Justus Murimi (@justusmotivates) lives in Austin with his wife and kids, works at RealtyAustin, and hosts a podcast called Under the Influence. Justus is a speaker, entrepreneur, pastor, and motivator. He previously served as Executive Pastor at Normandy Church, and led Wrecked, a Youth Ministry in Dallas, TX. Justus shares about the role of prayer in his experience mentoring kids from hard places.
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You can mentor is a podcast about the power of building relationships with kids from hard places in the name of Jesus. Every episode will help you overcome common mentoring obstacles and give you the confidence you need to invest in the lives of others. You can mentor.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the You Can Mentor podcast. My name is Steven, and I am here today early in the morning. Get your cup of coffee with Justice Marimi from Austin, Texas. I guess now he hails from Austin, Texas. So I can say that justice, how the heck are you?
Speaker 3:What's up, man? I'm doing great, man. I'm excited to be here. Super thankful to be here.
Speaker 2:Anytime I'm with you, I cannot stop laughing. I cannot stop feeling the joy of the Lord. So how how how did you get connected to us?
Speaker 3:Great question. I was roommates with Zach, with Zach Garza, the founder of 4 Runner.
Speaker 2:So were roommates?
Speaker 3:We were roommates, man. Crazy. Yeah. We were we were roommates. So, I used to actually, like so when I first moved to Dallas from Louisiana, I moved to Garland.
Speaker 3:I didn't know anything about any parts of Dallas or anything like that. So I just moved to Garland at the best priced apartment, which was a super shady area. And then I ran into these guys that had a bible study that was, like, just awesome. And Zach came in one day to this bible study. And honestly, Steven, like, I thought he was African American because he had longer hair, and it was curly, and his skin was a little bit darker.
Speaker 3:What? Yeah. And the group the bible study I was in was all white, and I'm I'm black. And so I was like, finally, a brother in here. This is so exciting.
Speaker 3:I can't I cannot wait to get to know this guy. And so I'm actually in the car with a buddy, and I was like, yeah, dude. I guess the only other African American guy that's in here is is Zach. And the guy goes, Zach Garza? I go, yeah.
Speaker 3:I go, yeah, dude. Zach Garza. He goes, that dude's half Mexican. Are you kidding me? His last name is Garza.
Speaker 3:How did that not give it away? And I was like, oh oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:The lights must have been really dim at this Bible study.
Speaker 3:Yes. So,
Speaker 2:Did did anyone show up from from that same background in the bible study? Did that ever happen for you?
Speaker 3:Occasionally, but not really. No. Like, did any other black people show up to that bible study?
Speaker 2:Yes. That's that was
Speaker 3:my question.
Speaker 2:So you
Speaker 3:no. I mean, maybe no. No. Oh, man. No.
Speaker 3:I I never did. Not on days that I was there. But all that to say, I Zach sometimes they would host that. I was sitting at Zach's place because a lot of the guys live there. So then, because I didn't know anybody, I would just show up to that house a lot, and I was kinda known as, like, their 5th roommate.
Speaker 3:And then one guy left, and I ended up moving in. And Zach and I lived together for, for a while.
Speaker 2:So That's awesome, man. Well
Speaker 3:Yeah. Really cool.
Speaker 2:He is always talking about you ever since you left. You still exist in our hearts and minds. And so, just know that even though you left Dallas, you have not left our our community here.
Speaker 3:Thank you, man.
Speaker 2:Just a a huge influence in Zach's life and and because of that, all of our boys. And so I'm excited for you to kinda get to share with our mentors this morning.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's really it's not really this morning. It's just on the Internet forever.
Speaker 3:So watch
Speaker 2:watch what you share. But I know your background is you were doing youth ministry. You were going after it here in Lake Highlands in Dallas. Yes. You you led a ministry called Wrecked, which I was I love that name.
Speaker 2:So I I'd love to hear more about, like, the the meaning behind that name for like, how did you come up with that?
Speaker 3:My heart has always just been, like ever since I went to that bible study, which was just really, let's see what the holy spirit does, let's just worship. It was the first time that I'd seen guys that looked like they were donnies in Dallas and, like, dressed really nice and were wearing suits and ties, would show up, and I'd see them on the floor kneeling and weeping. And then other days, we'd go out and share the gospel because we pray and we'd wait on the Lord for vision and a picture of people, and then we'd go out and find them out there on the street, exact people that God would show us while we were worshiping and praying, and then we'd go out. And I was like, this is, like, New Testament. This is what I've been reading about.
Speaker 3:Finally, there's a group of people that are doing it. I didn't know it existed. And so I would just see these people get wrecked by God. And so then I went to I actually, through Garza, went and and joined Young Life. He was always pushing me to join Young Life and so I did Young Life in Plano.
Speaker 3:He's like, dude, you gotta do it like Highlands. And I saw these I got introduced to these junior high kids. And I was like, these kids just need to get wrecked by God. Like, I wanna see them get completely wrecked so bad in a good way that they are forever changed. Like, that it changes the trajectory of their life because they've met the best person who's ever existed.
Speaker 3:And they realize how much that person loves them, how much that person wants to use them to do unbelievable things, and that, he would honestly just they they'd meet a father that they've never had. And so, yeah, that's where the name came from, Rex, man. It was all about, man, get let's get wrecked. Like, let's get in here. Let's worship.
Speaker 3:Let's see God show up. Let's watch him do things that we could never imagine. And so yeah, man. That's what we're called. Right?
Speaker 2:That is so good, man. And Yeah. I I when I think of youth ministry
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, that's not my first association. Like, with a a youth pastor, A youth pastor is like, how can I get as many kids here here as possible? How can we have the most fun so they wanna come back next week?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Your perspective is like, let's let's see the holy spirit come into the room and show these kids something that they could give their life to. And
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. I had done the Young Life thing, and I still believe Young Life is the best evangelical thing that I have ever seen. I've just never seen something that can get kids that think Jesus is boring into a room, and it was amazing. But the high school leaders I was with, they wanted more, and I didn't push anything on them.
Speaker 3:I just said, okay. Well, like, just come. We'll worship. We'll pray. So we come.
Speaker 3:I'd lead them through the, like, a bible verse or something, and then we'd pray. And those guys got touched. So then I'm going, hey, guys. Let's go after these other kids, the kids that are in our in our in our group. Like we're gonna we're gonna get these 7th and 8th graders and bring them together.
Speaker 3:And so the intersection it was a really interesting intersection because I was seeing everybody's hungry for Jesus. And so I had these wealthy white kids in high school who had been in bible church and so they knew the word, but they wanted them more. And once they tasted it, they were like, oh my gosh. This is amazing. They were inviting their friends.
Speaker 3:So I was in this weird intersection where I had these young white kids, seniors in high school, who who they had a group that was growing that I really wasn't talking about. And I was leading them into encountering the Holy Spirit. And they would show up early in the morning with me at the church where I worked to taste Jesus, taste Holy Spirit. And then I had my group and they'd help me volunteer and lead these junior high kids to the more. So these single African American kids, single parent, all that, I saw a lack of fathers, but I knew that we had a good father.
Speaker 3:I saw how much the holy spirit is drawn to need. And selfishly, I wanted them to come because I knew God would show up more when there's need and people are raw.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:So I was like, dude, I'm gonna get more God because you guys are there. And you guys don't have a lot, you're hurting, all that stuff. God shows up that much more with the people that are honest and raw and are in need. Like, he was that you know, like, he loved the rich and the poor. There's no doubt he does.
Speaker 3:And he I've seen him show up with wealthy people in in unbelievable ways. But there was just something about these kids that they were so bruised and battered and all this kind of stuff physically and mentally and spiritually that, man, when god would show up, I just wanted to be around them. Like, there weren't a lot of rules. There's definitely, like, a system to it, like, as far as like, hey. We're gonna do this and then go to this, but it was phenomenal.
Speaker 3:It was in my apartment. It was growing. It was growing because people were like, you gotta come to like, they were bringing their friends that were, like, bad. And they were like they didn't know how to tell them, like, stop doing this stuff because they were kind they would do, like, smoke weed with them sometimes and go steal sometimes with them. But they just knew on that day, like, you should probably come to Justice's house and and and just come.
Speaker 3:Why? Just come. We can't tell you. Just come. So these kids would come, like, bad.
Speaker 3:It's a bad kid. But I didn't care because I was like, dude, how bad are you? Like, how bad? Like, you've done some bad stuff. Do you promise?
Speaker 3:Alright. Sweet. You should definitely cook cut your show up even more because you're so hurt. So it was it was it was cool, man. And we pray for people.
Speaker 3:Like, we'd I mean, we'd pray for people. It was it yeah. I mean, it was it was it was cool, man. The way God would show up. It was cool.
Speaker 3:I needed it just as much.
Speaker 2:Well, I I just love the faith of really believing God's gonna show up where there's the greatest need. Yeah. And if that was how we saw our kids was not, I I just think that's such an optimistic and hopeful and prophetic view of investing in kids who seem like this might not be the best place for me to invest, but actually, it's where God's gonna move. Like, his compassion sits on kids who have, like what you said, been bruised and Yeah. Did.
Speaker 2:And that's just that's so good. Could you could you even go back further and share, I mean, just in your own life, how you experience the holy spirit. Because I I imagine we have listeners who are like some happy clappies, but also some frozen chosens. And so I I think we all land somewhere when we think about the Holy Spirit. And Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd I'd love for you to just unpack your background and
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What you've experienced. So
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think I have a really interesting experience. So I my mom and dad are from were from Kenya. I was 4 months old when we moved to the States, but my parents came to know Jesus and there was revival happening in in Kenya. And so kids were getting rekt at a young age because these evangelists would come to their town, and they come into Jesus.
Speaker 3:I mean, there's a picture of my mom, like, speaking at an event, preaching, and there's a wheelchair up in the air. And, like so that's kind of my history is, like, my parents went for it. My dad's a missionary. My mom's a professor at a at a college, but their history was, like, all Jesus. And so we moved to the states.
Speaker 3:My dad starts this missionary organization. My mom's doing school, that kind of stuff. And then we I grew up in Louisiana. And so it was a very I moved we moved there from Iowa when I was going into the 7th grade. And so it was like this culture, just complete culture shock.
Speaker 3:I just never seen this level of, like there's a level of racism for sure, but it was like this also like, this clash of, like, the most beautiful people but the most, like, hurt and all that kind of stuff on both sides. I probably have more racist interactions with black people towards me than I did with white people towards me. So it's just weird. It was just this weird place because I spoke like I speak now, but there weren't a lot of people that were black that spoke like me. But we also, like, the best church that we could find, didn't believe that the Holy Spirit was active and moving, but the people were amazing.
Speaker 3:So our parents were in this weird place where they were completely open to the Holy Spirit and seen the Holy Spirit heal, move. My dad's a missionary. He goes to tribes where there's witchcraft and all this stuff, and he's seen God do some crazy stuff. But we're at this church with these people that love us. It's an amazing church, but they did not believe in the gifts.
Speaker 3:So I got to be a part of this weird mix of Bible kinda in your face, like, kinda religious, but the heart is good, but there's just a religiousness to it. But having a background of, like, waking up, my parents are praying in tongues over our family. And and so that's kind of my my background, but I didn't really go after the things they were going after until I got to Dallas when I graduated from college. And I got in that that group of guys that were, like, chasing after it.
Speaker 2:So I
Speaker 3:was like, I wasn't when I hear them worship and pray and go for it, it didn't throw me off because I was like, yeah. It sounds like my parents. But at the same time, it was like it awoke something in me.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. That's good, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'd I love just that that I mean, when I think of you, that makes total sense now knowing
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:A little bit a little bit about your parents. Yeah. Like, you're you're kind of carrying a culture, and that's evident that you've received that from them. I think in the same way, obviously, a mentor is somebody who, I mean, carries a culture and imparts it to the the people you invest in. And so I even think that just because of who you are, the culture that you're walking in is naturally affecting the kids that you're surrounding yourself with.
Speaker 2:So Yeah. That's a subtle thing with, I mean, just our podcast of investing in kids who have a deficit of relationships, particularly male relationships.
Speaker 3:Like Yeah.
Speaker 2:Who's the culture that they're receiving from? Yeah. That's an interesting dynamic when you think about what the responsibility of a mentor is.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. And I'll say even, like, as you're sharing that with the the young kids that were, like, in 7th 8th grade, I mean, it was 2 years of building relationships and seeing these kids, like, just act a fool. And, like, we didn't touch on the holy spirit or Jesus really at all. It was me just doing grillouts and taking them out for Chick Fil A on my dime.
Speaker 3:And then, like, act Chick Fil A? Chick Fil A? Get Chick Fil A. We're gonna get some Chick Fil A? But, like, it was just building relationships.
Speaker 3:So, like, the reason why our youth group did such amazing things and we saw all that stuff, one was just God just deciding to do something. But the other part was, like, we had 2, 3 years of pure relationships, of me showing up to basketball games. Me taking them out to eat, of them, like, me waking up in the morning to take them out for donuts and them falling asleep while I'm trying to have, like, a a conversation about how is their life. And all this stuff and me dealing with their moms and the good and the bad and and just, you know, all all that stuff and them getting mad at me because I didn't do something. It was just it was just years of of that before we even touched on, like, hey.
Speaker 3:Do you wanna come to my house and come to this bible study thing? You know? So I think even just for your mentors, it's like, you might have this expectation or this, like, hope for your the relationship you have to do something amazing. But, man, it might be 20 years before you see the fruit, and you may never see the fruit. Are you okay with a blind investment?
Speaker 3:Some of the investment you might come back and you're going, it was a negative return. He's worse or he's dead. I will just say it's every minute of it is worth it. But if you're going on, what you can see is not gonna get you anywhere. Like, you're just gonna be really frustrated.
Speaker 3:But if you're going off what you can't see and just believing that God's gonna do something natural that you may never see, then every minute is never wasted. Like, I just I just drove to Dallas a month ago because the the kid that started all of this, the kid that started all of it for me, who I love, was in the hospital because he was getting high and got in a wreck. Thankfully, he's gonna he's gonna make it out. But his life's not doing any good. He dropped out of college.
Speaker 3:He's he's he I think he was selling a little bit and and all that stuff. And so I will just say, like, he's still worth it. I still love him. We still text. I still call.
Speaker 3:But my identity is not attached to his performance. And sometimes it's just we just get to love to love, but it takes time, and I hope everyone gets to see their kids do amazing things. But, I'll just say just for the mentors, just to give yourself grace and all that stuff, try and remove a mentor would always tell me, like, hey, man. Be expected without expectations. And I think that that helped me in all of my relationships.
Speaker 3:I was just like, I'm expecting of god to do something amazing, but I'm not gonna try even think about what it's gonna look like or what it needs to be. And I'm just gonna take this as time that I'm spending with this person because they're worth the time, and that's all.
Speaker 2:That is so good, man.
Speaker 3:You know?
Speaker 2:They're worth it. They're worth it regardless.
Speaker 3:They're worth it. They're just worth it. That's it. They're just worth it. That's all like, they are just worth it.
Speaker 3:He was worth me driving from Austin to Dallas to spend 2 hours with him then drive back. You know? Like, he's just he is worth it. They're all absolutely worth it. I think I can I can afford a a 4 hour drive going there and back?
Speaker 3:Jesus came down from the new the most perfect place to the world for me and died on a cross. What's a 4 hour drive?
Speaker 2:That's like a a straight prodigal son father move, like, to to drive up here, like, you I don't know. You pulled up the, your robe and girded your loins over, 45 or 35, whatever you drove, embraced him. I don't know if you gave him a ring or anything, but take him out to barbecue. If I'm more interested in what I am doing than what God's doing in this relationship, there's a misalignment. Like Yes.
Speaker 2:God, what are you what are you doing, and what are you wanting to do? Yeah. I'm not the main part of this. No. Like, god god is moving.
Speaker 2:He's longing to, like, touch and and heal and restore and teach and model and all all of those things. So Yeah.
Speaker 3:No. I'd say the the kids that did the best had a tribe. Part of what I tried to do was get some of them in our church because there were so many unbelievably successful, godly men who wanted to be around these kids. And so we had guys giving them jobs. Like, the most successful kid was Chris.
Speaker 3:And Chris was I mean, by the time he finished high school, he was like, his rolodex was, like, amazing. Like, I wanted it. All the people he was around were successful financially in their marriages and all this stuff. And he would be working with a lawyer. He was working with a lawyer.
Speaker 3:He was he was doing all the stuff. He was there's a loan officer, a very successful loan officer at our church who kinda took him under his wing and helped spend time with him. So it was like, there were multiple people in his life, and and it takes a tribe. And I wanted him to go to the Young Life retreat. I wanted him to go to this whole, like, to other things with other churches.
Speaker 3:Because I was like, I I was overwhelmed just with what I had, and I was like, anyone that could help with anything, please. You know? I can't I think because it's so overwhelming when you hear their stories, they're so overwhelming that you kinda I I didn't have the time to be prideful about it and go, well, then I need to build this and do that and do this. I was like, no. You can go to that Bible church down the road and get unbelievable teaching.
Speaker 3:Like, go. Dude, I don't care. Go. Do we align theologically on everything? No.
Speaker 3:But, like, you guys obviously love Jesus or you wouldn't you wouldn't be here. So, like, go. And your life, dude, go. It's a blast. You'll have so much fun.
Speaker 3:I'm gonna actually have my worship night or my night for you to encounter god on a different night than this other ministry because I actually want you to go. And if we had we didn't have FCA, but if there was an FCA, I wanna know that leader as well and go, hey, man. I got all these kids. Like, can they come to your stuff too? Please?
Speaker 3:You know? Because I need like, we these kids need twice as many mentors as as as maybe someone like you or I would need. Wow. You know?
Speaker 2:That's so good, man. Yeah. I'd I feel like that's that's so, I mean, so different from, I mean, my own experience. I did college ministry for 6 years, and it was like, if you had a student that was in your group and even I'm I was the same, like, my mentality was, like, if you're a part of our our group, our ministry, like, you're committing to us, and, like, that means you're not going to these other deals because you're committed to us. And Yeah.
Speaker 2:And, like, everybody's, like, fighting for students and their involvement and, like Yeah. And you're saying, like, the kids that we're meeting, like, they need all of these groups. They need everyone investing in them, like, and
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Who who are we to say, like, we're the one stop shop for them to receive everything and
Speaker 3:Yeah. Like I don't wanna be. Like, I legitimately don't wanna be the one stop shop. I wanna live a, like, a balanced life. I wanna see my kids.
Speaker 3:I wanna spend time with my wife. I wanna have fun with my friends. I wanna grab a beer with with somebody that I that I care about that's not 16. I wanna have friends. If I'm serving them every night of the week because I got a teaching thing 1 night, I've got a worship thing 1 night, I've got another thing this other night, and I got this other thing another night.
Speaker 3:And I'm not great at all of those. How much time am I spending with my wife? Like, how much time am I spending with my own kids? It doesn't make sense. While there's this DTS graduate who's starting a teaching group that's named, I don't know, something The Well, because, like, everything's called The Well.
Speaker 3:And and he's doing this profound teaching. He's hot off the press from DTS. Way better teacher than I am. Why would I not want my boys to go there? I should probably go there.
Speaker 3:It's exciting. As long as the guy's legit and he's he's his heart's good, I want him there. Plus, he needs to get reps as a teacher because he's got all this knowledge. Like, he needs to get reps. If you can teach to a bunch of 17, 15, 16 year olds that don't even like you, that are making fun of you while you teach, you can teach to a room full of college students that are actually wanna learn more about the trinity or whatever you wanna call it.
Speaker 2:So what what would be your recommendation for helping a mentor? Because every every mentor is different. They have different skill sets, different just knowledge and wisdom. What would be your wisdom on helping them finding that fit of, like, here's what like, here's my commitment, my space of investment, and then here's the other stuff of, like, how I'm gonna make connections, how I'm gonna, pursue other people for like, advocate for the kid you're mentoring.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'd say the same way you'd build a relationship with your kid when he's, like, 13, when he doesn't like you, and so you're just like, dude, can I just, like, take you out for breakfast on me? Because I know you like breakfast, and you're hungry. And I'm not gonna ask you any questions about things that I think or care about or what I want you to do. I'm just gonna ask you questions about the things I know that you care you you care about.
Speaker 3:I'd say, practically, just spend time with them for, like, 2 years, especially if you're getting them in the, like, what, 3rd, 4th, 5th grade, sometimes 6th, 7th, 8th. Remove all the pressure and just see them as someone that just wants to talk about Pokemon or just wants to talk about something funny they saw and just be interested over trying to be interesting or fix their problems. Like, that's it. And then I'd say, at every stage, as you build relationally, just ask the question. Hey, man.
Speaker 3:Did you have fun today? Yeah. Awesome. What could I do for you this year that would make you feel like we have an unbelievable relationship? And just listen and pick up on the clues.
Speaker 3:Like, they're gonna talk about certain things. And it doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't have to be whatever, and then just do it. You're building a relationship. Like, that is the core of it.
Speaker 3:Jesus said, 'Man, you guys have been my servants, but now we spend so much time, you're my friend.' Like, you guys are my friends now. Just hope that by the time they graduate high school, you guys are friends. You're just you're just building a relationship. And so I'd say, like, for the 1st few years, just build the foundation of, like, being there. Just, like, in a sustainable way, just say, I'm gonna come to 1 game.
Speaker 3:We're gonna have 2 breakfasts a month. So every month, I'm gonna try and go to one of your games, and I'm gonna try and have 2 breakfasts a month or 2 ice creams. It doesn't have to be crazy. It doesn't have to be crazy. And then if I was a mentor for her, I'd say, con connect your kids together with other mentors and their kids.
Speaker 3:So it doesn't have to be just you. Like, go be with other mentors as they're with their mentees and just hang out. And if you go, hey. We're gonna go to Buffalo Wild Wings and watch a game. That kid wants to hang out with other kids more than he wants to hang out with you.
Speaker 3:But you're still present, which when he has a great experience with his friends and you're there, he associates you with that experience. And so, honestly, the thing that builds relationships is experiences. You think of the mission trips, the things you did with people. Like, when you think over your friendship with the person that you're, like, best friends with, you don't remember, like, yeah. We spoke on the phone for 5 minutes the other day or the other day.
Speaker 3:You think, remember when we did this? Wasn't that crazy? And you have so many conversations around that moment, and it built your friendship wide because it was a shared experience. So I I think just, like, find other mentors that you connect with. Say, hey.
Speaker 3:Once a month, we're all gonna go out to Buffalo Wild Wings, and we're gonna bring our mentees, and they're gonna fool around and act stupid and talk together while we just kinda watch the game. It doesn't have to be hard and it doesn't have to be hyper spiritual. The very the most spiritual thing you can do is be there. Let's just be there.
Speaker 2:I think the the hugest thing you just said, Justice, was, like, finding out what they want from you, not just what you want to give them. Yeah. Like like, a mentor relationship is is listening, like and I I'd love for you to, like, hone in on on that because I've heard you talk about picking up on bids, recognizing when when someone you're investing in asks for something, it might not be a verbal ask, but it's it's an invitation. And so I don't I don't know if you could you could sit on that for a second and and share more about that listening spirit of, like, entering into the mentor relationship, looking for those things.
Speaker 3:I think after a while when you're spending time with with, with your mentee or or whoever it is, you start to pick up on their, like, legitimate needs. So, like, one kid I had, Terrence, football player, all this stuff. Family definitely didn't have enough money. He liked food. Like, he just liked to eat, and it was ripped.
Speaker 3:And so, honestly, I would like he loved that I just would go and get him food. He didn't even say thank you, but he didn't need to. It was like, I just knew if I took him to go get food, he was like, he'd open up. And then another one I had, Reggie, he just liked to talk. And then he loved learning about, like, different ways to make money.
Speaker 3:Right? Or Chris, who really liked to talk. But he would always talk about like basketball, basketball, basketball. And so we just I would like play basketball with him and I'd talk trash and he liked that. And he loved for me to see him see how well he progressed and he loved to talk.
Speaker 3:So I just knew entering into these different relationships because I've been with him since 7th grade, man. So I got to catch the trends. So I knew that the needs and it wasn't like I was, like, always every time I got, like, oh, okay. Taking notes. I just knew, like, I'm seeing a trend here.
Speaker 3:Like, you would notice with your wife or with whatever, just like, they really like talking about this. Okay. So next time we meet together, I'm gonna say, hey. What do you who do you think is better? LeBron or Michael Jordan?
Speaker 3:Why? Because he loves to talk basketball. He loves to be heard. So it's just like, okay. Awesome.
Speaker 3:And maybe at some point, I might take him to a Mavs game. I never promised it to him. I never whatever. But I'm just going I'm just putting in my mind that he would love that. That would be an experience that he would remember.
Speaker 2:Right? And talking about basketball, like Yeah. It might it might be more than just talking about basketball. Like Yeah. Like, maybe it's having a conversation, and the only thing that is at the forefront of their mind is their favorite team, their favorite player.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so being in an environment where you have to talk, you're naturally gonna talk about the things that you're you like the most. Yeah. And I I just feel like sometimes I mean, my mentee, he loves football. That's all he wants to talk about
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Ever. And I can't talk to him unless I've looked at ESPN and seen Yes. What the latest trades are and, like, what's going on. And Yeah. I don't watch I don't watch sports.
Speaker 2:Like Yeah. And so when I don't know what's going on, like, that's always the questions that I ask him so he can fill me in and and will watch videos of people getting tackled because he Yes. He loves he loves that stuff.
Speaker 3:Those big hits.
Speaker 2:But but but it's it's more than just stats and trades and scores and, you know, viral videos of 40 yard dashes. Like, he is, like, trying to show me what he's interested in. Mhmm. And he's trying to draw me into it wondering if I'm interested in him, not the things that he's talking about.
Speaker 3:Yes. A 100%. That's really good.
Speaker 2:Man. Oh, man. Well, Justice, I don't know if there are any other needs that you've recognized as you've mentored boys, in in Dallas or Austin or or wherever you've been in life, needs that you feel like are the most prevalent that a mentor should just keep his eye out, to recognize? Like, is there anything else that that you think mentors should look out for?
Speaker 3:Yeah. They don't need you. They need Jesus, but Jesus chose you to be the one in their life. So, like, the pressure's off for you. What they don't need is necessarily you.
Speaker 3:What they need is Jesus. So when Jesus shows up on the scene through you, he's gonna take care of it. He knows their needs, and most of their needs were were there before you showed up. So, like, you showing up doesn't mean you're showing up to meet all their needs. You're showing up to be like Christ to them and just be a part.
Speaker 3:And so the verse where Jesus is like, the disciples are trying to move these kids away because they're probably being distracting. They're probably being annoying. They're probably being loud. And everyone is putting a priority on Jesus' message, but Jesus is saying the priority is me, and don't take anyone out of my kingdom that I bring in. Then he blessed the kids and he lays hands on them.
Speaker 3:So it's going the thing they need the most is just to be in the presence of Jesus, and you're sealed. And the the God lives in you. The Holy Spirit lives in you. So when they're with you, they're with him. So you just get to be exactly how God wired you to be with them and he will reveal himself to them at the right time.
Speaker 3:Do you know what I mean? So I wanna remove like the pressure because I it's I had it. Everyone has it. You come to this kid and you're like, look at all the things. You go to their apartment for the first time.
Speaker 3:They open up the fridge for the first time and all you see is like a juice or they open up the freezer and all you see is like one frozen molded steak or that you realize they're closed steak and they're showing up for the 2nd day or you notice they have a bruise somewhere and the natural thing is to go, how do I fix this? Or now I'm responsible. I'm their mentor. I'm their mentee. You can rest in the case that Jesus knew all about what they were going through before you showed up and he brought you in there not to fix the situation, but to prayerfully consider what that kid needs right there and how he how God might wanna show up and just being obedient.
Speaker 3:And so if I can if I can, like if I could look back over my wrecked years and all of those times and everything that happened, the good, the bad, I'm like, man, be on your knees. Don't tie your identity to their to their performance or how their life goes at all, and just show up. And you will be shocked at what God can do through you just being there and what you'll see happen and what he draws you to do and what he pulls on your heart to do. And I've seen so many mentors do amazing things and the kids just still don't show up show up in the way that they wanted, but you got the privilege of obeying God and being present with someone that he loves, which is the the the orphan and the widow. And so, like, just take joy that you just get to be a part of it and take joy in just the moment that you're in right there with the kid, not looking at it as I'm investing in this kid so that we can have a certain return because you'll never know what their terms.
Speaker 3:Some guys will spend less time than you will with their mentee, and their mentee will go off and do unbelievable things. And you might spend twice as much time doing way more, helping the mom, doing all the stuff, and they still end up in the same situation, and you can't figure it out. But it was never on you for the result. It was never on you for the result. You're just there.
Speaker 3:And, yeah, I I know I talk about it lightly, and I know a lot of the I know a lot of the mentors are busy. I know that. But I cannot tell you how important it is to do to for prayer and fasting. I I cannot tell you how spiritual all of this stuff is. I can't tell you how many kids were believing lies.
Speaker 3:And it doesn't matter how many times you tell them the truth. They're not hearing it because for 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 years, they've been believing that lie. And so the only thing that's gonna break it is the Holy Spirit. And you make room in the heavenlies through prayer and fasting. Like Daniel, the angel showed up to Daniel and was like, we couldn't make it through.
Speaker 3:But your prayer and fasting got got us here. So I'm telling you, like, if you're trying to see breakthrough and it's a good desire in your kid's life, in their mom's life, on all levels, whether it be emotional, spiritual, relational, and financial. I I wanted all of my kids to be wealthy. All of them. I still do.
Speaker 3:I wanna break generational change financially. I don't want them living in poverty anymore. So I'm like, the only thing that's gonna bring them to the reality of, like, maybe I shouldn't buy Jordans today. Maybe I shouldn't do all this stuff. They do that because they're going, I don't know what my next paycheck's gonna be.
Speaker 3:So I need to send I'm just gonna grab these Jordans now because I might have the money for it because I might have to use it on groceries and I just wanna get these shoes now. What's gonna break the lie that there's not enough money out there for them? Or when they go out and they decide to have sex before they they should, because they think, if I don't get love right now like this, then it ain't love. And who am I? I'm not a man because I'm insecure.
Speaker 3:All those lies have been swimming in their head because their dad told them they're they're nothing. Because their dad wasn't there. Because their dad stole from them. Because they saw their mom get beat by their dad. So they go, I guess that's what marriage is like.
Speaker 3:What's gonna break all those lies? It's super spiritual. The enemy is a deceiver and he's the father of lies. So he's always teasing them in the mind. And the thing that breaks those things, that brings revelation, that brings all that stuff is prayer.
Speaker 3:And then encountering a holy God and being in the word. The fact that any kid wants to read a bible is a miracle. I took so much joy when I get a Snapchat picture from one of my kids and he showed me that he was reading in John and he and he showed me a crying emoji. That's a miracle. How did that happen?
Speaker 3:God broke through somewhere. Prayer and fasting. If we wanna see breakthrough and I'm still believing for breakthrough for Lake Highlands. I'm still believing for breakthrough for so many of those kids. Yeah.
Speaker 3:But there has to be a group of men. And I and I mean, yes, men and women, but I mean men that lead, not just by being financial providers, which is so important. But, man, you gotta lead spiritually. You gotta be praying. And so I'm like, my heart grieves because I see a group of men, and I'm not saying specifically 400 men, but I see these men who are doing so well on some of these fears.
Speaker 3:They're loving their kids. They're they're they're doing well at their jobs, but they're lacking in prayer because they're trying to achieve something with their hands that only God can do through spiritual through the spiritual. So they see prayer as a 5 minute, like, please, lord, instead of a a lifestyle of prayer and fasting so that we can see breakthrough in the. I can't tell you how many times something great was gonna happen in the, and it didn't because of a religious spirit, because of some something where ministries were clashing instead of co laboring. And we see it as, like, yeah.
Speaker 3:We've gotta have the avenger. We've gotta do the right thing. Whereas just the enemy going, oh, man. What about your ministry? It's not gonna work if this other ministry is doing this.
Speaker 3:Isn't what they really need more of you? What's gonna break that? It's gonna be a tribe, a group of people who do not belittle prayer and fasting, but will go to the forefront to see God do something supernatural in Lake Highlands, where it's literally a 3rd black, a 3rd white, and a third Hispanic. What if the city of Lake Highlands was the forerunner on not just racial reconciliation, financial reconciliation, relational reconciliation. And we became became the place where people said, that's what I want my city to look like.
Speaker 3:I think it's possible if a small group of men will pray and fast, freak out to break through. Because he's not done with that city. He's not done. So, man, I've got another meeting after this, and I'm, like, crying in this office. But I just I just I would just believe in it.
Speaker 3:I really do believe in it. But if we're not on the same page about praying for them consistently, then I just think we'll just keep running the same wheel of, like, ministries being birthed and then kids being taken care of for a season and then mentors leave and ministries leave and then another one comes and another one goes. And so why I'm so passionate about 4 Runner because I see Zach's heart, and I see what you guys are doing. And I'm like, man, it can happen. It could really happen.
Speaker 3:Justice Marini. Yes. The one
Speaker 2:and only, the challenger, the joy filled challenger. That's that's that's who you are, man.
Speaker 3:Oh, man. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Is there any way our listeners can connect with you, after listening to this? I'm sure they wanna listen to your Preachers in Sneakers podcast episode.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Go for it.
Speaker 2:But how else can they connect with you? Share a little bit about what you're doing in Austin.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I'm a realtor in Austin, but then I also, on the side, do some coaching. Just kinda like spiritual life coaching. And so, they can follow me on Instagram. They can reach me out.
Speaker 3:I usually do everything through Instagram, justice at justicemotivates, j u s t u s, and then motivates. And then, yeah, drop me a line. Justice at I'm under the influence.com. Yeah. I just want to see people leading from a place of joy, and purpose.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, Instagram is kind of the place where I kind of stay.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Well, highly encourage you mentors to connect with justice after this episode. If you've been encouraged, justice carries, joy. He is, I mean, just an amazing leader. And I think you would be blessed by, being invested in by him.
Speaker 2:So check him out. Justice motivates. He does. He definitely does. Man loved, loved our time together.
Speaker 2:Thanks for sharing, man.