Take A Bold Step

Ready, so get set, so sit tight, so strap yourself in, so keep your eyes open, so stick around, so hang on, so get ready, you just have to be ready, brace yourself, what you're about to see will open your eyes, the surprises never stop, so you better hang on, so get ready, so hold on tight, so get ready, to get ready, and get ready, to get real. What happens to that boy, what happens to that boy, what happens to that boy. I'm sorry Mr. Whitaker, I couldn't hear you, what did you say? I said God help me. What it is, what it ain't, it's time to put another one in now. Living in a van down by the river. I tell you all, with a tear in my eye. It's time. What it is, and what it ain't, ladies and gents, it's time, baby it's time to put another one in that pan dough app. Bang, baby, what is up, so glad, let me make sure I'm recording, I am, praise God, praise God, praise the Lord. So glad to have you with me wherever you are at, my name is Trevor, I get to volunteer as a lead pastor here at Champion Church, we're a small church here in Northeast Florida, who has a big heart to help all of you, wherever you're sitting at, in that DOC baby, that Department of Corrections, wherever you're at, all over the U.S., all the way from Maine, all the way down to South Kakalake, all the way over there in Louisiana, all the way, all the way, all the way, all the way, to Arkansas, baby, speaking of Arkansas, let me pull this up, because I don't remember the name off the top of my head, but there's a gentleman, his wife drove over an hour and a half to be at church with us on Sunday, and she said that's because her husband watches in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, and that is Sonny Sullivan and his wife Kim, so Sonny, so much, thank you so much, let me try to put, Sonny, let me try to put a sentence together, let me try to put a sentence together, Sonny, Lord, I'm trying to put that hat on, baby, that's what I need, that's what it is, I had someone wrote me a letter, and how many, someone said, oh, how many letters are you behind, probably about six million right now, but somebody wrote me a letter, and they were talking about the hat, and they said, Trevor, your forehead is ridiculous, no, this one was talking about Real Vida, a lot of people ask if I know that crew, I do not, I do not, heard good things, great things about them, so, you know, much love and respect to them, is this, this is the one, yeah, yeah, yeah, so this one from Ron out there in Louisiana, in that swamp land, said, Trevor, the backwards, or the snapbacks aren't helping that forehead, it actually makes it worse, so, thanks, thank you, Ron, actually, you were incredibly kind, so I'm just messing around, and I can't put, I can't put anything in here, that's apparent, Lord, Ron, anyhow, he told me I need to get that fitted hat, that fitted hat, but anyhow, what was I saying, oh, yeah, Sonny, his wife drove down from, his wife drove down from McClinney, that's actually where my wife is from, from McClinney to be at church, got to meet her, her name was Kim, got to meet her, and I love that, I love that because so many of you are doing just that thing, we say all the time, Champion Church is like a big rowboat, we're just like a big rowboat, and the only way we move down the river, if you will, in a van, down by, the only way we move down that is by everybody picking up an oar and rowing with us, picking up an oar and rowing with us, and right there, whether you're in California, hey, baby, maybe you're in Arizona, maybe you're saying what it is, what it ain't from Colorado, the home of them gummies, you know, wherever you might be, maybe you're in Texas, oh, my goodness, I got invited to a prison in Texas, not going to say where, because we won't see, you know, I want to see what happens, but, oh, I would love, love, love, love, love to come out there, to that Longhorn state, maybe hook them, got that PRIME, that PRME in me, what was I saying, oh, rowing, everybody, we're rowing together, and I say this every time, And when we're training, it's not me, it's not Trevor, it's all of us. I don't have the platform that we have on Pando without all of you. It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen without us all rowing together. Maybe that rowing is telling a, uh, a new, uh, Sally, maybe telling somebody on the yard. Maybe tell somebody at reg, maybe shout it down. Hey, ladies and gents, Trev's got a new video up. It might be telling someone like Sonny told Kim, uh, a family member on the outside, Hey, this church is, is, you know, helping me grow in my relationship with Christ champion this season, grow in a deeper union with Jesus. That's the goal.

That's the wind. That's what we're wanting, right? All right. That's what it's all about. That's when I say we are all rowing together. Rowing is not just a check and rowing is, is not just maybe a suggestion in which we know it is. And, uh, but, but it's things of letting other people know about it to the simplicity of that, of letting someone know about what is helping you grow in your relationship with Jesus. I say it all the time, or I hear it all the time. Excuse me. People say to me, Trevor, I started watching your videos because of the videos. I started watching your videos because of, I saw this, or I started watching the videos because of the trucks that were in it or the car show, or back when we used to do shout outs or the fails or like Trevor, I started watching your videos because of X, Y, or Z, but then all of a sudden, man, one video spoke to me. I was in this day. I was having this happen. I was having whatever it might be, uh, in whichever way. And then I saw this video that spoke to my heart and it drew me closer to Christ. So I gave my life to Christ for the first time. That is what we want to see. That is everybody picking up an oar and boy, we are row, row, row your boat down this stream called life. We're rowing together. Also big and big things. We hit over 250,000 inmates rowing with us every single week. And if you want to be a part of that, hit that subscribe button right below me, be a part of what we're doing.

It is massive over 14,500 of you have given your life to Christ. Shout out to all of you. I just love what God is doing and it doesn't happen without everybody rowing together. That is what we're doing. Uh, the one gentleman said about a real Vita, uh, that they were on a different app or when I have heard that I've actually reached out to that app and heard nothing back. Um, and so I want to say to man, I'm incredibly happy with Pando. They're just great with me. Uh, and God behind bars has been tremendous with me. So, uh, what else, what else? I literally had a few minutes. I was, I was thumbing through a few of these, uh, this guy, uh, what's his name? Uh, Boston, Ted, uh, Boston, Ted at Telford. Um, he was set. What was he saying? Some good stuff. Oh, he prayed for me, which meant a lot. That was really cool. Stoked about the red socks. He said, can I preach that we've been doing these segments on the videos of, can I preach that? Uh, can I preach that to Oh four red socks? I don't know. I can't really show MLB clips because of copyright. So, but I like where your head's at, brother. I like where your head's at. And then what was this guy? I threw a few of these together next to me.

Um, tell him about rowing. His name is Jake from state farm, him and his, um, I think it's a Sally Rico. I want to say I've talked with y'all before Jake and Rico. I'm pretty sure I have. Um, Oh, extreme kayaking. That's why I have this extreme kayaking. Um, I don't, yeah, I guess I haven't put in, I think I might've put one video a long time ago that has some kayaking. I've never personally watched it. I'll have to see today. We've got some different things, some different suggestions from them. Lot of dogs out there. Uh, some different suggestions on that. Uh, had somebody, uh, write and say, or maybe their family send an email and remember, can I preach out of art? I haven't done any art or any time-lapse, that kind of stuff. Oh man, that's a simple one to preach. Uh, what else do I have? Oh, uh, we've been doing these little segments every couple of weeks about maybe some jobs or a career that you could have once you get out. And, uh, so we did pressure washing. We've done like lawn care stuff and I'll put different ones to help you in that. And, but someone brought up like logging and like cutting trees and that kind of stuff. And I, I'm very incredibly ignorant on that. Oddly enough, our student director, a young man, he, his family owns a tree trimming business and he's actually kind of, you know, moving into that role slowly of taking that, uh, um, over. Um, but maybe it'd be cool to have an interview with him.

So anyhow, that's kind of what we got today. And then we're talking about this today, ladies and gents, we're talking about bold action, bold action, which for some of you, if you are like an adrenaline kind of person and people would say like this, and this sounds derogatory, but I don't think they mean it like this, but like an adrenaline junkie, or maybe you're somebody that's always gotta be doing something. Like I gotta do something to, to make me feel like, like fulfilled. And I'm not throwing stones, any of that kind of stuff, man, that bold. When you hear, man, some, it's time to take bold action, like, yes, that's what I want. But then some of you, man, you, you, you enjoy comfort a ton. You enjoy kind of your thing at your speed, you know, I don't know about any of that kind of stuff. Today, I'm hoping to find both of you, if you come, if you're that type of person, somewhere in the middle of all of them, we're going to talk about bold action and some simple steps of clear obedience to God of what he's leading you to do and how that is bold action. I want to say this off the bat. I don't believe bold action. This is my personal belief. I do not believe bold action is some massive leap of faith. Personally, I don't even believe in leaps of faith. I believe in steps of faith. I believe in hearing a clear instruction or even what you feel like God is leading you to do in, of course, alignment with his word, that he is leading you to do something and you clearly take that step of obedience. That is faith. That is trust. That is bold action that I'm talking about. That is that thing that takes you from where you are and is leading you to where God wants you to be and to be that person that he is forming you into as a disciple of Jesus. It happens.

It happens, ladies and gents, through bold action. That is a simple, clear step. I feel like God's leading me to do this, then do it. I feel like God's leading me to make this happen, then make this happen as long as it aligns with his word. Right? Don't, don't like, okay, let's just all talk real here. Let's talk real. Let me scratch my forehead first. Guys, I ran into a brick wall the other day at work. Just walked right into it. Now, that sounds like I am dumb, but really what happened was I was putting out this like deterrent. There's like this, this like a rodent deterrent, essentially, because one of the properties that I work on has like a really bad animal problem, essentially, and this stuff is all safe. It's all safe in my room. So just, you know, I want to make that clear. Anyhow, I'm putting this stuff out and when I am, there's this like, like, like brick fence and has these concrete caps on top of it. I run smack into one and so my forehead's all messed up, which I mean, obviously with as big as my forehead is, no wonder I didn't miss it. Right? No wonder I didn't miss it with my, with my landing pad of a forehead. What was I saying? I don't remember what I was talking to, talking about before that. Bold action. Something else. I don't remember. I don't remember.

I was going to say something. Oh, I remember what it was. When you feel the leading from God, it's got to line up with his word, right? And I'm just like, let's just talk normal. I don't, don't like God's not going to lead you to do something that does not line up with his morals and his word. Right? So I want to make sure we understand that. Like, if you're like, Lord, I'm just believing, and this is what I was going to say, let's just talk real. Um, let's just say, Lord, I'm believing for provision and in that provision, I'm going to rob this other person or I'm going to rob this place or I'm going to take this place at whatever. Right? So, I mean, let's, some of you are watching this. You did that, right? And you probably realize that wasn't God's way to provide. Okay. Like, let's just be honest. Uh, so that's not in God's word. Believing his provision is trusting that he will provide. I'm using that ridiculous outlandish, hopefully not offensive. Um, example is when he is leading us, it does line up with his word, but it's going to see in our life is going to take trust, right? So it would line up with his word, but it's going to take a simple step. Doesn't mean easy, simple does not mean easy, but a simple step of clear obedience of what he is saying, Lord, if this is what you're speaking, what does this look like? If you've never been here for the show, here's what we do. I'm going to give you just a moment. We're going to take a little ride on a motorcycle, uh, and here's why, not just to show you a

ride on a motorcycle, but instead to kind of ground you a little bit to calm you down. Maybe just to have a moment to let everything settle and you be in the moment. We do the same type of thing. If you were to come to a champion church service, we don't take rides on motorcycles out like on the, on the screens. Uh, but we have a moment to kind of let the dust settle in our hearts as we turn our affections to hear what the Lord is speaking to us. Um, I finally, I feel like I've been running and gunning even before I went out to Missouri to boom. Well, and I see, um, uh, but even before that was really busy, you know, I had a couple weeks where literally I didn't even have a day off. And so I finally got to take my son chasing fishing yesterday. We had two hours. That was it. Uh, we tried the other day and we got rained out like the storm blew in as soon as we got out there. Um, and then, so yesterday I had two hours, I said, let's go. He caught his personal best hammerhead shark. He was stoked. I'm gonna put that video in here. You'll be able to watch it. Uh, caught some little baby sharp nose. Um, and then all of a sudden we got on this, the weather's man, the wind turned, it wasn't good. And then all of a sudden this, this, this little scalloped hammerhead grabbed the other end of it. And I'll let you watch the video to see what else happens there, but let's take a moment Let's ground ourself and then we're gonna jump into the rest of today's episode And I'll let you watch the video to see what else happens there, but let's ground ourselves and then we're gonna jump into the rest of today's episode All right, let's jump into the rest of it, ladies and gents.

Let's jump into the rest of it. Here's how I'm defining bold action. Okay? So bold action is taking a clear step of obedience to God, even and most likely when that step requires courage, risk, sacrifice, and or pure trust. That is what bold action is. I want you to get that definition. I'm going to put it in the description as well so you can see that and write it down in your notepads, whatever it might be. Bold action is taking a clear step of obedience. Like God is leading me to do this again, it's in accordance with this word, but I feel like God is leading me to do this, whatever that might be. Let's just say God's leading me to add or to forgive forgiveness. God is leading me to begin to move on from this hurt or to allow him to heal this hurt. Maybe it's something way more simplistic. God is leading me to move from emotion to motion. Maybe it's God's leading me to take the class that's being offered to get my GED. God is leading me to get into a class that's going to give me skills when I get out of here. God is leading whatever it might be to end this relationship or maybe to trust again to start another relationship. There could be a million different things that we could go through right now, but the point is when he is leading us something that lines with this word, it is that clear step of obedience of Lord, you are doing this and it will require trust and courage is probably have risk and sacrifice all involved, but it is what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. I like to teach it like this. Again, I said a minute ago, it's not big, massive leaps of faith. It is steps of faith. It is steps of faith.

I look at it like this. If we had a 10 scale, okay, zero to 10, all right, and 10 would be the ultimate dream or ultimate whatever. What God's asking you to do, let's just say you're at a four. He's not asking you to go to a four to a 10 immediately. I think like this. When I was out there in Potosi, when I was kind of just meeting everybody there at rec and there's a bunch of dudes in the gym and they're just in there just, my goodness, they're trying to get strong. No one in there owned a shirt apparently either, which I thought was kind of funny. Then Riley's in there just cranking out some tricep extensions or something. Zach's in there just trying to get pumped. Okay. All of that being said, I jumped into one tricep extension set with them and mainly because I had not eaten and I was shaking, right? So it was a little embarrassing and by a little, I mean, I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. But the point is this, they were like, Trev, let's throw, let's throw 280 on this bench over here and let's see if you can rep it out. And I'm like, how about we don't do that because here's what I know I'm not going to be able to do is rep out 280. Now if I would have said, you know what? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I'm in the middle of Missouri and I'm about to get on this bench, that B-E-N-C-H bench, baby, and what it is and what it is not. And I'm about to get on this bench and I'm going to just rep this thing out and Norman's going to be over there. My friend, my friend is strong and I'm going to just try to just, I'm going to tell them guys at the Prime TV, hey, hey, Shubert, grab the camera and watch Trevor rep out 280 LBs. It wouldn't have happened.

There's no way. Why? Because I know what I can max and it is not repping 280 LBs or it's also called LBs or pounds. All right. And so if I would have done that because I wanted to do it, I would have hurt myself and embarrassed myself. I would have been trying to go from a six to a 10. Do you see the point that I'm trying to make in that ridiculous story? If you try to go and like, Lord, I believe this is a dream you put it in my heart and it's a 10, but you're at a four in that process. God doesn't need you to go from a four to a 10. He just needs you to go to a, from a four to a five. So what is a bold action? That's what I want to get. What is a bold action step you can take right now that is in clear obedience to his word and the word he has spoken into your heart that will grow you in your relationship with Jesus for some of you, it might be accepting him for the first time. And if you have never accepted Jesus for the first time, of course I'm a Jesus guy, right? So I'm going to be a little bit biased about it for sure, but I believe he is who he says he is. I believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. I believe he can forgive you. I believe he can give you a new heart. I believe he can give you a new mind. I believe he can give you things that you know have been. Planted within you creatively, but you don't know how that could ever happen if when you give your life to him He can start to show you step by step by step of how to get there for some of you You're watching this in ad sec for some of you You're watching this from the hole and you can't seem to get it, right?

To get out and get back to normal and you're like God That's a 10 a 10 for me is to get out of this place and get back to normal But right now you're out of two and I Lord just give me the right step to take God Show me how I should act Lord. Give me the wisdom of what I should say Lord. Forgive me of things I've done against people that maybe have put me here and I know there's a million different reasons You might be there and I'm not trying to get into all that or throw stones The point that I'm making is this if you're out of two on the ten scale of what you're dreaming of or what you want I don't need you to go from a two to attend. I don't need you to go from a two to an eight I need you to take a simple clear step of obedience to God that will most likely Involve risk and sacrifice and courage and pure trust in Jesus to just go from that two to a three and Here's the thing. He'll speak to you what it is When I was when I was out there They're interviewing me at the GLS just we did like a little five-minute question thing And because one of the questions I heard so much as well. How do I get how do I get it? How do I do a podcast or Trevor? How do I get on the pando app or? Trevor you know, how do this like this? Like how do I do what you do in that way? And here's the truth of the matter is simple steps y'all It's simple steps. I didn't go out and get equipment and lights and a microphone and a shelf and a platform Just overnight. I didn't go from a zero to a ten. I didn't go from a five to a ten I went from a zero to a one because of a simple step of obedience And when I did that simple step of bold action that zero to a one then the Lord took me from a one to a Two I've told this story a thousand times. Well, why not? Tell it a thousand one. I Literally, we helped one person by an interview outfit through operation new hope that was me going from a one zero to a one When I was there, I see somebody post something online about this thing called God behind bars I had heard about it had no idea about the pando app So, what do I do I say, you know what maybe I feel like I should just google this and search it out I went from a one to a two then I send the email then we connect. I went from a two to a three Do you see how this happens? It's small Steps man. It's not a big thing

Quit looking for massive leaps of faith and look for clear obedience steps of faith Some of you you want to be a ministry when you get out. Don't try to go from a two to a ten Go from a two to a three a three to a four that is bold action We've been putting this stuff up about when you get out What are you gonna do to make a legitimate living where you can be blessed and you can bless other people? That's the only reason we are blessed is be able to bless other People when you get out, I've been trying to put these videos in here to give you clear steps But if let's just say you're trying to do the the pressure washing one We did a couple weeks ago and you like hey I'm gonna have a pressure washer and company and you get out and you're at a zero on a ten scale ten scales of having A company that's prosperous and you're able to bless other people including you and your family, right? Well, if you're at a zero, you don't need to go from a zero to a you need to take clear steps of obedience And here's what I love even in business even in simple things like that The Holy Spirit will lead you Romans chapter 8 verse 11 says we have the same Spirit of God that Jesus had Jesus says it is a gift from God in Matthew 7 and in Luke chapter 11 Jesus says he will guide you into all truth in John chapter 15 he tells us this it is the same in business. He will do it He would do it in relationships for some of you like man I want to maybe maybe maybe it's one of them ladies that that you're watching this from an all ladies unit Which I guess all of them would be like that for the ladies. I would not imagine they're mixing The men and women that probably wouldn't I mean, I'm not I haven't read a chart lately, but I'd imagine that's probably not a good idea Let's just say ladies. You're saying you know what? I'm gonna restart a life. I want to find me a man Oh, do I want to find me a man? Oh, I want a man. I Want a man that will just hold me and love me but if you don't know how to let somebody love you or to not be into a Way that you feel like you have to earn this from I'm just using this as an example Listen that you being maybe married with a great guy, right? That's out there looking like who's he gonna look like who's he gonna look like Matthew McConaughey, okay That's maybe a ten but but where are you at right now? Are you at a one? Are you at a two?

What can you do and you're like, well God's just a lead the person You know what? I've learned oftentimes God would lead good people around me But I was really good at pushing them away because of my own issues. God can heal those things. He could lead you Let's work on this. Let's work on that. Let's make this change. Let's have this happen Those are simple, bold action steps of obedience. God will lead you. The question is, will you take the step and quit looking at, well, I'm at a three, I need to be at a 10. No, you need to be at a four. Well, I'm at a seven, I need to be at a 10. No, you need to be at an eight. Does that make sense? There's so many different things He'll lead you in. I wrote down a few. Let me give you some scripture first because never just take my word for it. I always want you to see it in scripture. Philippians 2, verse 13 says this. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose. Philippians 2, 13. It's God working in you, watch this, to will and to act. I wrote it down like this. God is working in you. He is shaping desires. He is leading you. He is speaking to you.

He'll stir up these dreams in your heart 1,000%. Baby, that's all the percents. He'll do it. But notice both sides. He'll stir up the will to do it. You have that desire to be married. You have that desire maybe to own your own business. You have that desire to forgive that person that you've been holding this thing in you forever. Philippians 2 says He will stir that will. He'll stir that desire. You have that desire to be a blessing to people when all you felt like you have been is a curse to people. You have this desire to be salt and light in a world that needs flavor and brightness. I don't know if brightness is a real word in that context. You understand what I'm saying? That needs a light in a dark place. Let me say it like that. You have the desire, the creative idea. What if I could serve this people? I love when I hear that people are going into AdSec and serving in there and helping people and pouring out love. I have this desire to do it. But watch this. He'll also give you the strength to act on it to fulfill his good purpose. That's Philippians 2. He works in you to will and to act.

He gives you the strength to actually make it happen. That's bold action. It's just a step. Can you just, can you, I don't know why I just, why I just clapped. Can you just take a clear step of obedience to God? Maybe it's as simple as saying this. Hey, maybe that officer doesn't speak to you like you're a human. But what if you spoke to him like he was one? Maybe you say, you know what, everybody has abandoned me. But you know what? I know this one person that's on my block that I won't abandon them. That's bold action. Maybe you say, you know what? I've never made legitimate money in my life, but I'm gonna do what I can and take the classes and do this right. Hey, I've never admitted I was wrong to someone. I've always just had the pride. But man, I don't wanna keep that facade up anymore. Do you have the bold action to just take a step? It's Philippians 2. He gives you that desire to do it. And then now you act on it. James chapter two would say something similar. He says, faith by itself isn't enough unless it produces good deeds that is dead and useless. Faith starts inwardly and moves outwardly.

And I know I've got a lot of people upset when I was talking about inward belief to an outward thing a couple weeks ago. We're not even gonna bring that up, but I'm just saying it starts inwardly and moves outwardly. It is never something that starts outward and move inward. It is something that God is stirring within you and then you want to act on it. Many of us have seen that in an evil and dark way. And the only reason you can see it in that way is because it is a counterfeit to what God does in us when he stirs good, sanctified, holy, creative ideas within us. And then we act by taking the steps. Several of you wanna write a book or you wanna have a show like this, or maybe, man, you wanna own a fleet of trucks that are going out and serving where you can bless people. You wanna have a nonprofit. You wanna have that family. Listen, that is a creative, godly idea. That might be the 10 on the 10 scale, but where are you at? Are you a five? Just do, ask the Lord. Lord, show me what I need to do to be a six. Maybe bold action is this. Maybe it's moving from emotion to motion. I'm not gonna be eaten up by my emotions anymore. Moving from emotion to motion.

Maybe bold action is taking the step, even when, man, I don't see anything changing and I've been trying to trust God, but I'm still gonna just take that step. Maybe bold action is stopping. Maybe it's stopping something. Maybe you know, like, listen, I came in here and I was an addict and maybe I was addicted to this and all that's done is just multiplied since being inside. And Lord, I want the grace to stop. And you know they're running a Celebrate Recovery or something like that in your jail or in your detention center or in your prison. And you're like, man, I know I wanna sign up, but I don't know if I can actually stop. Maybe it's time for you to take a step. There's a story in first Kings 19 of Elisha Elisha has to decide will I follow Elijah or I would continue doing what I was always doing now Elijah wasn't doing anything sinful, but I think the picture is there for everything. Sometimes you've got a I'm gonna say it like this I'm gonna say it like this with my mouth. Sometimes you've got to burn the plows and kill the cows, baby Sometimes you've got to burn the plows of the same thing You've been doing the same thing over and over and over and over again And you've seen the same results and you still been feeding those cows in your life I've got a plow and I've got cows to feed first. What is it? I got to hear my notes. Let me find it Let me find it. It's a first Kings 19 19 through 21 says Elijah calls Elisha and Elijah's like, I don't know I don't know. I don't know And eventually he goes back and he burns his plows And he and he and he kills them them walking them walking double deluxe burgers from Culver's, baby He kills that Big Mac and here's the point Sometimes you're gonna have to close the doors on some stuff If you sometimes you have to close the doors on some things and say I'm not I'm done. I'm not going back and Lord

I pray you and give me the grace and you don't have to know how to figure it all out Can you just get through today? We've talked about that in several past episodes. Can you just win? Today, maybe maybe your bold actions moving from emotion. You've been driven by your emotions to motion Maybe your bold action is to step into something. Maybe your bold action is to stop something Maybe your bold action is actually committing let your yes be. Yes, and you know Be no, maybe your bold action is caring for somebody. Nobody else cares about Maybe it's that person in rec or that person on the yard or that person in your block Maybe it's that officer. Everybody hates but for you like man, I don't know. I'm gonna just I'm gonna just try to take a step of obedience and honor God That's faith ladies and gents all over Pando land that is Faith, maybe some of you you've never given your life to Christ today is that day to do it? Pando makes it incredibly easy with the button right below me. You could do it Maybe you're saying it's like, you know what? I need to just dive back in you're gonna just track with us You're gonna roll with us. You're gonna let somebody know back at home or in yourself, you know, whatever it might be in your house You know, whatever. Hey, this is what who's who I'm rolling with. I don't know what it looks like for you It can look like a million different things in a million different ways But I just encourage you it's him that is stirring these things inside of you It is also him that will give you the strength and the fuel and the grace to be able to act on it Faith without good deeds is dead and useless. We don't want that type of faith. We don't want that type of faith Ladies and gents, my name is Trevor. I Hope today has spoke to you encourage you in one way or another and until next time We're gonna put some things in there. Can you preach that I've got incoming text messages. I don't even know who it is Can you preach that can I preach What was the one I don't know let's finish this up, let's take a moment Always try to show you some type of scenery something like that Just take it all in same way We kind of ground ourself with whatever we're gonna ride on with this motorcycle boat jet ski, whatever it could be For this one, I like to do some scenery I like to do something number one where you see the beauty of God's creation Whether it's something he has done with nature or something his people have done through creating cities and that kind of stuff

But it's the thing to just kind of let this sit in what is God speaking for you to do? Is it in alignment of his word and what's the clear step of obedience? I don't need you to go to a seven to a ten I just need you to go from a seven to an eight, whatever that might be. I love all of you Let's get right now. Let me Let me try to say that again. I love all of you And let's get to the rest of the episode with moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved had moved had moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved

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moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved moved 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 🎵 All right. So I wanted to show you, I mentioned earlier when fishing with Jason, when I watched back the footage, one thing I thought about is this, like this was something he was able to catch. He did set the hook, all that kind of stuff. But then what I love is you'll hear me kind of coaching on stuff and I feel like that's how I am not God by any means. And I'm not, I mean, God is a 10,000 times better dad just scratching the surface than I could ever be. But what I thought about is this, how true is that with God is that oftentimes we're

doing things in life, we're fighting things in life, we're struggling, trying to get things to the surface, doing it right, enjoying the time. And then he's coaching us through it. For my fishermen out there, you're going to notice Jason's drag on his reel is a little bit loose now I love when it's running with it but he was afraid somebody like me watching I was like oh tighten the drag a little bit but in real time and you don't see it in the videos in real time he was really nervous that the shark was gonna pop the line so he kept it loose so that's just something for all my fishing enthusiasts out there that's to be like tighten the drag chasing legend tighten the drag he was he was keeping he was really afraid of popping it because he knew you'll hear my one point say this is my PB dad meaning his personal best so anyhow also people if you ask what was the length on it was like right at 60 inches was this this scalloped hammerhead is what type of shark it was a scalloped hammerhead let's get it to it how to she was gone ah baby okay you got the bait yeah you can get a little cut yeah it's just shark he's hungry though there he is I wonder if he foul hooked him see I think when I put the cut bait on it got a big fish on it let's just pull up I don't think see they're a nice shark something else I hope it's a nice shark just don't let him spit it reel now reel reel reel tip up tip up tip up

reel we're going right to him keep that tip up keep that tip up reel reel reel we're going to him you should be gaining on him reel okay I will I will you okay? I didn't see him you must have saw him with your glasses he was scary big okay that's great holy I can't see him big shark I don't see him get ready to reel we're going to gain on him here whatever he is he does not want to come up reel yep gain gain that's a massive hammerhead did you see that okay get away from the entrance yeah that's a hammerhead are we going to get him on the boat let's just get him up to the boat first I know we're allowed probably see we're just driving around chasing him around I don't think I'm ever going to swim after this oh man oh man

got him oh man did you see him do it or not Yeah. All right. Can I preach that skateboarding? Here's what I thought. You have to be confident in what you're doing to land those things. You can't be thinking failure. You can't be thinking mess. And that's what I would imagine. So I'm thinking about this. You have to be confident man that God is is in in your life and moving in and through you can't think failure. You can't let your mind go there. But like Lord you have woke me up for another day. I'm going to live in confidence. Just like these little Lord is little skateboarders boarding them skates out there that they're out there. They're not even thinking negativity. They're not thinking messing up. And I think sometimes that's great for our thinking. You can't have that Norman. My friend said it this right the other day when I was out there. You can't have that stinking thinking. That's an old cliche. You can't have that stinking thinking. You cannot think negativity.

You need to think I could do this and I'm going to execute with what God has in front of me today. I'm going to do that bold action today. It's an eight skater final 30-minute jam session 40 second per run best run counts and we move on to Liam. Let's bring in the third member of our team. Craig McMorris out on the course for a little vibe check Craig. How we living? My check through the roof, especially with Liam Pace on course. He in practice was definitely a standout got a really creative line and tags that CATF wall that I haven't seen anybody do other than him. So definitely a standout in practice. Wow transferring over that that tombstone right there. Here's what I was talking about boys. I coming through fast with that nose right? You seen the way you popped out on that like came on the top of the extension front one. Let us cat back D Craig that that's exactly as you described it in practice. No problem there on that first for you here to boards. They hyped skating in his first pro X Games event at 14. Life is good for the Oceanside native Gavin Barker standing at 5 feet tall 91 pounds. I'm telling you guys we got to stop doing age groups and stuff like we got to do height contest because these little dudes are throwing fives to somebody's board with a with a broke. Well, let's go back down to Craig McMorris as Tom Schar

drops in for his first run. You guys talking about everybody being a little tight. It's too early in the morning. I was talking to Tom Schar and he was like this is too early to be doing this, but maybe that could be a factor in a couple of falls run. What actually that's a great point. We start school at 720. With the signature hat flip Tom Schar is now. I don't know 40 to 440 as far as runs at the X Games of his hat falling off. I think he's good with the drop in that's all they require from him because it's not finished the run. That's not in his contract to finish the hill with that. He takes over the top spot after his first run. Wow. So Liam Pace who won the Amp contest a couple of years ago making his true X Games debut here today. Wow. I had him like that when I was young. The pace gets picked up when he's on the course Gary. I like how you just threw that in there. I was waiting for pace jokes. I was going to make a pacemaker joke, but that's probably bad Craig. It doesn't it feel just feels a little elevated when Liam gets on the course. Crager. He's upset. I'm going to be honest with you.

He's mad right now and I'm scared. Oh, he's actually rolled on the wall that time instead of kind of planting up there doing that nose grind popping in the way. He should good speed that front one full cat back Dean. Honestly, I don't think I don't know how he's going to improve and that was that was big. That's good. In my opinion, there you go and Liam pace taking over the top spot. Here's Clay Kreiner in that eighth spot was not expecting it at the start of this contest. Wow. That was pretty. Good front tail. Put the media all out of it all heart. Whoa, stand on, no speed, look at him. That's right, good backspin, pick the beanie up, pick the beanie up, oh, gross. Good bonus off of that. Pick your beanie, yes. Big fakie. Everybody in there gets a little extra hype when Klay's out on the course. Here's Gavin Barker, he was in, Barker, excuse me, was in podium position until Tristan knocked him out on the previous run. Can he get back up into the top three here? See, he has, look, look at him, look at him, look at him. You can see it in his body. There's not much body to see it in, but you can see it in his body that he's about to land everything. Just incredible what we're witnessing right now from the 14-year-old.

Tom Schaar sitting in that silver medal spot. Looks like everybody's kind of getting their legs now a little bit too. So, oh, there you go, Tom. Front feeble in the way you should, getting that five. Look at that, looked like he was going to go for a grab for a second, threw it to disaster, got a good slide, avoided that hat. Liam Pace in the top spot, but still has to wait for Tom and Tristan and Gavin to drop in. Absolutely, I mean, any of these three next skaters could take that top spot. I mean, everybody's playing musical chairs on the podium. I talked to Tom just recently, he said he's going to do the exact same run once he gets that big spin back deep. So look for that at the end. Breaking news, thank you for that, Craig. Yeah, at this point, it's just like, he's got to get it. This is it, this is what he's fought for. Oh, he was not supposed to do that, he was not supposed to do that. That was not supposed to work, that was supposed to go horrible, and it didn't. Remember, his fourth run was really a throwaway. Get that, get that, get that. I don't even know the name, how do I say it, but he got that. No spectators here today, but it sounds loud for Gavin's run because that's all of his competitors showing him love. And Gavin Botger has entered the chat, moving all the way up into the silver medal spot. But now he has to watch Tristan Rennie. Yeah, Liam hitting that wall just added something to it. But Tristan right here with that backover curve coming in. The back blunt with a little tiny slide, if you see it. Tapping up. Following Tristan's story, he's just a good dude. So, I like this guy.

Good 540. Careful grab. In and out strong right before the buzzer. So Tristan Rennie was the last guy that could break into the top three, and he does. Tom Schaar was leading this contest after run number one. Arguably the most technically difficult run here in the final, but he's now sitting on the outside looking in. Gary, Craig, can he get back into the podium and potentially win this thing outright? I think so. It's Tom Schaar. Look at that. That's like clockwork the way he's got it. That wall is where the hat drops. He's got it timed perfectly. Last 20 for Tom Schaar. Nothing's at work. Throws a fat five. The front blunt. He's looking like exactly how he wants it. Coming in, he's going to go for the big zoom back. Come on. This is it. Oh, and it doesn't happen for Tom Schaar. What an unbelievable moment for Liam Pace, winning X Games gold in his debut. Gavin Botger, also an X Games rookie, going silver. Tristan Rennie rounding out our top three with bronze. All right, here we go. This week's edition of Can You Preach That? Already started the morning early. Got them mowers running and jumped in here to hit this really quick so we can get this episode up.

Can you preach that of the drawing and the art? Well, yeah, of course. God gives us all unique gifts. And so I can't draw. I can barely even use a pencil, maybe. I can't, but then there's some of y'all that are incredible in drawing, and you see, even on my set and whatnot, the different drawings that have been sent in, and, you know, Rick G does so many. Hatcher sent me with some of my absolute favorites as well of like portraits of me. There's that big portrait of me on the set as well. Like, I think that stuff is just really, really cool. And some people have giftings, and we all though, all, it may not be that, we all have some type of gifting in us that we can use to take that bold action step. So here's what I would say. What is something that you, I don't know if y'all can hear that mower, sorry. What is something that you know you can do well, and then ask this, Lord, what could you do with that? Lord, what could you do with that? So, doing a little artwork, haven't done any art lately. Let's jump into it. What is something that you know you can do well? What is something that you know you can do well? What is something that you know you can do well? What is something that you know you can do well? I'm rushing so fast!! What the hell is going on? I can't go through the wall! I'm stuck! I'm dead! I'm stuck!

I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! I'm stuck! Alright, here's another one I was thinking about with art. Can you preach that? Is I love that the darkness brings depth. Now track with me. The darkness brings the depth. Now God, 1 John 1 says there is absolutely no darkness in God whatsoever, that He is pure light. Alright? So we know that. What we also know is that He can bring beauty from ashes, right? So He's really good at taking mistakes and past and things that are even dark and using them for His good. He is not, sorry I know the camera's bouncing. He does not okay it and He's not like, oh thank you for it. But He can take those dark parts of your life and your story and use it to essentially,

maybe I should say it like this, accentuate, is that the right word? Show off the bright parts. Y'all know my vocabulary ain't the best. But He could use the dark things to show off the best. Again, He doesn't approve it. He's not approving the darkness. He's not making it happen. But He is really good at bringing beauty from ashes. Think about it like this. The darkest thing in history was Jesus Christ being crucified and He used that for the greatest thing ever that He would draw us in. And that's just an easy softball to say, man if you've never accepted Christ, maybe you're watching this dude in Northeast Florida on a hot Thursday. And just to tell you, hey listen, He didn't approve the darkness, but He can forgive you for it. And He could use it in your life to shine something bright. I love that even the artists use the dark things as well. So hopefully that makes sense. I can't stress enough. God does not approve the darkness, but He can use our past mistakes and in turn bring beauty from ashes. 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Acoustic Guitar at full volume playing〕 〔Music playing in background〕 〔Music playing in background〕 〔Music playing in background〕

〔Music playing in background〕 〔Music playing in background〕 şeyizacinema Sheizacinema Hey! Hey! Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema

Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Sheizacinema Thanks for watching! Sheizacinema All right last one and I know y'all have heard the mowers in the background so I

got to get out there and get it going as well. Last one is this I found this clip of Rick Ross that came out and he's talking about childhood things that he desired and that he has and I think that goes back to what we talked about Philippians chapter 2 that God will stir up the desire in us and then he gives us the thing to act so I'm going to use that one as an example. Now he uses it to buy arcades and all that kind of stuff and there's there's nothing wrong with that there's nothing wrong with possessions I'm a firm believer there's nothing wrong with possessions as long as the possessions don't possess you. If you could give it away then you can have it that's my mentality that's just my opinion right but sorry that mowers literally right next door or right next to my truck. I think this with the Rick Ross saying I think it's just a good thing man if these things are stirring up in you you could go get it you can go make it happen I think it's the last video oh we're gonna do some tree film which I talked about that some people wanted to see that for the living stuff I know nothing about that so it's pretty I just found something that I could throw in there for y'all that might want to do that but until next time I love you guys so much God bless you. The reason I collect is I believe that's me at peace me having me time me having somewhere I want to come when I just want to spend time alone that's what it is for me complex welcome to the Eagles nest my hangar Rick thanks so much good to see you again last time we were in Atlanta for the sneaker closet sneaker closet and now we were in Miami at the hangar one thing that I realize is a lot of this stuff is maybe that you couldn't get when you were younger same with the sneakers talk about kind of like capturing the stuff that you couldn't get back then and now you have access to whatever you want well basically you hit it right on the head you know when we was Jets we would love and dream to go to a Grand Prix race or Rama all the places that had the video games you know everybody the ones who had the Sega Genesis before us so and it was that was cool it wasn't a problem but I always told myself once I got the opportunity to you know I'm saying double back that I wanted I'm gonna get it yeah and so that's what we

did so what you see here is a small collection of the cars in the video games you know what I'm saying another thing I heard is you don't throw out any video games you have your old Atari you have your old Nintendo systems and games where is Adam and what made you keep those at the promised land I have a whole room just retro figurines it could be he-man it could be Batman whatever it is we just got it all I got it yeah and so I just collect it because everything can always be brought back to life you run across the right tech geeks I love them I keep them on my team really all the tech geeks get at me so just like you know when I was a kid yo I always wanted to play OutRun yo if I did get to go to the arcade I only could afford the two or three times and then you got to move on so I went back and got everything we pretty much wanted in you talked about OutRun but which game are you masterful at is there one that you're unbeatable at of course which one man oh okay I haven't lost so mad really man maybe eight nine years really without a doubt this Ricky Rose you know I used to well I'm listening to a beat okay at the same time this got to be the number one game in the history of video games classic that combination and miss pac-man Gallagher I don't bought 20 of those myself but you know I had a thing as a younger kid for Contra double dragon yeah you know that type is always like my favorite so those are the ones that I kept here you said you haven't lost in mad in eight to nine years but do you play with the Dolphins no disrespect I'm a giant fan we've had some tough years but I can't disclose Well, I play with just for, if you ever want any smoke or somebody wants some smoke, depending on who you are and where you from, then I decide. I got three teams that I could go with. Okay. It just depends on what I want to exploit you on the most. Okay, and has any celebrities ever stepped up to try to challenge you, that you had to rinse?

Not really. Okay. Not really. You know, celebrities have egos. Yes. And they know I text them early in the morning. I toasted you. Okay. Are you embarrassed? Yeah. Rosé, then we have some super valuable motorcycles, but I love that a lot of them are themed. You have, you know, Port of Miami. Port of Miami. Deeper Than Rap is over there. Most definitely. But what's the story behind this? I heard this was like an Instacop. You saw it and you had to order it? I wanted it right then. It's like, you know, I have a car show every year, bikes, cars, builders come from everywhere. They pulled up 24 inch front rim, the music system, the power, lowering, lifting. I'm like, yo, cut it off. Get off it. Let's have a conversation. Okay. Let's get straight to it.

What you want for this bike? I want you to leave it. How was the negotiation? It's too easy. Okay. Too easy. It wasn't 60 seconds. Really? My mind was made up. And I just was, as long as he had other transportation, get off it right now. How did he get home? Another- I don't even remember. Okay. I heard it's a million dollar bike. Is that fair? It's an expensive bike. It's most definitely an expensive bike. The Dolphins, Harley, another custom bike. Obviously you're a huge fan of the Dolphins. We're in Miami. Been one from day one. I met this particular builder at the first and second car show. At the second car show, I told him I wanted him to build me a themed Miami Dolphin bike just based around the undefeated year. Like my collection is undefeated and it's going to continue to grow.

So I might as well make this a centerpiece. And you know, this is pretty much new. I may have rode this once or twice. I seen this in a magazine and I called, reached out to my people and told them I want that bike. Wow. I got the Davidson low rider. I got the black Balenciaga leather jacket. You know what I'm saying? You put the black hat on, you hit South beach. They don't even know that's Rose and all black. Okay. Watch the wing though. No, no. Do you know where the wing is? Do you know where the, okay. I'm just getting nervous. And then this car real quick. Did you buy this off Greg street? I bought that from Greg street. Yeah, and I know that you have long history with Greg street coming up even, but what's the story, you know, legendary Atlanta DJ. You know, me and Greg street done doing a lot of great business together. That's my brother. So I actually bought the car from Greg street. You know, I move around. I actually forgot. I even bought the car.

Okay. Greg, my brother, he know how I move. I got arrested in fair County. Okay. And I had a couple of weeks just to think about things. And I was like, yo, okay. Where's my Apollo? When I got out, I called him. What's up? He wanted to make sure I was good. I was like, how am I Apollo doing? He says, well, I know you, it's still here. You know what I'm saying? First day out, we get the Apollo back. Cause street, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Street's a real car and truck collector himself. Interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he knows what's up. That's my guy. Throughout this hangar, there's like special kind of vehicles. What is this little, I don't know, what would we even call it? A four wheeler? I don't even know. It's without a doubt a four wheeler, but it's a custom built four wheeler.

Just so when I'm on a promised land, the entire body is a cooler. Wow. Open it up, pour three bags of ice in it. Yo, the party begins. And when I pull up, or if I let somebody else hold it, when you pull up, we turn it all the way up. So you jump on this. And then these super valuable classic Chevy 57. One has a jet engine in it? Yes, this one. What's the story behind that? Man, some things I try to keep top secret. Okay. It most definitely has a jet engine, runs off jet fuel, and I've never driven it. Okay. You know, because of the horsepower, the power, the drag, you know, it's all kind of extra metal bars put in it to keep it from being crushed. And it's a muscle car that I always wanted. You know, it's one of them big boys. You know what I'm saying? And then we get down here. Yeah, this 57 Renzel right here. This is a work of art that was built by 57 Freddy. I have over half a million dollars in this car.

Everything on this car is brand new. Wow. More. This is a 59 Impala. When I bought it, I bought it 200k cash. I'm sure it's easily a go for 250 to 300. Here's another 59. I'm going to get ready and have Freddie and big tweet out of LA do something special for it. And I actually may have a total between 57 Bel Airs and 59 Impalas. I may have 20 of those in those models. Wow. Wow. Just because I love those. Yeah. Model when you have cars, Gucci interior on this last one. Yeah. That's a classic that I had a long time. Gold dates on it. Had the Gucci interior done, you know, just from Gucci pieces put on it. That was cool back then. I've actually had this car at least 15 years. Wow. Wow. I let somebody put a little swag on. Another set of vehicles. These don't have engines, but so classic BMX spikes, mongoose. I remember like my best Christmas, a silver mongoose showed up under the tree. That was an amazing Christmas. It was, it was. What is it about like just BMX bikes that you love? And you'll, you'll ride some of these I've seen. Why not? Yeah. Why not? You know, just growing up, man, that was as a youngster, that was your first car. Yeah. You know what I mean? And it got no better than the GTs, the dinos, of course the mongoose, the super mongoose, man, look at these. So good. You would have to fight for your life to keep this in care city. Really? With the pegs, the whole nine. Yeah. We used to just go to the store and sit outside the stores and just look through. Scheming on them? No. Okay. Scheming. Okay. Just being motivated. Admiring. Yeah. Just being, just admiring. Yes. Did you have any bikes like this growing up or no? No. Okay. No, I used, I had a silver Hawker too. That was the thing that they used to get me Christmas. Shout out to my mom. I used to get the silver Hawker, the golden Hawker. Okay. 79 and one was 99. These, yeah, I had a dino. I had some mongooses and like, I love this collection. I love the neon, but also, I don't know if you know, landlord, a little surprise for you. Look at my dog landlord. It's the least I can do, man. It's that limited edition. Tell him about it, Jack. Limited edition. They just dropped them. They sold out within 30 minutes. What do you get somebody that has everything? You got to get creative. So I said, you know what, this is something that was real special. You know, I just thought it'd be a beautiful piece for his collection. It's the least I could do, man. Love that. As an entrepreneur purchasing my first plane was, you know, as you see the jets come in

and out, it's big business going on. And that's what the plane represents for me. Not my financial standpoint right now, but the fact we pulling off big business and that's what it's for. We've seen the hanger, but the centerpiece of the hanger is obviously the G 550. And I love that you said you wouldn't charter a plane until you had your own plane. What was the thought process behind that? And now owning this G 550 with the 600 interior, the bed in the back, no two restrooms. I like to call it, you know what I mean? One bed, two baths. Okay. Okay. I just had it recently upgraded with Starlink. Heard about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's just nonstop hustling. Is the Starlink, is the hype real? How quick the internet is? It's unbelievable. What you could download? What can you download? Anything. It's just like you at the crib. I'm on the phone call before I take off. As we take off, the phone call don't stop. FaceTime, whatever it is, streaming, live, whatever it is. Half a million dollars internet. It's worth it. 700,000 for Rosette. Wow. Wow. Most people don't understand how dangerous this job really is. You know, it's all part of the game. That's really painful part of it, but you learn from the mistakes. And in this job, it's not when you get hurt or if you get hurt, it's when and how bad. 36 years. 36 years. I started running chainsaws when I was 10 years old, cutting firewood. When I turned 16, 17, I got a job setting chokers for an outfit, setting chokers for them. And I seen the timber fallers across the canyon, fallen timber. I'm like, I want their job. So I found a guy that started breaking me in. So I'd set chokers all week and I'd break in Fallen Timber on the weekends. I do it seven days a week. By the time I was 21, I started my own, started being self-employed. Oh, it's a passion. You either love it or you hate it. I just love being outside, outdoors. You get to experience a lot of stuff people never see. You know, you get to see wildlife on a regular basis. Bears, bobcats, cougars once in a while. Oh, speaking of which, we're down on the other side of the river. Was it on your back cut? No, I cut the tree down, and I set my saw up on the stump. I had just cut the tree down, and I flipped my saw up on the stump, and that baby owl landed on it. Baby owl landed on his tree. He's looking at me like, what's up? Oh yeah, and it didn't

hit. He had just stopped moving. Most people don't understand how dangerous this job really is. I've had numerous people tell me, I can do your job. I've watched you out of my pickup window across the canyon. I can do your job. No, you can't. I mean, you probably get a close call at least once a week, sometimes more. Sometimes you don't have any, but I've had numerous close calls. My cutting partner got killed 17 years ago. Bob Betts. One of the safest guys I knew on the saw. He just made a bad mistake going in. There was a blow down tree going into a new strip. It rolled down the hill. The second log that he laid there, he started down working below it, and that log broke loose, come down, and hit him in the back of the legs. Smashed him against the log that he was, or the tree that he was cutting, and had severe head trauma. Tore his aorta. He was in and out of consciousness for about an hour. Life flight. They shut the chopper off on the job. You know, he passed it. They worked on him for probably an hour after we got him out of the brush, but they said if he would have lived, he would have never been the same because of the head trauma. That one about took the wind out of my sails. Now, he was a good friend of mine. The bad thing about it was he was the same age I am now when he passed. Six months after he got hit, I got hit with a tree, which should have killed me, but instead of driving me into the dirt, it hit me right above the elbow, shoved my shoulder into my face, dislocated my shoulder, and threw me up the hill. If it had drove me into the dirt, it would have killed me, but every tree is different, but for the most part, you get them to go where you want 95% of the time. Realistically, anybody can cut a tree down. You can train a monkey to cut a tree down. Put a saw on it, walk around in a circle, it will fall over. Gravity takes over, but if you are going to stay alive, it is a whole different ballgame. Putting them where you want, that does not always come easy. In this job, it is not when you get hurt. If you get hurt, it is when and how bad. I have been busted up many times. You learn from it. Keep coming back. All right, let's go get this thing started. Yeah, it's a good way of life. I enjoy it. Some days not so much, but for the most part, pretty good. These things have been dead for five years now. When they start doing this, those tops will snap out. So you always got to be looking up, because if those come out, then you got to try to find a place to hide. I usually have a plan before I start the back cut. There is situations.

They're never good. You get into a spot where, like, you have no place to run, no place to go, but the tree has to come down. So you do it, and thank the good Lord when it's all said and done, and you're still walking out. Been there a couple times. I have cut trees before, and the whole hillsides took off. Cut a tree down, the whole, all the ground started shifting. I just rode it out, and nothing you can do. Oh, hope you don't go too far. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Good times. Good times. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on. So, if you go back 15 years, when I was running my own crew, I had anywhere from 12 to 18 guys working for me. My phone would ring off the hook every night, people looking to work. It takes me, if I need to find somebody to help cut, I got to call 300 people to find one that might show up. There's a lot of young kids that want to do it, but they want the money, they don't want the work. Well, I'll do it if you break me in. I don't have that kind of time.

This is not, this stuff is not for beginners. You'll wind up having someone hurt or killed. All three of us that are up here cutting have got 30 plus years experience, and every one of us have had near-death experiences on this job. On this job. And we've only been here since March, April. One of the guys got hit week before last. He was cutting on this side of the road, and a tree from the other side snapped off about 12 feet off the ground, come down and hit him, and split his lip. He bit his tongue, screwed up his shoulder, he's got a bunch of scabs on his shoulder. He was pretty bloody when it was all said and done, but just thankful to walk away from it. But it's unpredictable stuff like that is pretty common for doing these jobs. You get so used to it and comfortable with it. The problem with out here is if you get complacent, you get hurt. You always got to be on your toes and keep your head on a swivel. I've had, on a brushy hillside like this, but a lot more brush, I've thrown a tree out and hit one that has been blowed over that I didn't see under the brush. Come out of the brush and bounce over my head and land on the other side of the stump. Happens so fast you don't have time to get scared. You shrug it off. That was close, but the guys that overthink it, they can't work the rest of the day. I almost died. Well, you didn't, but you almost did. It could have, but you didn't. You see a lot of guys that they want to do it until they start to do it, and I was like, no. Way more than I anticipated. Which realistically, there's a lot to it. I don't know what I'd do if I had to give up fallen timber.

Be a bum. Most people don't realize how physical this job is. It's pretty physically demanding. I got a brace on now, but it still ain't freaking helping. I had to skip leg day yesterday. Yeah? For a legitimate reason. No reason. I did leg day yesterday. Yeah, yesterday was leg day. The boys were like, what are you doing? I'm like, my ankle can't take it. It can't take it. Every day is leg day. Say that one that he fell down the hill, if you hit the end of it, and it was in a weird angle, if you hit the end of it, it can spin out of there like a baseball bat. Or if you're standing on something and you didn't realize the tree was going to hit it. Sorry I yelled earlier, I didn't notice you were laying on it. Oh, thank you. He was kneeling on one of the old glow downs and I flipped a big tree and I didn't realize he was kneeling on it. And I looked and I looked and I was like, what's that long? And about that time it rattled his knees pretty good. It wasn't long before he told me, before you follow a tree, if there's anything around you've got to buck it first. If it could potentially wiggle or flip or anything, because you never know what's going to move. I was bucking a log, just bucking it, and I hit a vine maple. It come up and cracked me, hard hat and forehead, knocked my hard hat off, but knocked me out cold. I woke up, my thigh was still idle and sitting in the log. We had a breakdown one time and I took a nap, so I had to take a nap while they were fixing whatever. I woke up, I was crossed like this, there was a squirrel, or a chickmunk on the tip of my toe, going like this. See that top break out? You've got to watch those. This is just who I am. I love it.

I wish the kids could experience what we experienced as kids growing up without the cell phones and all the technology. Where you had to, you know, they'll sit there and say, oh, we're bored. Go outside and do something. The workforce in America, the technology's ruined it. Nobody wants to be physical labor. They want to sit in front of a computer screen. And that's great if you can do that, but where's all the manual labor? He's been my cutting partner for the last few years. Jerry, we're down out of Eugene. If it wasn't for him, I'd have been killed on that job twice. I fell a big fur. We were cutting old growth. I fell a big fur, and the sun was in my eyes. And I couldn't, I just fell it. I was standing there, and he was on the hillside behind me. He goes, look out! And I was in a bunch of blowdown. I had no place to go. So I took off running, and I could feel s*** clipping my heels as it all come down, crashing down around me. He goes, I said, thanks. He goes, that'll ruin my day. He goes, no, it'll ruin all of our days, because we'd have to pack you out of here. He had a good point. I said, I wouldn't have known what hit me. And then I was cutting an eight-foot fir. It was over eight feet. It was burnt out, hollow inside. I could stand inside of it with my arms spread and turn around in a circle and not touch any wood inside the tree. Eight to 12 inches of wood on the high side, and the low side, there might have been 15 inches of wood, but you could walk inside the tree, and it would just burn out. And I hollered at the crew. I said, I have no control over this tree. There is nothing here. I walked up on the hill, and I found this big maple, and everything's burnt, brittle. Threw this maple at it, and it shoves it, and then the maple broke. Came back, and I was like, oh, this ain't good, because I was in a bad spot. And it stopped. So I went back down, and my cutting partner hollered at me. He goes, you need more wedges? I said, no. Just got my bar and chain on, my big saw. I fired it up, letting it warm up, and I was putting my earplugs in, standing on an old grove, putting my earplugs in, and Jerry goes, here it comes! And that came over backwards, come down, and it took another six-foot tree, and just busted it off at the ground.

So now we've got two over 200-foot tall trees coming at us, and all this brittle stuff. I didn't know where all the strapnel was going, what all was going to break, so we're scrambling like for our lives, obviously. And when it all came to a rest, everything quit moving, I looked at him, I said, you good? Yep. His eyes were about that big around him, I went, that was close. I said, that's way too close. And he's just sitting there trembling, he goes, that was too close for comfort. I said, you saved my skin. I said, if it wouldn't have been for you, I wouldn't have heard it coming. I said, it would have just crushed me right there on that log. Those trees came over, they hit a big maple tree and ripped a bunch of stuff off, and there was stuff as big as a small car laying right where we were standing. Let's get out of here. We walked to the road, the whole crew's down there like, you guys alright? He said, all we seen was hard to take off and nothing after that. I said, well, until the saw started. And he went, yep. I said, but we're done for the day. That's it. That one just rattled us way too hard to even think about continuing. You're 16, in the driveway, pulling the cord on a steel chainsaw your dad bought at tractor supply for about $200. The neighbor's maple is down across her fence, and she's holding $200 cash and a glass of lemonade. 25 years later, you're sitting in a deposition chair in San Diego, billing $400 an hour to explain why a pin oak limb fell. Between those two moments sits a $39.5 billion industry, 50,270 payroll tree workers, and a fatality rate 30 times the national average. This is every level of cutting trees in America, and what it actually costs to climb. If you like breakdowns of how careers actually progress, like and subscribe so you don't miss the next one. Level 1 The Kid With A Chainsaw You're 16. The storm came through Tuesday night, and by Saturday morning, your phone is ringing. The steel chainsaw cost about $200 at tractor supply, and your dad bought it for clearing the back lot. Now it's yours. You wear safety glasses and the chaps your mother insisted on. Nothing else. The neighbor's maple split at the crotch and dropped a limb across her chain-link fence. She offers $200 cash for the afternoon.

You say yes before you've looked at the limb. The first cut binds the bar. You didn't read the tension. You wedge it free with a screwdriver and finish from the underside. By 3 o'clock, the brush is at the curb, the trunk is in rounds, and she hands you 10-20s from a coffee can. You fold the bills into your back pocket and walk home with the saw still warm against your leg. A guy two streets over saw you working and texts that night, his oak is leaning on the shed. You quote him $150. He says yes without bargaining. Word moves. By the next weekend, you've cleared four yards, and the cash in the sock drawer is real money for the first time in your life. You learn to kick back the hard way on the fifth job. The tip catches a hidden branch, and the bar bucks toward your face. You drop the saw and step back. Six stitches above the eyebrow at urgent care. You pay cash. 36,000 chainsaw injuries land in American emergency rooms every year. You're one of them now. The doctor asks if you wear chaps. You say yes. He asks if you wear a helmet. You don't answer. The first paycheck you ever earn from work you priced yourself folds different than any number on a W-2 ever will. You stop asking your parents for gas money. Ready for level two? Level two. The groundie. You're 19, on a real crew making $18.72 an hour. The truck pulls into the driveway at 7 a.m., and the foreman points at the brush pile and the chipper. That's your day. You drag limbs to the chipper feed wheel, butt end first, and you keep your hands behind the safety bar, always. Wood chipper entanglement is just under 13% of the deaths in this trade. The climber drops a branch from 40 feet up, and you watch where it lands before you watch where it came from. You learn the half hitch, the running bowline, the timber hitch. You sharpen chains on the tailgate at lunch. You fuel two saws, a rear handle steel and a top handle steel, and you keep the bar oil topped. You sweep the truck bed at the end of every job. The company gives you steel chaps, a hard hat, eye and ear pro, and steel toes you bought yourself at tractor supply for $140. The first month is brutal. Your hands bleed through the gloves, your back locks up on the drive home, and you fall asleep on the couch with your boots still on. More than two-thirds of the workers who die in this trade die in their first year. You don't know that yet. The foreman knows it. He watches you for the first six weeks, the way a man watches a dog he hasn't decided to keep. Then one Friday he hands you the lowering line and tells you to run the ground. while he's in the tree. You run it clean. The butt log lands where he wanted it. He grunts. The next Monday he asks if you've thought about climbing. You stop counting the hours. The foreman starts saying your name in front of customers. In May, OSHA cites a Marietta company $29,000 after a 38-year-old groundie touches an ungrounded

steel cord line and dies on the spot. You read the article on your phone in the truck and put it down. The first paycheck cashes Friday at the credit union, $648 after taxes, and you pay your half of the rent for the first time without asking anyone. The foreman tells you he's putting you on a rope next week. Ready for level three? Level three. The climber. You're 23, three years deep, and the ISA-certified arborist exam is sitting on a Pearson VUE testing center desk in front of you. 200 questions, three and a half hours, $295 to enroll, plus the $125 admin fee. You pass on the first sit. The card arrives in the mail eight weeks later, and your hourly jumps from $22 to $29.17 the next pay period. The saddle is a Petzl, $609.99 at Cheryltree. The top handle is a steel, $649. 150 feet of climbing rope, a Petzl friction descender, throw line, throw bag, lanyard, friction hitches, and the kit on the tailgate is $2,500 to $4,500 of your own money. You throw the line on the first try most mornings now. The branch union sets, the rope drops clean, and you ascend on a moving rope system without thinking about the sequence. Then comes the white pine on Marlborough Street. The homeowner wants the top 40 feet off, too close to the gable. You set your tie in at 60, walk out on a lateral, and reach for the spar with the saw running. The branch under your feet, the one you didn't sound, cracks at the trunk. You drop. The lanyard catches. Your saddle yanks tight against your hip, and the saw swings on its lanyard and clips the side of your boot. Falls from trees are 16% of the deaths in this trade. You hang there for a count of three, breathing through your teeth, and then you climb back up the line and finish the cut. The crew on the ground saw none of it. You eat lunch in the truck with the radio off. That night you re-tie every friction hitch in your kit on the kitchen table. You stop trusting wood you haven't sounded. The next morning you sound everything. The job after that, you train the new groundie on the same lateral check the foreman taught you when you were 19. Knock the branch with the back of the saw, listen for hollow, look for the seam. He watches you do it. He does it himself the next day without being told. Two weeks later the homeowner from Marlborough Street sends a check and a card. The wife wrote it. The card says her husband watched you from the kitchen window the whole time and told her he'd never seen anyone work that careful. You keep the card in the truck visor. The foreman puts you on the lead climber slot on the harder removals from then on. Ready for level four? Level four, the foreman. You're 30, the truck keys are yours, and the salary clears just under $90,000. You hold the Chi R.I.Q. credential, $625 for the two-day course at the New England Chapter,

and the laminated card sits in your wallet behind your driver's license. You run a four-man crew out of an all-tech bucket truck the company bought used for $60,000. The chipper behind it is a bandit. The stump grinder rides on a separate trailer. Each morning at 6 30 you walk the route on a clipboard. Brief the crew on the targets, the drop zones, the utility setbacks, and the sequence. The new groundie ties the wrong knot on a butt log Tuesday morning. A slipped half hitch instead of a timber hitch, and the log swings into the side of the truck. $1,200 in bodywork. You don't yell. You make him tie the knot 10 times in front of you that afternoon, and he ties it correctly every job after that. The accountant calls Wednesday with the workers. Comp renewal. NCCI class code 0106, tree pruning at $7.63 per $100 of payroll in your state, and you're in a good state. The bill is $30,000 on $120,000 payroll. You sign the check and send it back same day. You start parking the truck around the corner from the house, so the kids don't hear you come home angry. Then comes the call from a competitor. A small outfit two towns over rolled a bucket on a hill job, and the operator broke his pelvis. The owner offers you the contracts at 30 cents on the dollar. You take six of them. Your route doubles. The crew goes from four to seven. You hire two more groundies and promote one of yours into a second climber slot. The first month is chaos. The second month, the roots settle, and the margin on the new contracts comes in at 22%. Better than your... old book. The owner of the company calls you into his office on a Friday and slides a profit share letter across the desk. You're on the equity track now. The crew calls you boss without irony. You sign your first job estimate as the named foreman on the contract that afternoon, a $40,000 municipal pruning contract, and the city accepts it Monday morning. Ready for Level 5? Level 5. The Line Clearance Journeyman. You're 34. You crossed over to utility work two years ago and the base hourly is $31 at Asplund, $63,700 a year before overtime. With storm work, you cleared just over $90,000 last year. The truck is white with a green stripe and the company logo on the door. The bucket lifts you to the conductors at dawn. OSHA 1910.269 sub R. Within 10 feet of any conductor energized above 750 volts, a second qualified line clearance trimmer has to be in voice range at the ground. Your second is a guy from the Davy Tree Apprenticeship class. He calls the distances out loud, eight feet, six feet, four feet, and you trim to the mark. Electrocution is the leading killer in this trade. 18.3% of the deaths. NIOSH

documents a Kentucky trimmer who didn't wear his rubber gloves and crossed the minimum approach distance on an uninsulated overhead. He was 34. You wear the gloves. Then the nor'easter hits in March. The wind comes in at 60 miles an hour for 16 hours straight and the system goes dark from Worcester to Hartford. You work the storm restoration for nine days, 16 hour shifts, double time after 12. You sleep four hours in the truck cab between jobs and eat from gas station coolers. On day six, your second spots a vine wrapped on a primary that nobody flagged on the work order. You stopped the bucket two feet short. The line is still hot. The substation hasn't isolated. Dispatch calls the utility. The utility kills the feeder. You finish the cut on a dead line. Davy advertises a wage progression from $21 an hour at entry to $35 within two years for line clearance trimmers. You hit the top of the scale eight months early. The check from the storm restoration clears at $14,200 for nine days of work. You pay off the truck loan in full. The 5 a.m. alarm doesn't wake you anymore. You wake before it and the truck is already yours. Ready for level six? Level six, the master arborist. You're 44. You sat for the BCMA exam at $495 enrollment and you passed on the first sit 165 scenario based questions over four hours. You're one of about 991 board certified master arborists in the world out of roughly 36,000 ISA certified arborists, less than 3%. The desk is walnut. The chainsaw is on a stand by the window. The same still you carried at 23 never started used as a demonstrative for juries. The first call comes from a plaintiff's firm in St. Louis. A pin oak limb fell on a man in Lindenwood Park and the city says the defects weren't observable. You drive out, walk the stump and find what they missed. A bark inclusion at the union, a seam down the spar, decay you could read with a resistograph in 10 minutes. You write the report, 26 pages, photos labeled and timestamped citing the guide for plant appraisal and ANSI A300. The deposition is in March. They sit you in a windowless room with a court reporter and three defense attorneys. They ask you the same question four different ways. You give them the same answer four different ways. The verdict comes back at $1.5 million. The cap reduces it to 517,000 under Missouri public entity rules, but the call still goes in your invoice book. The next case is bigger. A red iron bark eucalyptus in Ventura failed and killed a driver. A Los Angeles plaintiff firm retains you alongside a second arborist. The settlement closes at $19 million. Your billing on that case alone clears $41,000. The phone keeps ringing. You stop saving the

pay stubs. The rate card on your website reads $250 an hour for site visits, $275 for court appearances, $400 an hour for depositions, $2,500 retainer. Ready for the last level? You're 51 now and the office is upstairs in a converted carriage house. The young climber from the firm down the road comes by Wednesday afternoons to study under you for the BCMA. Fewer than 500 registered consulting arborists hold the credential worldwide and you're one of them. He's 28 sharp and he asks the right questions. He brings his own copy of the guide for plant appraisal, dog-eared, with sticky notes on every other page. You sit at the walnut desk and walk him through the case file. He reads the photos slowly. The steel chainsaw from the driveway, the one your dad bought at Traxxas. Factor supply for $199.95 is on the shelf behind your chair, in a glass case with a brass plate. Same saw, opposite weight. The bar oil is dry. The chain hasn't been sharpened in 11 years. The kid notices it on his second visit. He asks if it still runs. You say it doesn't matter. The neighbor whose maple split when you were 16 still lives on the same street. Her grandson does the yard now, has his own crew, charges $200 an afternoon. The driveway is the same driveway. You drive past it on the way to depositions sometimes. The rate card on your website charges what your foreman's whole crew used to bill in a week. The view from the desk is a row of climbing saddles on the far wall, yours, retired, hung neatly above the framed certificate. The kid ties a friction hitch on the desk edge while you talk. He ties it correctly the first time. You sign your name on the expert report at the bottom of page 26, slide it into the envelope, and seal it. The keys to the office are on the hook by the door, and they're yours.