You Asked, We Answered | POP Podcast Ep. 8 (Season 1 Finale)

And today is special because it is our season one pop podcast finale! Oh, yes! Pop pop. We had people that have watched this podcast literally send in questions. So today we are going to answer your questions. Have you ever had moments where you felt yourself going backwards spiritually? How do you know when something is part of your identity? What does real growth actually look like? They trying to get serious quick. Okay. Reese's cereal or Captain Crunch? Easiest question of all time. Yeah, for me it's Captain Crunch. Absolutely. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? What are we talking about? That's crazy. What? Super Steve, you going Reese's? I'm going Reese's. Whoa! What did he say? What? Bro, what are you talking about, man? What is something God had to remove from your life? The other hoes.

The other hoes. The other hoes. And the number one hoe being me. Yeah, so let me be very clear. Let me be very clear. All right, progression over perfection, season one! Oh, Jesus! Oh, God. Did you shoot somebody? Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Sir, are you okay? Yo, welcome to today's podcast, Progression Over Perfection. And today's a special one. I'm here with my dog, Charles. We've been here for eight episodes. Come on. And today is special because it is our season one pop podcast finale! Oh, yeah! Yes! We didn't practice that, but this is the whole point of our podcast. It is. It is progression over perfection. And we have a reason to celebrate today. Number one, God rejoices over the start of a thing. And we set out to do this,

and it has literally been something that we have found joy in. Absolutely. There is conversations that have been started, conversations that we know you've been having, conversations that have literally started to impact your leadership, your life. We're getting all of your messages and your DMs and the think pieces that come off of what we're saying. And we wanna say thank you. Man, thank you for rocking with us on an obedience step. We intentionally did not put a lot of energy and effort into making sure this was tailored. We wanted to literally do something with a level of direction and excellence, but take you along on the journey as we figured it out. And we're here at the end of episode eight and the end of season one. And we think we're gonna do a season two. Come on, absolutely. We got to. We gotta do another season. We have to from your responses, the conversations that have been started, the help that you've been telling us this has been bringing to you and your spiritual life and your friendships and your love life, and just the authenticity you wanna live in. It really just underscores the whole point of this podcast. That progression is the point.

And so today we're gonna do it a little different. Absolutely. Usually we have a topic, but we gonna keep celebrating. Come on, let's do it. And we had people that have watched this podcast literally send in questions. So today we are going to pop some balloons. You see what I did there? There you go, I love that. And we are going to answer your questions. And I think this is gonna be the start of something. That is going to transform people's lives. So we got to get started because there's a lot of balloons. There's a lot of pop questions. There's a lot of pop questions. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, and so we gonna make it happen. So let's get started with the first one. Let's get the first pop question. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, let me put it back over to you. Go ahead and pop that thing. We got our first pop question here. Now that reminds me of like the, the balloon popping relationship one. Greatest. Let me tell you, this is where Abby is a little bit ghetto because she will get ready for bed.

She'll make some tea and she'll lay down and then she'll turn on, pop the balloon and watch for, it's hilarious. So this is our version on the progression over perfection podcast. Just be ready. You might have to find the note card. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, here we go. Here we go. All right. Ooh. I like this one. All right, let's go. Here you go. If you had to plant a church in a different country, where would it be and why? Where would it be and why? Ooh, this is a good one. Yeah, man. Where you going? Transformation. Transformation. What? See, this is crazy. Cause a transformation Africa would be crazy. That would be bonker. I tell you, if we went to anywhere in Africa and hit a transformation church, we would go.

Oh, you understand what I'm saying shout out to everybody in Africa that rocks with transformation Church I'm talking about we might need to do a Transformation like crusade tour in Africa. It was just like we gotta do something Africa Should we come hey should should transformation Africa be a thing for real shout out to ever. I think I would go transformation Africa That's good. What were you at man? I know yours. What is it transformation period? Absolutely He's gonna be in Paris France him and Abby they're gonna be at a coffee shop with some type of Croissant exact and they're gonna be starting a church in Paris. Absolutely, man. That's yeah, TCP TCP, man I kind of like it. Hey, man, it's better than TCA. Yeah, that feels like But not better than yeah. Oh, I like that. All right next pop question. Come on. Let's bring it in. Hey, okay Oh, oh, oh Hey All right, here we go pop question Have you ever had moments where you felt yourself going backwards spiritually? Oh, how did you move forward? Again, I think they don't worded a year into it. I don't like they trying to get serious Not in Paris so let's be honest because the whole thought process of this podcast is that God blesses authenticity and our Authenticity comes with a side of us that's not perfect. And so to be honest, yes my Spiritual life has felt like it has gone backwards before and let me be very clear and pop The bubble for anybody as a pastor it has felt like it's gone backwards it it many times when you start doing things the motive is so pure and so Right and so Raw that you're just doing it and then God starts to do other things in your life Or you may come into a season where you have children and you may come into a season where you didn't have the help you thought you need or your finances are tight or there's so much abundance around or like and That's why it tells us in the Bible that we have to keep our eyes like that stayed on him That's that's why focusing is a huge thing in your Christian walk that has nothing to do with your Occupation or what season of life you're in like I've had many moments and I'm speaking in general Just to let you know, like this will be a part of the fight of your spiritual life forever Yeah to stay focused. Yeah, and I mean it could be something just as small as a sport season

that will take your or a TV show or a series that you get caught up in or Working. Yeah, I remember like There was a season a couple years ago where we released four albums. Yeah in one year nuts But part of doing that I I was in the studio super late. I was in the super studio super early I was still Pastoring and doing all the different things and part of the thing that suffered in that season that I had to realize was my quiet time with God like Like I'm doing this for God. Yeah, but What am I not doing that's making me have this low-grade frustration everywhere or Just uneasy or anxious. Yeah, and I had to refocus Yeah, and one of the songs that came out of that is a transformation Worship song called focus. Mm-hmm, which it was the word of the year Which God is so kind to get to give us like hey I need you to focus and it's because you're gonna get off focus need you to focus back on me And I just think it's a constant. Um You got to put the anchor down somewhere. Yeah on disciplines and practices and yes, it's gonna be a part of it but how you get back is That you literally have to number one put something in place that you can Realize I'm not doing this. So this means something is suffering. That's good So like a lot of times like you don't put in practices when it's bad you put in practices when it's good Like like so that you can know when it does get bad. Oh, I'm not doing what I normally do Yeah, and so for me that's reading scripture not preparing for a message. That's listening to worship music and Reading something that's enriching my soul in my spirit when it's not what I'm not doing those things It's it's just a matter of time till there's a drift And for me, that's how I got back and then the other thing I'll say is having people around you that can tell you Yeah, and I think that's one of the coolest things about our relationship and other relationship we have like we got people like yeah You're not. All right. Yeah, or like that was wild what you just see how you responded to your wife in this situation What's going on? And I think in those moment it helps you be like, yeah Somebody that sees me often is not seeing any me what we both know is in me.

So we need to get back to center. What about you? Yeah, I think it's, I think the biggest myth is that you're not gonna have those things. Like it's more natural and human for you to experience that. And I think the big thing I would encourage anybody with is any shame that's attached to that, you don't have to carry into that. Shame is not a motivator that God uses. He uses conviction, but conviction is calling me forward into who I am and what God's calling to me. Shame and condemnation, it always makes your world smaller. And keeps you stuck. Yes, it keeps you in like, oh, I'm not good enough, or I should be reading the Bible more, or I should be, rather than like, oh, well, I know God wants to speak to me, I'm gonna get in the Word. Like those are two different motivators. And so I would say release all that shame. And then yeah, 100%, I mean, I think the disciples, there was a whole, we talk about Easter, and there was days where he was quiet and they didn't hear nothing. And it was, and so I expect that in my own life. Like there's gonna be times where God's quiet or where I feel distracted, or Peter goes a step in the water and he immediately falls. And so if you ever feel like you struggle with that, you're in good company.

That's the story of the Bible. And I think for me, to your point, it's the habits that are consistent, that when they fall off, it lets me know, okay, I need to go back to them. And so for me, it's very small things. If I do something called GPS every day, gratitude, prayer, scripture, it takes me two minutes. But that little thing is always a reminder. It's a GPS. It's a GPS, it's that guidance. It keeps me in track. And so I think, yeah, I would just encourage anybody, don't move because of the shame. If there's any of that, it's like, well, they're reading their Bible. Sometimes you hear people, it's like, I was in the prayer closet for five hours this morning. It was like, oh man, I was in my bed for five hours. And then the other two, I was up with my baby. And then I did, you know what I'm saying? But move out of conviction. But yeah, that's gonna happen. And I think- I'll say this real quick. Guilt and shame is quicksand. It is something that will make you use a lot of energy. And the more energy you use, it makes you go further down. And so if you wanna get out of the quicksand, number one, ask for help.

If there's somebody around you that you can be like, hey man, I need some help with this. Like I need, like that's, and that's what we hope this podcast is for you. It's like to demystify, like your favorite pastors and preachers, they all go back spiritually. I don't care what they say to you. I'm telling you right now, they all have moments of doubt. I mean, they all have moments of frustration. They all have moments. And I wanna say that so that you can know that all of us need God. Every single one, no matter if our job or profession is in a C-suite or it is in front of people ministering the gospel, like on a platform, we all are dependent. And that means we all have to set our anchor to something and we all have to continue to come back to that place. So yeah, that's a good question. That's very good. Let's get another pop question in here. Oh, look at that. Bam, we got it here. Pop question number three. Let's do it. Ooh, okay. Another, they locked in for real. All right, this one says, how do you know when something is part of your identity

versus something you are just performing to keep up? Read it again, because I wanna make sure I understand the question. So this person says, how do you know when something is actually a part of your identity? So they say, this is who I am, or this is something I'm just performing to keep up appearances. So how do I separate, this is authentic to me and this is who I am, or I'm doing this for the wrong reasons? All right, easy. Thank you for rephrasing that. The energy it takes. Energy will always tell on you. Like, if you go into a room and you know it's not an authentic room that you like being in and you're always having to be on and stuff, you need to take consideration of how you feel after the environment. Because the energy that it takes to do that, some things that are your identity and natural to you, it doesn't mean it won't take work. But the level of emotional energy, the way that you are drained, the way that you have to get up to do it, the way that you're like, ugh. Like, example for me,

making music is a part of my identity. It's something that I can spend, you've seen me do it, hours and hours and hours in the studio, and I might be physically tired, but it doesn't take the emotional energy away from me. It actually gives to me. It's like, yo, I was not feeling it, but now I'm alive. And now I'm trying to keep myself from texting people this MP3 at 3 a.m. when I get home because I'm so excited about what happens to that. There are other things in my life that's like, oh my goodness, I gotta pray because I need more energy to go in and do that. So when I say that to you is like, evaluate the energy. There are certain things, and we talked about it in a few episodes ago, manufactured pressure. Like, a part of some of the things that you may be doing may be pressure that you made up. And part of the way you know that is how much energy you give to that and how much you feel depleted after it happens. And I would encourage you. that there are certain things that are, watch this, responsibilities. So like there are certain things that you can't put in this category. It's like, well, I just don't get energy from it. Hold on. Stop. You need to pay your bills. Like you need to do your taxes. You need to, you understand what I'm saying? Like, but there are also other things that you make up and you are trying to

perform and you think people want this from you and you need to go back to the motivation of why am I doing this? Is it because I want to be seen in a different light? Is it because, and the thing is it doesn't, the reward and what you are having to give up is not worth it. Yeah. Being who God did not create you to be takes a lot more work than being who God created you to be. And I always say it like this. God doesn't bless who you pretend to be. He blesses who you really are. Also, God doesn't give energy to the person you pretend to be. He only gives energy to the person, the authentic person that you really are. And so I think that's a clear sign. Absolutely. I ain't got nothing to add to that, man. Well, we got another question, man. Pop it over here. I like this color. What color would you consider this? Champagne. Champagne, that felt good. Whoever did the champagne, let's go. What does real growth actually look like? Actually. Come on. In someone's life, like how do you know they're actually progressing? That is actually. Actually. A good question. How do you know somebody is actually moving forward, progressing? Yeah. Like how do you actually know that? Actually, I love this. You know, I actually really love this one. I think the first thing you got to go to is evidence like fruit. It is practical. Like when I was at my grandmother's house, Mamaw in Bowling Green, Kentucky, she had in her a kitchen every couple of months. It felt like because I was super short, I was really concerned with it. But we would run up to the wall, which you would put the ruler there and she would mark how tall we were and what the date was. And I could go there today. She lives in the same home and I could see over the years there was a delineation mark, a line that everybody else could see, not just me. Everybody else could come back to and say, I was here and now I'm here. And so I think you have to look at practical fruit in your life. So if you're trying to grow in your health, there are some things that it's like, OK, how am I feeling? But we can also see, oh, I can only I can do no pushups. I can do two pushups or I was eating wild and I no longer eat that food. Or and I think that is a beautiful place to start of just like what is the actual fruit? So if I'm trying to grow in how I manage my finances, how much margin did I have before? How much margin do I have at the end of my check? Now? Yeah, I'm trying to grow in my friendships. How honest when my friend doesn't hurt my feeling? How quick am I to be honest about that? Or does it take me? So to me, I think you got to start just immediately. What's the fruit? Yeah. Another thing I would say is you got to avoid assuming the the the motive in the heart. I think that's something we try to judge sometimes. Like, how do I know if they really

change? It's like, well, I mean, you're not going to you can't prove you don't say you never want somebody to be living from a place of, oh, you got to prove it to me. Yeah. But also over time, you can show it to me. Yeah, I can see it in your life. I said there was a servant I preached and I said, don't tell me how much you've changed. Show me how much you've changed. So and when you commit to that, you can see it, I think. So, yeah, I would go straight to the fruit. What would you say? So I think that something you said made me frame it in this way is there is a miracle of growth and then there's a measurement of growth. Very good. And I think a lot of people want everybody to see the miracle of growth. And you can't because you don't know what happened in my heart. You don't know what happened in my mind. You don't know the movie I watched that connected with the song that played when I got in my car and then I shed a tear. And like, it's like, I'm really pure now. Like, you don't know that. Yeah. But you can embrace that miracle. Beautiful. And value it. But people are going to embrace the thing they can measure. Yeah, that's good. And I think a lot of times we either get stuck on one or the other side. It's really we only measure everything and we don't celebrate the miracle or we are hoping everybody sees this miracle, like at that conference. This is why people go to so many conferences. This is why people do so many like new start things is because they want the thing to be like they everybody noticed once I did this. Yeah, there was a miracle. Yeah. And the truth of the matter is, even if everybody knows and you posted about it, we're not paying attention that much. Yeah, it's going to be the measurement of man, their attitude change or man, they used to gossip all the time, but they're so encouraging now. And like and you never will be able to know the moment that somebody else realizes it. Well, it's it's growth is one of those things that is it takes forever until it's all of a sudden. Boom. You don't say like, yeah, I've been working out and you've been training. And I remember there was one day you walked in. I was like, this is a jet like it was. It felt like it was one day, but it was three years. That's Are you committing, being faithful? And growth is the same way. It's the same exact way because you have to be committed to the process more than the outcome. It kind of feels like you're committed to progression over the idea of perfection.

And so how you know you're really growing, I would say is there's a miracle of it. There's something intangible that you cannot fully explain that you can go back to, and then there's the measurement of it. And I think both of them are very, very important. And then the other part that I would just put in here, and then it's just the time. There you go. Like a lot of people don't give growth enough time. Like right now, if you were to actually know how long it would take for you to become a good person with money, a lot of people would be like, yeah, five years is too long, or 10 years is too long. Like I wanna know how to do a budget this year. But the truth of the matter is it's seed, so time, and then harvest. I did a sermon that like, I think it was Faith Like a Farmer. But what I was trying to tell people is like, the seed is the thing I hold in my hand right now. Sowing's what I can do right now. And then there's a part of it that I have nothing to do with, time. And I gotta keep doing the same thing time after time after time. And then like all of a sudden, harvest. Other people are able to eat from it. There's fruit in my life.

And so I would just encourage anybody, like if you have not seen the harvest, it might not be something wrong with the seed or something wrong with the sowing. It just might be the time you have to sit, wait, hold on, and then I promise you there will be harvest. Absolutely, well, and this is, we're getting to the preacher mode too, but it's like, that's why you can't look at everybody else's field. Not at all. Because you may be growing something different than what I'm growing. Come on. So it's like, what I planted isn't supposed to come up when what you planted comes up. Like it's all different. So I gotta be faithful to know, man, I'm building something, and it's gonna take time. And there's something I say every single day. It's a part of this like thing I read, but it's, I'm building something beautiful and it's gonna take time. Good thing I've got a lot of it. And it's just like, it reminds me, because I can feel like, oh my gosh, what if I don't get to that thing? And oh my God. And it's just, I'm building something beautiful. It's gonna take time.

Good thing I've got a lot of it. Like, and it just reminds me to not live this intense rushed growth. Get it, figure it out, go. And I think a lot of people who are really driven, a lot of people who watch this, it's because you wanna grow, you wanna progress. But sometimes you can miss the beauty of just like, oh wow, like I have grown. And I can enjoy this process. There's some of it that's gonna be really difficult, but then sometimes you look back and you're like, wow. And so it's so important. You can't overstress the time part. I think the part that I would love people to understand is what the enemy can't get in front of and stop, he gets behind and pushes. So like the spirit of rush is, I believe, something that our adversary uses in this culture to literally rob people of the miracle of the moment. Like what God's trying to do right now. Like the fact that you can wait is a sign of growth. Like just think about that. Like there used to be a time in my life that I had to have it now. And I had like the proof that I'm growing. Like now my friends and my colleagues and people are like, man, the stuff that I don't do is the proof that I've grown. Very good.

And it happens when it's not the stuff that you do do, but it's the stuff you don't do that proves that you've grown. Like, oh no, it's not that I have to comment all the time. It's that I held my comment and let them have that moment. So I just think that everybody needs to see, this was whoever sent this question in, you pop it. But I think this is something that we all can learn from and we all have to be reminded of. Like, yeah, how am I really growing? I'm still here. Like there's some things that you, the growth happens just because it remains. And this is the last thing that I'll say is that maybe the focus shouldn't be growing. The focus should be health, because healthy things grow. There you go. And I think a lot of people don't know they're growing is because they're not doing the healthy thing. You never look at a baby that is healthy and wonder, oh, why is it growing? You know it's growing because it's healthy. It's only when the child is unhealthy that one of the signs for something that cannot speak yet, cannot communicate, the sign of that child not being or progressing is that the growth stops. And that's the signal like we need to check what's wrong. Is it the milk?

Is it this? So I'm just saying like maybe one of the signs that the health is off is that the growth is off. And maybe you can reverse engineer, like maybe let me just stop worrying that the business gets big. Let me get it healthy. Let me stop worrying that my life is seen grand to everybody. And let me just get my rhythms and my habits and my prayers like, let me get it healthy. And I think that healthy things grow. There you go. Yo, pop question. Let's go. Oh, hey. There it is. All right, Stephen, what's the tactic? So I hold it from the... Go from the bottom. Here we go. That's crazy. Okay. Okay, we got a this or that. Okay. We got a, oh, I lost my thing. Okay, here we go. This or that. Reese's cereal or Captain Crunch? Easiest question of all time.

Yeah, for me, it's Captain Crunch. Absolutely. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? What are we talking about? Whoever. Like, they, yeah. Reese's, like... That's crazy. Like Captain Crunch. Super Steve, you going Reese's? I'm going Reese's. Whoa! Somebody get this guy out of here. Yeah! Captain Crunch is... Now, let me put you on. Oh, I think we already on. Okay, so all I'm telling you is if you want to take Captain Crunch... Now, this is my unhealthy eating days. Oh, okay. I know, but never mind. I may not be all right. Yeah, you ain't on what I'm on. But if you ever want to take Captain Crunch to the next level, put it with some vanilla ice cream. Oh, that's incredible. Whoa. Stephen, why?

Whoa. You take some Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and just take and put some Captain Crunch on top of it? Oh, yeah. That's incredible. It is magical! Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was about to go the Oops All Berries. Oh, oops all berries is crazy. I actually enjoy the golden grains. I actually enjoy the golden grains of the golden... The berries, it's a lot of sweet. It's, man, what are we here for? That's true. If we're going here, we're going there. I'm putting it on ice cream. That is true. But to me, it replaces the milk. Yeah, okay. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you put it, and now if you want to take it to the next level, only if four of y'all are going to try this, but I'm telling you, it takes 10 minutes. Make it a Dr. Pepper float with that. Wait, what? Whoa, whoa. Maybe season two. And then take insulin? I mean, yeah, definitely.

Definitely, I preface this by saying this is unhealthy. But take two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Somebody's going to do this right now and do it on TikTok or right now, tag us. Get Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, only Blue Bell. That's the only ice cream that this works with. Put two scoops in a cup, okay? Is it there? Great. Then you're going to take a Dr. Pepper, okay? Open it, pour it in, okay? And don't fill it all the way to the top, okay? But just probably three-fourths of the way. Then what you're going to do, because you have to leave room for the Cap'n Crunch. Then you're going to take a handful of Cap'n Crunch. Come on, pour it out. And then put it in there, okay? And if you want to go to the highest level- Wait, there's more levels? Yes, then you're going to get some whipped cream. Take a bite of that. Bro, that is- And then you're going to have to start a workout plan. Yeah, and then sign up for- But no, definitely- That is incredible. Please, review, comment, share, and like. I only get to do it once a year. I did not see that coming.

Yeah. That is powerful. That's incredible. You know what I'm saying? I'm dairy-free, so I can't even do the Blue Bell. You can't do none of that. You can't do none of that. God, no. I haven't had a Coke since I was 18. Whoa. So, yeah. Well, what's the next pop question? Pop question, here we go. Coming in. Okay, coming in hot. Oh, that was probably a good one. Good job. All right, here we go. Let's see if we can make it happen again. From our viewers to end season one, what's one red flag you used to ignore that you'll never ignore again? I like that. What is one red flag that you used to ignore that you'll never ignore again? Matter of fact, before we answer this question, if you're watching on YouTube right now, or if you're watching on any other platform, I need you to tell us the red flag that you will not ignore no more.

Come on. Absolutely. What you got? I got two. I got one now, and I'm talking in friendships, because I'm married, so I ain't got no, but before I go back to dating, one that I wouldn't now, like I would advise friends who are dating and stuff that I used to ignore is, and I can only speak for myself, is just girls that were a little crazy. There was something that I was like, well, I'm crazy too. This would be exciting. But thank God I didn't go with a crazy girl, because my girl's very steady and peaceful and calm. You needed that. But yeah, yeah, yeah. My whole, I was looking for somebody crazier than me, which would have been the worst thing ever. That would have been tragic. Can you imagine? Brother. All right, yeah. God is good. What's the second one? The second would be in friendships, and this is really like homie to homie. If I see somebody,

and I don't see their spouse on their Instagram. Uh-oh, that was gonna be funny. Get out of here, brother. Get out of here. Where are they? Where are they? Why are you hiding them? Where, I don't see, I didn't know you were married your whole life. Oh. There's, I'm not gonna say no names, but there's some people who will be like, you were married? There's some pastors. Oh my gosh. Brother. There's some ministers of the gospel that we do not even know if they have. Never seen them. Never seen them. Could see them walking in the street. Wouldn't know them. Wouldn't know them. I don't know that man. But that is a red flag. If I go to your, I was like, oh, sick. And I go to your Instagram, and it's, yeah. If I see too many churches.

events and not your family at all nothing weird and I understand some people like are trying to keep their people private for sure like so if you really do have you're really rocking like that really rocking like that but but you're on fishing trips all the time with your buddies and nobody know I don't know yeah what's what's the red flag that you used to ignore but you don't know um there's so many I have learned a lot in a decade and I really I'll put them in category okay there we go okay so a red flag relationally yeah like just as far as like period if somebody does not know how to let go of something small mmm they're not gonna know how to let go of something big yeah so like if if they hold on to like you drank the rest of my coke yeah and you could tell or drink the rest of my juice but you could tell like it's deeper than like you you drank the rest of my juice it's like and they keep bringing it up and they like they don't let it go and even when it doesn't relate they somehow it's like oh cuz I'm telling you I found that people give you signs and and clues to who they are that's true and when people hold on to stuff that small that replaceable that easy to insignificant yeah they will hold on to what you really really really when you really need grace yeah they can't give it now and so I just think that's a red flag and I found that relationships in any form yeah friendships all that other stuff so that's the thing um ministry red flag okay here we got um I just won't ignore again is when people introduce themselves by their ministry title yikes that's I hey what's your name I'm Archbishop oh I'm automatically paying attention to you wait cuz why what is like bro your name is Kelvin your name is Deshaun your name is Travis like and I don't I love that you know you're called and know your purpose and know all of those things but I also am very aware when people are trying to establish themselves by a title yeah for sure and bro chill we're a pay way right now yeah we're literally at the PTA you being Grand Prophet means nothing to me that's why and I just think that it's a level of insecurity goes with that that just makes me I don't think those people are bad yeah yeah I just won't ignore it yeah yeah like I would be like

okay like and so I think yeah that's rampant in our our society right now especially in church culture like even like I'm campus pastor says that's your current yeah think well the the the I can't remember the exact quote but it's like the summation of would be like a rose didn't have to tell you it's a rose you just look at it and you know you don't say like it's like but there's this vibe where it's like I am now here to announce to everybody that I've officially been in acknowledge and it's just like I think it's weird cuz I'm a little anti this so sometimes I play it really hard to the other side yeah like you was I know when you started out so far wasn't you big brother Mike big brother Mike that's it I didn't even want to be called passes like a big brother my big brother Mike yeah cuz that's not like a like a like a what's the when you get in trouble in jail you got a parole a big brother Mike yeah got so but it really does disarm people and they will be able to recognize the good thing and all the different things but like even today like people ask me what I do and my first thing is I'm an author yes like they're like really you write books like and I lead to oh yeah and I pastor a church but I'm not trying to hide anything but I don't I don't want to lead with what other people yeah create idols out of yes and and because for real I'm pointing everybody to somebody else yeah and so many times in this day and age in this culture it's like but if you think I'm important then maybe I'll be able to and so it's also to I found it's been the greatest flip and I don't know I think you would feel the same way but I've had whole fringes of people where I did we've had neighbors that it was just like oh you know I work this church or I do like and I'm not making a big deal out of it and it'll be like so I was watching YouTube and you didn't tell me that and it's a more beautiful thing because it's like wow you were kind and present and didn't and it's actually this thing rather than trying to force a big thing yeah there's a scripture the Bible talks about it's better to sit at the end of the table and get called up rather than go sit at the top and then somebody like hey that's somebody else get up get up 100% yeah so I think that's one I'll do one

more one more let's go okay um I think it's a red flag when people and this is personal for me um they don't claim all the types of music they listen to what what do you mean like I don't like Christians that act like they don't listen to any secular music oh okay man and I'm not saying it has to be like rap or hip-hop but you listen to the country you listen to the Eagles you're listening to journey you're listening to like I don't like and this may be it's a little more racial yeah I do know I'm just saying it but a lot of times if it's rap or pop music people consider it automatically negative and demonic yeah but if it's country I mean half a country music is talking about how they left their wife drunk and had a sleepless night with somebody they don't remember but that doesn't come off as demonic and and so I don't think like because I'm a producer I love all type of music but a red flag for me is people who demonize one thing but they're not considering inconsistent across they're not going and I pay attention to that crap I'm like that's really now like like like you know yeah man and and I think that I've seen it in so many people especially in church yeah like where there are certain songs and certain things where if it's culturally acceptable and not overtly something people like rock with it but if it like looks a certain way or anything it's demonic you're not Taylor Swift is not angelic yeah and I'm not saying anything about Taylor Swift's music but like I'm saying like yeah people would not consider that yeah secular music especially if you know so I just it's a red flag for me I'm just I'm I'm just looking at you I love you still and I pray for you and I could still have a relationship with you yeah when they demonize it yeah I don't even care if it's not your preference yes I'm just saying like don't don't do the yeah if you don't be consistent be consistent across the whole board well that's the see now you know you got me on another red flag is just this when everything not being able to delineate between preference and demonizing yes good so it's like you just don't like that you don't like it's okay and that's fine that's fine you don't like it's David yeah but if I was like you know I just got a word that Reese's are demonic and

I've seen the way that their colors it's like no I don't like I would just rather have yes in a little milk chocolate yes I don't want it in my cereal but it's not the devil no it's just yeah and I think we live in such a polarizing culture right now that it feels like you don't stand for something if you don't stand firmly against something that's not even a real issue to stand on like like this is not an issue to stand on yes like this is pointless and it's actually being used as a tactic of division and it's isolating people and compartmentalizing people and instead of being the ones who are the peacemakers yeah we're making tribes and packs of people who believe the same way that we believe and how can you reach now you know I'm on my soapbox because this is our church like there are things that we do to reach across and say hey it's okay for you over here because I know like if this is the thing that we can agree upon this could be the life that we have together in unity and freedom but there's just so many people that are I mean just think about our church is such a beautiful yeah like I love our church because the playlist of our church as a collective is so vast like I mean we talked about on one of our episodes like what have you been listening to everything from Willie Nelson to Kanye yeah it's like yeah but that's I tell people all the time like if they hate diversity they're gonna hate heaven mmm every tribe every tongue every race yeah people raised in different cultures all this other stuff praising it's what we're unified around yeah and I just think that it's a red flag for me when people prejudge groups of people I've used music but I think it's broader like when they prejudge people based on just their experience and their exposure yeah and it's just like II I noted that I see you yeah pop question here we go got another one oh our best one yeah that was great that was a good job what is something God had to remove from your that you didn't want to let go of the other hose the other hose okay Oh, I mean, I felt it, I felt a Shondo in my spirit as soon as you said it. Like, when you in sin and you messing with people

that you ain't supposed to be messing with, it feels like as long as God lets this stay a secret, we okay. But what did God have to do? Remove the O's. Do you hear what I'm saying? We can put the O's in there for the, that's the truth. And people is dealing in perversion. I just seen a whole senator that had to get taken out of running for the whole situation because he's messing with other O's. And the Lord is trying to purify his church. I think you need to repeat the question because I don't even know. Because, well, I mean, it's a great answer. Yeah, what's something God had to remove from your life that at the time you didn't want him to remove? Guys, what are we talking about? Steve, wasn't that a good answer? Steve said, spot on. I mean, I just think that I- I just went to the extreme because people act like the act of sin and the act of sinning and the environment of sin is not enjoyable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like to your flesh, the consequences are horrible. But the environment and sometimes the immediate gratification and all that stuff, and God's like, yeah.

For what you prayed last night? For what you prayed at the altar? I didn't pray last night. No, you know what I'm saying? A lot of times God be answering our prayers and be like, oh, I didn't know it meant. Hold on, wait. I thought it was like, and literally, I mean, I think about, I think about, there was a time that, and you can read this in the relationship goals book, but there was a time that I was playing both sides of the fence. I had 10 months of insanity. I was with Natalie, but I was messing with other people. And God literally had the girl go tell Natalie we was messing around. Brother. What are we doing? What are we doing? What? Okay, now I gotta know. Now you gotta know. I'm telling you. So she told me. My life ends. I'm only here by the grace of God. I immediately, I've never sweated that much. So did she, did Natalie just come up to you or what? Yeah.

The girl goes and tells Natalie, this is what's been happening. Natalie comes to me and was like, I need to ask you a few questions. And by the tone of I need to ask you a few questions, it meant my life was over. Now this was before we got married, okay? But it might as well be in my distance because God literally used the young lady to remove her from my life. And I don't even know what, it was like, yeah, you got work to do, son. And I have to expose you. So I think that, again, I'm using the most extreme example. I'm using the most extreme example, but that pattern could have gone on in secret for many more years. Till it was a pattern that I could not shake. And so what God had to do was expose me in the middle of my lies, in the middle of my delusion, in the middle of a plan that was working for my flesh to literally give me the opportunity to become a man that I would not be sitting here on this podcast today if I wouldn't have done it. I know I went extreme, but that's the first thing that jumped in my spirit. Some of y'all may be in a situation right now where God's like, I may have to expose you to grow you. Yeah, ooh, man, he flipped the lights on quick, man. And I'm just telling you,

you flip the lights on certain things. And the consequences are horrible. But if you embrace the season of what God's trying to make you into, it is really, that was a huge step of, a huge shifting moment of me progressing. It's like, either I'm going to find this situation somewhere else, or I'm gonna become a man of integrity, a man of truth, a man of light. And Natalie was done with me. So we could talk about this on a whole nother thing, but it wasn't like, she was like, oh, okay, that's okay. She was like, I can't say this. Yeah, you can't say what she said. But she was like, boy, bye. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was my effort in progressing that was what we talked about. Yeah, the miracle and the measurement. The miracle and the measurement. She didn't care about no miracle happening in me. It's like, I'm gonna be pure now. And like, no, I'm honest. She was like, you're gonna have to show me, and I'm not looking for it. So God bless you. And it was the Holy Spirit, as well as my consistent time of being honest, of giving her all the passcodes, of explaining things that I felt like,

man, you should just trust me. It's like, oh, she doesn't. So it was like all of those things that became a fruit now. I mean, you've been around me and that. There's not even an inkling of that being our life. Yeah, but at one point, brother, that it was the whole. And the number one hope in me. Yeah, so let me let me be very clear. Let me be very clear. I'm not blaming anybody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It could have been anybody in that situation. It was the perversion and the wickedness that was in me. So clearing it up for anybody else. Next pop. But Steve is going to pop a seed, man, pop a seed. OK, OK, boom. There we go. So we're going to have to do this. We got to keep see where we go to now. Here we go. Pop question, what builds or protects trust when people see both your progress and your setbacks in real time? Amen. And you're trying to live out progression. They had a full course to part. You're trying to live out the progression over perfection, but people keep seeing the real process. OK, I feel like.

So let me rephrase. Yeah, yeah. How do you develop trust with people when they're seeing the process and you have times where you go forward and times where you go back? Yeah, like everybody's not privy to your process. That's good. I mean, a lot of things that you're hearing me talk about, even this last situation that I just talked about, that's because I'm telling you. Yeah, yeah. But there are people that were there. Natalie was there during the process. Yeah. So we had to develop trust while I was progressing. Yeah. And I think this is a good one, especially for people who are in it with you for the long haul. What would you say? I go to that. I don't know where the original thought is, but the idea that we judge others off of their actions, but we judge ourselves off of our intentions and meaning that you have to be honest to see like they are. They don't see my heart. They didn't see the miracle moment. They don't know that like I committed with God and heard him speak, you know, like so. So the fact that they need evidence or that I have to build distrust or that they have some questions, that's fine. Like I can I can either either fight that or embrace that. That's good. And I think for me, sometimes, you know, when you're trying to grow, you want to try to prove it to people like, no, I'm different and look and see. And or you can just be like, OK, this is where I am. Let me just build an exorbitant amount of proof and fruit in my life

that you can look at. Yeah. And I don't have to defend me. I think there have been moments in my life specifically where me and me and Abby went through something where I was like, I wanted to prove to these people like, no, it's not like that. You don't understand. And for a season, that's what I was doing. I was fighting sideways. Yeah. All this stuff. And there was a moment and it was just like, babe, you know what? We're going to commit to be kind people who just keep growing. And I said at some point, people will not be able to deny the fruit of our life. Yes. And we're just going to have to keep going. And that day happened. And it was years later. But I think that's the thing I would say is like, you have to be honest. People are going to see the process. So they need time and they need space. But you don't have to take that personal. If you know the work you're putting in, if you know that you're doing it, it's like, OK, you don't see it. You don't know. But I can trust the work I put in. So I'm not expecting I don't need that from you. And that's the real truth. Some of us need people's approval so much that we need to show them the process. We need to show them that we're doing it. It's like, you know what? Whether you see this or not, I know the work I put in on this. I even feel like, yeah, even in the day and age we live on, where we immediately do something,

we put on social media for other people to judge it. And it's it's one of those things where it's like, one, that's part of if you put it out there, people are going to judge it. That's period. That's you kind of put it up there for that to happen. You just hoped all the judges was good. You know what I'm saying? You were just hoping it was all good. But when I think about that, it's like, oh, whether they judge it right or wrong, I know the work I put in on this. I know the motivation I did this. I know that I worked really, really hard on that. And the motive was pure. And so if I know that and the people around me know that, I can be at peace with myself and then I can learn and grow from it. So, yeah, I think you've got to be honest and ignore because I say that because I think sometimes you can be so frustrated or genuinely hurt or even prideful that it's like you don't see where they're coming from. And it's like, no, you did mess up like you are progressing because you're not there. So like they have questions and that's OK. Like, you don't have to be mad about it. Just move forward. So I love that it makes me think of a scripture I've never thought about in this life, but it really hit me as you were talking. The scripture that says some plant, some water, but God adds the increase. Like the increase, somebody seeing me different, I have no control over that. All I can do is plant more. water. So good. And I think the truth of the matter is we want people

to see us increased. We want everybody to see whatever the harvest is. Yeah, 100 percent. But the truth of the matter is all I can control planting and watering. Yeah. And that's what I have to do in my own life. That's the work. Yeah. And it makes me think of the phrase that I've been telling you is like history will be on our side. Yeah. Yeah. Like that. That is one of the best, most helpful things. Sometimes I just have to think like even when it's not something that's bad, it's just something that's misunderstood or something that is not in trend or something that people weren't called to. Yeah, it's not their preference. Like. Yeah. And it's just like, man, when when God judges me and when people see the full body of work, it's like

history will be on our side. I think about this all the time. Robert Downey Jr. If you were to like clip his life like early 90s, it it would be like the most tragic Hollywood story. Yeah. And like drugs, prostitutes, strippers. Like it was just like then along comes Iron Man, like the rebirth of his career. From plus 40. Yeah. Into like almost one of the most beloved Marvel characters ever. Yeah. It was because he kept going. Yeah. And I went deep into the story and just all the different things. But history will tell more of what he did in the Marvel universe. Yeah. Then what happened before?

It's like a blip on the radar of like a hundred percent. It was a part of his progression. Yeah. Yeah. And I just think about that story to think about like, man, how many people God said, I'm not done with you. Like if you just keep going. Yeah. If you just keep believing, if you keep trying, if you keep and I just need somebody to hear me say this, like what if everything that you've done up until this point was to get you to this point so that God can show you where he can take you from this point? Like what if all of the failure and the loss and the rejection and being misunderstood and not getting it right and trying several times and having to restart and having to apologize and having to build like what if it was all here and this second or third or fourth chapter of your life is about to be the thing that history remembers. I just I'm convinced that Romans 828 is real.

All things work together for the good of those who are called and that love him. If you don't know God, like you can get into that category very quickly by inviting men to your heart. And we preach every Sunday messages that give you the opportunity to do that. Like, I just want you to understand, like your life can be popping like pun intended, like in this next chapter, in this next season. But that means you have to commit to not stopping here. Don't hit pause. Progress. It won't be perfect. But I'm just telling you, like. Being misunderstood is a part of the process. If it wasn't, then our rabbi, our example, Jesus would have been understood. Very good. He was misunderstood at every turn when he was healing people. He was misunderstood because they said he did it on the wrong day when he was feeding thousands of people.

They wanted to find a reason to throw him in jail like he just helped y'all's economy and y'all's people. And you're trying to find a reason to crucify. Like when he told his own disciples, the people that was for him like, hey, y'all, I'm about to be leaving, but I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. They still didn't understand. He was misunderstood by the people who followed him. Yeah. So if we were supposed to live a life of being understood all the time, then our rabbi would have lived that. Yeah. But he didn't. Yeah. And he even died being misunderstood. Yeah. But the proof was three days after he went into that tomb, he rose again and there was proof. Do over 500 witnesses that he was dead, everybody saw him die, but that he came back alive and visited him. That was the progression. That was the miracle. That was the proof.

Like, oh, something happened. This wasn't regular. He's not just a regular man. This is historic fact. This is not just spiritual biblical fact. This is historic fact. They can prove that like somebody's walking around that either look just like him and got like, do you understand what I'm saying? I'm saying all of that to say like part of it was being misunderstood. Even one of his disciples, Thomas misunderstood him to the point where he's like, I won't believe him until I put my hands in the in his side and in the prints. And Jesus is so gracious that he literally comes straight to Thomas and says, hey, I just want to give you proof. You should trust me. You should believe me after all the miracles you've seen. But everybody's going to label you doubting Thomas. But but the truth of the matter is. is you are the most authentic out of everybody else. You said, I've been hurt so many times that I just actually need to.

I need to know. And God was so good that he let him know. And then Thomas was able to progress. This may be a season where God's asking you like, hey, I'll even I'll even let you know like this last season wasn't the place for you to stop. I just need you to trust me for what's forward. And so it's great. I just think that there are people listening to this, Charles, that need to know like God is going to make sure history is on their side. Yeah. Yeah. As they stay with him, as they check with him, it's going to be good in the end. And if it's not good, it's not over. Come on. So that's so good. Let's get another pop question. Let's go. Well, we got a look at that. I think you got this one. I think I got it. Here we go. If you could be the star character in any movie, what would it be? Hmm. Iron Man. But that's what we were just talking about. Let me think about this a little deeper. Who you go be? Who you go be? Um. I don't know why this is coming out, but to me, I would want to be a superhero. OK, great. OK, so part of me now, this is strange. Yeah. Part of me will want to be T'Challa from Black Panther. OK, the other part of me will want to be Will Smith in the Hancock. He was a drunk. I know, but what I'm saying is it was it was the perfect story of progression over perfection. This is true. And that's a great movie.

It's because he didn't know who he was. He had he had like once he remembered who he was like. And I don't I don't know. It just felt like that's a very transformative character. And by the end, you know, I'm saying, yeah, though, I mean, T'Challa would be more. Yeah. You know, right on the nose. What about you? Right on the nose. I'm going to see you, but I wasn't even in the superhero world. I would go if I'm going superhero. I'm going Spider-Man. Absolutely. Definitely. I mean, definitely you could fit the cost. Absolutely. And then but the first thing I thought of, Jason Bourne. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? Jason? Literally for like, OK, cool. I literally I mean, my favorite. That's probably my favorite movie series. Like for real. I mean, yes, absolutely. It's so good. I'm just I'm honestly on that, too, because I'm just recently watching them. OK, and I can't wait for the day. Arlo's old enough for me to show them. It's just got you. Isn't it incredible? Born the born identity, the born supremacy, the born. It's a lot of it's it's. That's a good. And I mean, here's another connection level. OK, go.

The part of the reason I have a Mini Cooper is the the chase scene in that first movie. Everybody meets the girl. He gets in her little red Mini Cooper. I didn't know that. The first reason I want a Mini Cooper. I was 16. However, I watched that movie. I was like, I'm going to get a Mini Cooper. And you got one. 33 with a Mini Cooper. God chose me on it. And it's very loud. I did it, dad. It's very loud. Here comes Charles. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's we're about to be done with that. I think it's too much. That moment is over. What other series is like that? Hmm. The Wolverines. Powerful. Those are solid. Couple of iffy ones. But true, true, true. Definitely the Wolverines are strong. Like the X-Men is what I was thinking of. Yes, I got you.

I said the Wolverines. I mean, definitely the Avengers are at the top for me at like a whole thing. Mission Impossible. Do you do Mission Impossible? He should be dead. Let's just be honest about some of the- Ethan Hawke. Yeah, like the character. Not Ethan Hawke. That's not the same. I think it is. I think that came- Check that for us. No, Ethan Hawke is the actor. No, Tom Cruise. What's the other guy? All right, look that up for me, Steve. No, but I'm saying like the level of death defying things this man has lived through is like he should be dead. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A hot take on that one is the same thing with Fast and Furious. Oh, complete- Boom, see, Ethan Hunt. Hunt, you were so close. Ethan Hawke is a real actor. His daughter is the girl in Stranger Things. Got you, but Tom Cruise definitely is not the actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, he definitely should. But I feel the same way about Fast and Furious.

What I'm saying is that Fast and Furious is not serious at all. No, they- Like, let's be very clear. Think of that man, Tyrese, going to the moon in a car. What are we talking about, bro? Let's be very clear. Fast and Furious feeds our inner child that just wants to make a movie work. That's right. It's like if a dinosaur came out of the thing and like chomped and ate the car and did like this and then it would throw it into the perfect parking spot. It's like that's Fast and Furious. And we keep going to see it. It's true, man. That's true. I mean, it's family. We're making jokes, but they're making millions of dollars off of that franchise. They're literally on like Fast 10 or 11. They're making another one. No way. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. What? I would do it if it broke 140 million dollars. I would bend these as long as you can. Come in here, punch a hole in the window. It's about family, family. There it is. Uh, but another great series, the planet of the apes. Oh, Natalie loves that.

Those are good. Those are actually scary. Really? Cause it feels like it could happen. When that man hit that, he sees her lean up. Caesar is home. Oh, Hey, we were just recently in a forest. I took Matt to the redwoods. I guess we went to the redwoods. Brother, I kept looking at that. That really feel like he could be in there. Natalie kept saying, and she was like, this feels like planet of apes. I said, that's not, that's not for me because I promise you, do you know that thing where people's like a gorilla or a person, how many men it's the gorilla, I don't care how many men is coming in unless we have rifles and guns and tranquilizers that eight is going to bop us and it's over. So yeah. Planet of the apes though. The movies, those are great. That's great. Two more. Cause I, I, I feel Steve, Steve, what's what's what you got? What's a good series? Dune. Dune. I haven't stayed awake through the second one. Uh, and I just, it just starts off kind of slow. It starts off kind of slow. They are. You do have to be in a certain mode to watch Dune.

I, I mean, I literally took me three days to watch. No, it really does have a game. It really does have a calming, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Go to sleep. They're about to do that. They're about to do the next one, man. Go to sleep. It's like, go to sleep, Michael. But here's the thing though. I can't follow. You can fall asleep. Well, I can't fall asleep in a movie, man. Oh, when I tell you a movie will put me straight, it's straight melatonin. They might as well call it melatonin. Like if it is not, it's not locked, it's not locked in from the first 10 minutes. It'd be like, thank you. I will fall asleep in a movie, but you like, if you start, you know, I can't, I can't, that's an animal. Yeah. I can't, she's like, even if I've seen the movie. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. I'll just be up. I gotta, I gotta lock in, man. I probably, I mean, fun fact about me. Yeah. One of my favorite things to do is to watch a movie over a month. Wait, what does that even mean? Like to start a good movie and then just like bedtime and then go to sleep and then watch five minutes of it and go to sleep and then be like, where am I at?

And I was like, oh yeah, right here. And then watch five, 10 more minutes of it. Go to sleep. One day I'll watch 30. This is the problem with people like you and Abby, because Abby do the same thing with the shows. I love it. So I'd be having to, I don't watch, I will start an episode. Yeah. I watched two episodes. I look over, she asleep. So then we got to go back another episode. Completely, completely. It is one of my favorite things to do. It's like, oh, I got to take a great show to watch tonight. And it's, we've been watching it for a month. That is incredible. All right. What else we got? Let's go. You got one more. Bye. Let's do this. I'm enjoying the season finale. Yeah, this is great. Shout out to you for the questions. Keep them coming. Yes. We'll start. Uh, well, I was gonna say we should make this a segment in all episodes.

Maybe we just have one pop question. You send it in. Because this is about progression over perfection. We're finding out how we're going to be better next season. Do you want a next season? First off, if this is unprofitable and you don't want to let us know, please let us know because we will do something else. Um, but if you do like this, we can put a pop segment into every single episode. You out your name, your city. I like it. If you're single, maybe you find somebody. I don't know. We should definitely do a relationship matchmaking pop situation. Absolutely. I've got a candidate I would like to submit. I got one too. I got one in the room. You got one in the room too. We can bring them on camera. Okay. We'll wait. We'll wait. Okay. They're like, no, no, no. We'll turn the camera around. Your husband might be here. Um, here we go. Pop question. What's something people think makes a good friend, but actually doesn't. Ooh, I would say, um, unquestioning loyalty.

Okay. Go meaning like, meaning like if you, there's always a joke where the people say like, I'm with you to the wheels fall off. Yeah. And my joke is always like, I'm going to be with you. But why did the wheels fall off? Why did they come off? I got some questions about why were you driving a car? And the wheels came off and I mean that to say, like, you think like they with me with no questions, they ain't got no problems with what I'm doing. They're just, I'm talking about that exorbitant. Like you could be destroying your life and they're like, that's my dog. Yes. I got it. I need somebody. If I'm destroying my life. No, stop. Stop. Tell me, don't do that. So that's what I mean. People who would just let you go and you perceive it as like, man, they're just loyal. They're going to let me do my thing. And it's like, no, I mean, don't let me do my thing all the time because my thing, sometimes the wrong day, it's the wrong thing. That's good. I like that. So that'd be mine. What do you think? I just think a friend that needs too much time.

Yeah, that's tough, man. It just feels like... I hate when you get them texts. It's like, man, you know, it's just tough because I haven't really seen or I haven't heard from you. It's like, oh, that's scary, man. That's scary because you're about to be friendless. Or you're gonna have to be down a friend. Because you're gonna hate this next part. You're gonna hate this next part because the truth of the matter is like, if that is your requirement without investigating maybe why, we haven't like... Yeah, I've been fighting for my marriage. I've been fighting for my life. I've been fighting for my mental health. And your first thing is like... I just think it's weird how you have time to post. Hold on, whoa. We're adults. What is happening? Get away from me. Like, you need therapy. Yeah, that's great. That's tough, man. I think that friends that demand a certain amount of time without proper communication or discernment of the season. Or understanding. Or just understanding.

Yeah, like if it's a thing, like I'm okay with you saying that. Like we haven't hung out for a while, man. I would love to... I miss you. Cool. But like, you're not like, I just wanted to let you know, but it's all good. That's not your automatic response. Yes, yeah, yeah. When they hit you with that, you know, I didn't say this, but I just gotta forgive. I forgave you. And it's like, what? You forgave me for what? Cause you had a life. And it did not... I've already forgiven you, but I just wanted to let you know. Oh, oh Lord. That's a red flag again. That's a red flag. Why don't you talk to me? Why would you? Just forgive me in your heart. Yeah. But I just, you know, for me, and that's why I don't got a lot of friends. That's why it's just me and you, man.

Hey, we're here. Like, no, seriously. Like, I think the best friendships are the ones that you can pick up where you left off. And you understand. And if you don't understand, there's grace. Yes, a hundred percent, bro. Cause the truth of the matter is, I don't know the inner workings of everybody's life. And I don't want to know. Don't need to know. Don't want to know. But the truth of the matter is like, when that scripture says friends are built for adversity, I don't just think that's fights. I think when it talks about friends being built for adversity, it's the adversity of separation. It's the adversity of a change in season. It's the adversity of, cause adversity just means opposition to. Like, it means like, so like, I need friends that are built for the opposition of our connection, our closeness. I'm not saying that we're neglectful, but I'm saying like, I need to understand it. Maybe in this season, this next two years, I need you to pray for me for real. Like, maybe it's not just hanging out. Maybe it's like holding me up, being an errand and hurt.

And I just think that people think the only currency of friendship is time together, which some of my greatest friends and friendships have had year, year and a half, two year lapses of the consistent connection. Not just a hey text or, but like, it's like, oh no, these people. And it really comes from the scope of how long you think the friendship's gonna last. So a decade long friendship can have different ebbs and flows because it's like we rocking no matter what. We're good. Like, you know what I'm saying? We're secure in our friendship. Yeah. And so I just think that's, ooh. That's a good one. We got one more pop. What are we doing? We out of here? Is this the last pop? Pop, this is the last one to end. But season one finale, last question. See if I can get, all right, here we go. Last question, season eight. Hey, before we do this, before we do this, if this content has been good, if you have enjoyed any of the episodes, this one, or you need to go back

and watch the seven that we did before this, we're hoping this is something that's valuable to you, that has made you laugh at some point, that has encouraged you, made you think about something, has made you pray, has made you ask somebody around you, what do you think about this? This is not supposed to be something that makes people see us in a great light. Honestly, it's for us to show the things that we probably would not show if we were concerned about perfection. This podcast is about progression and progression is the point. God wants to take you from where you are to another place, but that means you gotta be real about where you are. And I think that God's doing something unique in us, in this podcast, and in the Poppers who are following us. We gotta come up with a name, guys, because I need you to put- Not the Poppers. The Poppers is not it, but I just said it. So somebody with a greater- Mike Todd and the Poppers coming to you. That definitely sounds like a 1968 group from Detroit. Give it up for the Poppers. Zah-dah-dah, zah-dah-dah, zah-dah-dah. Yeah, not at all. We need to say- Okay, that's hilarious. So we do need a name, and I definitely-

I want everybody to realize that your authenticity is your anointing. Like, how you show up is so special to God because that's how he made you. Continue to refine that and become who God's created you to be. We got one more question. Last question. I just want to thank you for watching. Here we go. This is a great, ending the pod, ending the year, not the year, the season, you know. It's a spiritual year in all of our hearts. Is perfection truly even achievable or will I always live in progression? Have you been watching the podcast? No, I'm just playing. That's how we end the whole thing. What the heck is wrong with you? This is our whole podcast. Have you seen the logo? Yeah, I think that. And here's what I hear underneath this question. Am I always gonna have to be working this hard? And the answer is yes. You know what I'm saying? Yes. Yeah. You're gonna have to be working this hard on something. Yeah, that's good.

Like point blank period, the easiest way to be frustrated is acting like there is a day that is coming that you will not have to do something that's hard. Yeah. And I just have committed, we have committed, like we do hard things. The Holy Spirit empowers us to do hard things. Like part of what our God is here for is to give us wisdom and strength of how to do hard things and not let it control our lives. That's good. Like in this word, you will have trouble, but take heart. I've already overcome the world. You stick with me, we good. Yep. Like, and so for me, like hard things aren't scary anymore. They're necessary. They're developing me and they're making me progress. We never know David without Goliath. David is just another shepherd boy until the obstacle of Goliath. When Goliath presents itself, it's the thing that scared everybody else, but it was the thing that elevated David. It's the truth of the matter is progressing past what seems like an obstacle is the thing that produces out of you what you don't even know is there. That's great.

David had no clue he was a king. Yeah. He had been called the king. He was anointed a king, but he didn't know until Goliath presented itself. That obstacle became a stepping stool to a version of himself that he did not know. And so I just think hard things are part of a holy life. Period. And once you realize that, I'm just going to keep progressing. And that's what I plan to do for the rest of my life. Absolutely. And we're going to do it together. Absolutely, brother. Until the wheels get real on. Until we get new wheels, get a little loose, then we get them checked. And then we'll get them back locked in. Hey, hey, hey. Steve is doing stolen bass in most of these. I don't know what that means, Steve. I think I know what it means. I think it means we need to be sent off with a celebration. Okay. Turn up the music. And so right now. The poppers are here. The poppers are here.

If you have enjoyed this podcast, we just want to say we love you. If we do this again, that means that we. It means you watched. That means you watched. And we really are saying like, we don't know how many seasons we're going to do this. We just hope this encourages you to take a step forward. And whatever that means, do that thing. Absolutely. Keep it popping. Keep it popping. This is the end of season one, season finale. Send in your questions, like, subscribe, share, do it. And like we always say, one, two, three, y'all say it. Bye. Y'all's is upside down. Oh, oh my. Are you sure? Wait, oh, I was about to blow my joint up. Oh, that would have been a season finale. I was about to. I think I'm going the right way. Which is, okay, no, this is. Yeah, mine was upside down. As you can see, the theme of progression has started from the very beginning to the very end. We're not cutting any of this. You're about to be in the hospital because these things are powerful.

All right, progression over perfection. Season one. Oh, Jesus. Oh God. Did you shoot somebody? Oh God. Sir, are you okay? Are you okay? Oh Lord. Are you okay? I am not alive. I am not. Oh Jesus. Keep just. That is a powerful energy. That thing is a gun. Those things, guys, we gotta dial down. Yeah, we need to. These have gunpowder. We need to dial down the intensity. There's no word we said. Sexy Steve, we did it. Yo, that was, those are powerful. That's right there