going to a doctor's or you had a job interview, like, that could be just a simple way of like, you know, just write out a Bible verse on a note. Hey, Jordan, praying for you today. I thought about this verse and like, just with your job interview coming up. Like, I think some of those simple things. And then, and then like, so maybe, like, a bolder thing is like, kind of sharing if you ever have questions or, Hey, Jordan, this is really random. I know that you like love football. We have like this former NFL athlete, he's coming to church for Sunday. You should come join me or hey, like, I know, like, because you've just shared with me a lot as my one of my friends that your marriage is like kind of been going through hard things. We're doing like a marriage series. And I don't know why I just thought about you. And if there's no pressure, but like, if you want to come, like, my husband and I would totally meet you there. And like, we, I, we'd even buy you Starbucks on the way that you can have coffee and church. Yeah. Sometimes it's just those simple things. Sure. It doesn't have to be this big lead to just sometimes those those things. And then, it will maybe lead. I feel like a lot of times I felt like in one conversation, I'm going to try to lead Jordan to Jesus instead of like, no, I'm praying for her every day. Like, I'm, I just like, I think just praying for someone, like, stirs your heart and makes you love them. And then you just, when you see them, you're just like overflow with God's love for them. And that just begins, the person feels it. Like, you're just so different, Jordan. Like, what's so different about you? Because you're going through this hard thing with your parents. and you're not fake about it. You're saying that it's hard. I think it's just like praying for someone really is what I've just seen God do.

And just simple invitations and simple conversations. I can even remember when I worked at a skate park when I was in college at Auggie. And it was, I think most of the people that I worked with weren't believers or Christians and they would bring up like, "Dude, you just have like a joy, like you just seem happy. What's that about?" And I'm like, "Well, I'm not always happy." I'd be, you know what I mean? And so, something like that. - That is, those are really good ideas. Like I picked up on like sharing, praying for sure. Sharing your story. - Sharing your story. - Sharing your story. - Yeah. - Oh. - In just little ways. And I think that's a good one too is we all struggle. So when you're experiencing a struggle, feel free to share. Hey, this is what got me through the struggle. - 100%. - And you can immediately relate that to the Bible and, but just a simple invitation. 'Cause I have a lot of kids coming out of my house too. We have just a great neighborhood. So there are times too when my kids might might be like, you know, a spark Bible on our table or we know we had leftover crafts from Sunday school or something.

So the other kids will ask. So that feels like a nice invitation. What's this, you know? Oh, and then one of my kids or me might say like, "Oh, we drew a picture of Jesus." Or we colored a picture of Jesus. Who's Jesus? So those are like kind of easy ones to kind of, you know, jump into. So we've kind of, you know, just in small ways, you know, we're able to do that a little bit in our household situation. But I think adults sometimes like, yeah. But I think you provided very good ideas as to just how to simply, you know, input that into different people's lives. But not interrogation of it. - 100%. - And I think with kids and like students, this will take a little bit of like work on like our part. But one of the things I've always told our kids like, "Hey, if there's anybody who wants to be brought to youth, I'll pick them up." And so like, hey, even an even an ounce, like if someone brings up Jesus somehow or what's this? - Yeah. - Hey, if you guys ever want to go with like, 'cause I bring, I bring Anderson to youth group, everyone's a night. If anybody ever wants to go, we'll just meet out front

and hop in and I'll bring everybody. - That's a great point. - So sometimes it's just some-- - I mean, I have a van. I could throw so many kids at my cart. And there's one family that I think about at Embrace. - Yeah. - They were bringing so many neighbor kids. - Really? - It was insane. - Cool. - 'Cause they, on the block that they used to live in, they were just invite everybody. - Cool. - So block party. - They would show up and I'm like, "You have two children and why do you have 17?" - Yeah. - I mean, it was crazy. - Yeah. - But they just saw it as their ministry. - For sure. - And the parents were like, "Oh, we trust you. We know you. Like you're not just some random person taking our kid." - Yep. - So that's something there too. - Yep. Those are all really good ideas. Because, and I think another good point you brought up was,

if you are just, if you're, you know, just because you have that deep relationship with Christ where you, you know, you're such a believer, it's going to come out in you that you experience joy and peace. And I just love that people are going to see that. So even that in itself is a way for people to see like, "Huh, there's something that's something going on with this person or Jordan or this person that they just have something about them." I wonder what that is. And then boom, you know, what it is is my relationship with Christ. And I'm pushing every day to make it stronger. - Like, I feel like the simplest way to share your faith and give you the opportunity is you have the fruits of the Spirit inside you. - Yes. - It makes no sense. Why is she so kind? Why does she never gossip? Why does she, like why she'll say something and she always shows up? Like it's some of those simple things. And then all of a sudden you have so much street cred of like, "Can you just tell me, like, why are you so generous?" - Yes. - And it's like, "Well, this is going to sound."

Like I'll even again, I'll try to acknowledge that what the risk is sounding like a Jesus person, Jesus has changed my life. And I have peace because I know, you know, like, and then it just leads to so many conversations. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Yeah, so my best conversation with friends are, you know, deep ones like this when we just share our faith. So, yeah. - I love this. - Yes. - What a thing can I ask like, was there a one or two pivotal moments in your life that you feel like Jesus really got a hold of you? - Yeah, definitely when I became a mom, 100% when I became a mom, because that's when you started experiencing, you know, postpartum depression, you started, you know, you are now have someone else's life to take care of. And I can't just turn to myself anymore. I need more than just my mom, my husband, all the support around me. I need the hope and peace and self-control, all the fruits of the spirit, so that was a big pivotal moment. And then what... Was it... Was it...

And you don't have to answer this? Yeah. Was it because of a... Was it a low time for you with the postpartum thing? Was it a kind of feeling overwhelmed and like, "I can't do this" or no? I would say... Yes. It almost just felt like if something was missing, honestly. Something was missing. And because my dad, I mean, every time I talk to him, we somehow get on the topic of talking about our faith. It's just very easy. It rolls off the tongue for him. And he'll say that like he loves talking about it. So it's always been there and been my foundation and I know it's always been there, so I think just it kind of came more to the surface, like all these years my dad has been saying this. And then now I have to experience it for myself that I need to rely on him and it just came to... That's amazing. And it made me like a ton of bricks. And then the other one. I was so fortunate to join a Bible study. I love it. How was that? I was... I had a couple of kids. What was the... Oh, I just had... I had a friend reach out and said, "Hey, you know what?

In this Bible study." I have been looking for a Bible study I want to join. That friend says, "I unfortunately can't go to this session." And I'm like, "I don't care. I'm going to show up. I don't know any of these girls. I'm just going to go." Oh. Yeah, so... And had you been in one of them for that? No. No. I was just like... Because I was like, I know I'm going to meet a bunch of moms that are in a similar situation as me. Like they're all trying to... Trying their best. They're trying to form the relationship with Jesus. So I just was like, they're all... We're all going to be in the same boat. It's fine. So... If you try to pinpoint, like, what do you think made you make that leap? Just wanting community, wanting more of God? Like... Because that's a pretty big pivot out of the blue. Right. I think I just crave it, honestly. I think I just crave it. Like, I want to experience this overflow of joy for my kids to see.

I want them to see their mom, like, thriving and enjoying life. And that is my source of it. No. So... I mean, that's simply put. I just... You know, I think the biggest thing is I was... This is what it was. For years and years I would tell myself, I'm going to wake up early and I'm going to sit in quiet and peace and coffee and Bible. And I just would never do it. I was not a morning person. I forced myself into a morning person. I joined a gym, Fit Body. And so once I joined, yeah, shout out to Fit Body. And then, you know, I was getting up early, but I just was like, I need to be in the Bible more. Like, I was never in the Bible. It was like, you know, devotions, and it was... I would hear different Bibles verses, but I just... That's what I was craving, I think, as I want to be in the Bible to learn more. And so that was really the pivotal moment too, was like, the Bible's out there and I need to just familiarize myself more with it and with verses so that I can read through them, start memorizing them, start meditating on them. So I can integrate them more in my life. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you guys for listening to all of those conversations. I feel like this was just like your kryptonite doing this. You were just like beaming afterward.

Oh, I just loved it. We packed up and you're like, once the next time we can do it again, I was like, well, just give us a second. That made me a little bit nervous. Yeah, it's fun. Well, just those conversations, I'm a person who has so many questions myself. Every week that I preach, I'm like, do you believe that? Do you really believe that? And so I feel like I'm constantly wrestling with things myself and then just to meet people right where they are and just each of the four individuals was such an honor. I love getting to just have real conversations with people about Jesus and so. Whether a person agrees with me, but I think I even more self person disagrees, I'm just so fascinated. So just really, really grateful for each of the four individuals that down. These two are partners, first interstate bank and Vernite Mitsubishi, these episodes would not happen without them. And so just truly honored to be able to have these episodes because of them. Last but not least, thanks to all of you who listen in. We thank God for you. Have an awesome rest of your day. Thanks guys. [MUSIC]