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Tell Me More is a weekly podcast hosted by Katy Reed Hodges and Luke Stehr, where they unpack the Sunday sermon with Dr. Dennis Wiles. This podcast is designed on the premise that Dr. Wiles always has more to say than can fit in a 35 minute sermon - so we have fun discussing it here each week. We hope that in listening you are educated, encouraged and more connected to the pastor and his teaching!
Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More. We have Connor Toriyaba this week with us as doctor Wiles is teaching a doctorate of ministry seminar in Waco. We talk about all of the amazing things that our college ministry has been up to, the great Sunday we had celebrating doctor Wiles' twenty fifth anniversary, and we just had a really good time. So I hope you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 2:Welcome to this episode of Tell Me More. We're doing it. We're in the studio. It is Monday, but we don't have our pastor, sadly. But joyfully, we have kind of have be behind that.
Speaker 3:You know?
Speaker 2:You have
Speaker 1:to just
Speaker 2:do that. Exited. I
Speaker 1:joked with someone. I was setting out the programs on Sunday morning, just these beautiful programs celebrating his legacy. Yeah. And next to them are the cards about our change to our online giving. And And it said a
Speaker 2:change is coming?
Speaker 1:Is a change is coming. These don't look good.
Speaker 2:Let's Nice to each other. Next week. We'll put those out next week.
Speaker 1:So I did separate
Speaker 2:One of the things I is if y'all were watching, those of you at home haven't, you should it was sweet. You should go watch it. It was beautiful service. The worship was really spectacular. Especially in the room, was very very powerful.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I was like emceeing quote unquote the last what was supposed to be thirty minutes and ended up being like forty five. You can't you invite people
Speaker 1:to Surprise. Surprise.
Speaker 2:It's a live event. Much like the funerals that I planned, we can control some things. We can't control all things. One of the things I thought about asking because I just wasn't sure if it was as clear as we wanted it to be is like, hey, doctor Wells, you're not retiring though. Right?
Speaker 2:And I didn't because it wasn't really about me but But he's not.
Speaker 3:Right? He's not retiring.
Speaker 2:But he is not. No. There is alright. Let me tell
Speaker 1:you, there
Speaker 2:is no plan No. In any
Speaker 3:My joke about him leaving out of hire is because he's teaching right now.
Speaker 2:He did not walk off the stage and float into retirement. But I almost asked him from the mic, haven't really heard it, I thought he might say it really clearly in his address to the church. Because he said it in other circles, just like, people ask, okay, twenty fifth and you're, you know, 60, is this your retirement? And he said really clearly to other people like, no. So for y'all listening, if this is the tell me more of that part
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:No retirement plans. No.
Speaker 1:A change is not coming.
Speaker 2:A change is not coming in the pastoral office. Well, I'm hiring an associate. But other than that and he doctor Wild still wakes up this is what Kurt says, wakes up every day thinking he's hot and getting hotter, you know, in terms of pastoring, pastors first, I'm just that's not about his attraction. It's not about your not about a physical attraction, but, his ministry life.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Coming from progress. I don't think that's what was meant.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I I'm obviously not making a judgment on any physical attraction of anyone that I work with. So this
Speaker 1:week, doctor Wiles, the reason he's not here, and we have the wonderful illustrious Connor Toriyama in his seat
Speaker 3:Oh, it's me. Hello.
Speaker 1:Is doctor Wiles is teaching let me see if I can get the class name right. It's something like proclaiming the kingdom
Speaker 2:I think that's right. Through Isaiah.
Speaker 1:Isaiah. Mhmm. And so he's co teaching with one of his friends who's a professor at Tripp.
Speaker 2:Yeah. One of his new best friends. They got together last year and really hit it off. Really clicked. Really like each other.
Speaker 2:Yeah. She's cool. I like Rebecca.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Doctor I
Speaker 2:like doctor Pohayes. It feels weird. She's my age and we didn't go to school together so I know her more peer.
Speaker 3:So when are you getting your doctorate?
Speaker 2:I guess when my kids move out. Would like
Speaker 1:all Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, doctor Vong was here yesterday. There was a couple of
Speaker 1:Doctor Vong heads up the doctorate of ministry program at truth. Yes. There were
Speaker 2:a couple of esteemed colleagues that we invited, and and he was one of them. And he he's just ABC, always be recruit wait. Always be closing. ABR, always be recruiting. Like, he's always recruiting for the doctorate program.
Speaker 2:And he asks me every time, but I've told him enough, like, I I look at my life. Like, would I when would I fit in reading, reflecting, and writing? Yeah. I I will not. Right.
Speaker 2:You just
Speaker 1:sleep a little less.
Speaker 2:I already sleep less. That's like, look at my life. There is nothing left to give.
Speaker 3:You start going to the negative.
Speaker 2:But I mean, you know, it feels feels like a compliment to be recruited. Of course. But no. There's there are no plans for me to get more education right now. The school of hard knocks is is doing me just Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah. What about you, Connor?
Speaker 3:Right. Yeah. I'm also yeah. I'm a negative sleep debt right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Just I need to get a little
Speaker 3:Making it. It's good. Yep. Phoebe's awesome. You know?
Speaker 3:She'll be six months next week.
Speaker 2:How is sleep?
Speaker 1:How is it? Nice to
Speaker 2:What? How's sleep going?
Speaker 3:Good. I think every week is different and so this week has been not as good but then two weeks ago she was sleeping for like six to eight hours. That was awesome.
Speaker 2:Six to eight?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Was awesome.
Speaker 2:Got an eight hour stretch in there.
Speaker 3:You know, that was amazing. I felt like a new person.
Speaker 2:You wake this is when I Yeah. When we were starting to get those stretches, I would wake up just panicked.
Speaker 3:Oh, sure. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean? If I wasn't woken up by a baby and I was woken up just like, I'm like
Speaker 3:Did I miss something?
Speaker 2:They should be waking me up right now. Yeah. That was a weird transition.
Speaker 3:That's that's been fine, but she's so much fun. She's so talkative when it's just us. She's a little introvert.
Speaker 2:So I love her.
Speaker 3:Which is great.
Speaker 2:I like that a lot. Jack our Jack is that way. He's he doesn't care to really entertain anybody else Right. Like in in bigger circles, but when it's just us, he's really goofy and sweet.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's really fun. I like it
Speaker 1:a lot. That is fun.
Speaker 2:She's boy. Or Sam, our Sam is like star of the show. Loves to be the center of attention. Fun to have different personalities.
Speaker 3:But I mean, Patience and I are both introverts, so it's gonna she fits right in.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's good. Don't worry. One day you will have an extroverted child who just pushes you completely We'll see. Out of your zone.
Speaker 1:Right now we're real
Speaker 3:happy with where we're at.
Speaker 1:You never know. It's too soon to say if she's extroverted or introverted.
Speaker 3:That's fair. But she just like, she does not talk or babble or in that kind of stuff when she's in any sort of group environment.
Speaker 2:Our friend Bethany had a baby at the end of December. Uh-huh. So she's a he is like a few months older than Phoebe, I guess. And his name is Miles, and he is extroverted. The dude like Yeah.
Speaker 2:Comes alive when new people come in the room and yeah. Chitchatty and like, she's like, only she I mean, I can't tell but she's like, he's actually fading. He's just so glad to be people. When we get in the car, he's gonna just, like, melt down. Like, she can read it.
Speaker 2:He's like a people person. And she is too so that anyways, it's funny. That.
Speaker 1:It shows up. Yeah. It really does.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Babies are fun.
Speaker 1:Babies are fun. They are more fun when they're not yours.
Speaker 2:I'm not a big baby fan. Love mine.
Speaker 3:I love my baby.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I also really love sleeping at night.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay. Fair enough. Sleep was hard. I brag about it. Yep.
Speaker 1:One day, you too, we'll sleep again.
Speaker 2:At least for me, we're preschoolers now but toddlers sleep like champs.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 2:Our boys for a while were sleeping. And now still, but they'll do like 11 nights.
Speaker 3:Dang.
Speaker 2:Because that's just they need like, I don't
Speaker 1:know That's coming, man.
Speaker 2:Thirteen hours of sleep a day or something crazy and they nap here.
Speaker 3:It's like already not yet. We will be there one day.
Speaker 2:Hope is very important, though. Hope is very important. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yep. That's when I I had three at once, and it was very intense. But Right. But I would say, like, this is just for now.
Speaker 2:This is just for now. Mhmm. People get through this.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't lose hope. This is just for now. You
Speaker 3:know? God has given us cold brew. We'll be alright. Right? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Caffeinated Celsius the other day for the first time in six months, and I was like
Speaker 2:It's an
Speaker 3:inner cold brew.
Speaker 2:Is Celsius
Speaker 3:steak night dinner?
Speaker 2:An interview drink. An interview. An energy drink. Sorry.
Speaker 1:You could drink it before an interview. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. If
Speaker 2:you wanted to be helped. Is it like a it's like
Speaker 3:a It's an energy drink.
Speaker 2:Drink. Whatever. Yeah.
Speaker 3:But I think it's less intense than a monster.
Speaker 2:I am not an energy drink person. They give
Speaker 3:me heart palpitations.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Sometimes they mess with my whole system. My tummy
Speaker 3:I was tired enough and walking around campus multiple times enough and running around getting dollar state night together enough that like the metabolism kind of equaled out. Yeah. Like this just working for
Speaker 2:me. Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's great.
Speaker 1:Good. But Well, that's good.
Speaker 3:Not doing another one until maybe March.
Speaker 2:My You
Speaker 1:might be sleeping by then.
Speaker 2:Every since We have all been college ministers at the table. My the only time I ever really did an energy drink was the little ones, the five hour energy.
Speaker 1:Oh, five hour energy
Speaker 2:is And I would only do it on the last day of a mission trip when I was driving home.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Because the van is like completely quiet. There's like the of the road and like something like beach reach Yeah. Do. Where it's just you stay up all night, it's so tiring. And almost every one of those I would I would stop at a convenience store because my eyelids are getting heavy Yep.
Speaker 2:And chug one of those and then keep going. Yep. And that was probably like 2020 because, you know, my last mission trip for college was during we came back the day COVID closed the world down. That's probably the last time I've had one. I just don't do anymore.
Speaker 3:Last time I had one was in college for a five hour energy drink, and I had it after an all nighter situation with ministry and I woke up with weird heart palpitations and I had to lay under the sound booth at this church and like, try to like calm down Oh I was like freaking out and having a panic attack. It smells like
Speaker 2:Maybe never again. Yeah. How about that's the last time?
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's reasonable. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, in your energy drink
Speaker 2:No. You can't transition that. Yeah. Come
Speaker 1:on. Inspired fugue state. How was Dollar Steak night? No. Has Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. See, got there. Get you. I'm really about segues. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, you have been I think if you pay attention to our church, you may have seen Connor doing things, but on staff, I think we've all just been talking about, like, college ministry has been killing it.
Speaker 3:Busy. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Just doing so many things and involving a lot of our lay leaders.
Speaker 2:Doing them well. Thanks. Not just busy not just doing things for business sake, but for kingdom sake.
Speaker 1:Yes. The honor
Speaker 2:is just killing it. So Nice. And I'm getting to know Tatum, your associate.
Speaker 3:She's so great.
Speaker 1:She's good.
Speaker 2:Great hire.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Really liking her. Kudos for that. Thanks.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. She was crushing it.
Speaker 2:Okay. I at point, I do wanna go back and talk about how wonderful yesterday was. Just let's keep in Yeah. Gonna go Okay. State night.
Speaker 2:And this is first
Speaker 1:week of month of August. You've been this. I mean,
Speaker 3:August. It's our best fall start yet. So it's our my fifth fall here
Speaker 2:Love that.
Speaker 3:Which is
Speaker 2:makes Is that really your fifth? I mean, I know because Yeah. It's my Fifth fall. Yeah. If been in my new job for five years, obviously, you came right after that.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. You gotta think about that. Okay. Anyway, good.
Speaker 1:What makes it your best fall start ever?
Speaker 3:I think we prepped for better and I think we did more over the summer with student orientations at UTA. So meeting students in June and July and even in May that we then saw again on campus at BSM or at the burrito cart thing that we did out by our
Speaker 1:Tell us all about
Speaker 3:that burrito cart. We had a cart outside student center giving away free breakfast burritos and we met students as they walked from the apartments around the church to campus and
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's a kind of a bottleneck. A good little bottleneck intersection.
Speaker 3:So we met students from that. We met students from orientation. We would see them multiple times. I think the the whole, like, strategy here is just, like, how many points of contact can we get? Like, how many touch points of, oh, we've seen you multiple times that helps somebody feel like, oh, okay.
Speaker 3:I feel comfortable coming here.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Yeah. It might not be the first time. Like, the first impression might not be enough.
Speaker 3:Yeah. But doing that in May and then following up and remembering their name, it means a lot. Know? I bet.
Speaker 2:Were you able to do that?
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, we wrote it we wrote down everything, you know, like we're trying to make sure that
Speaker 2:we're Yeah.
Speaker 3:Keeping this in mind, you know. And so all of that has been a really good lead up to this season to where it wasn't like this last week and a half have only been first impressions. So that's nice. That's part of what's been a really good fall start for us. We had our biggest Thursday ever with over 85 people at Thursday night.
Speaker 2:Say it again. Was crazy. Say it again. You know? 85?
Speaker 2:It was crazy. Was that just last Thursday?
Speaker 3:That's two Thursdays ago, I guess.
Speaker 2:85 people.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And we had we I think we served one ninety five through Dollar State night. So it was good. You know, it was good time.
Speaker 1:Tell us about Dollar Steak Night because there's so many people from our church involved in it but there are also so many people in our church who are not Yeah. Involved in it. So, you, you know, told me that this Dollar Steak Night ended up working out really well.
Speaker 3:It worked out really well because of an act of God living God was with you. It was fun because there's been, the last couple years, you know, there's the the tendency to dine and dash,
Speaker 2:where Yeah. You get the Dollar Steak.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. And then you go. And Yeah. You know, we've tried to do giveaways and a brief testimony time and stuff like that. And we still did the giveaways this year, but we want our student leaders to get a chance to talk with new students as they're here.
Speaker 3:And actually get a chance to talk with them when they don't leave. And so, right at the right time as most of the people were inside the building is when the rain hit this past Wednesday.
Speaker 2:Yes. And it it was like a localized rain because when I went home Oh my god. When I went home, I live five miles from here, dry
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:As a bone. Yeah. Like dry dry.
Speaker 3:The heavens open. Seriously.
Speaker 2:Just right around.
Speaker 3:That was intimidating to look out the windows
Speaker 2:It was.
Speaker 3:Into. It was. And it just kept them there for another thirty minutes and it was better than anything we could have planned and so God was really cool with it. Amazing.
Speaker 2:Next year, I'll just take the water hose.
Speaker 3:Right. I just stand on the roof and just
Speaker 2:like And just be like, it's raining really hard. I can't you can't
Speaker 3:outside with super soakers. You can't
Speaker 2:leave. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. So Get it because I'm deserved.
Speaker 1:We'll just pray rain in August, which is always a need in Texas.
Speaker 2:I was so excited that it rained selfishly because my yard is just really dry.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And I got home and I was like, not a drop. Right. Yeah. Yeah. It's still
Speaker 3:rain this week.
Speaker 2:But But I'll trade it for the success of Cigna. I went over there just to see and and bless.
Speaker 3:Legacy, dude.
Speaker 2:No. But Yes, is. You. Yes. Yes.
Speaker 3:I Literally, is, but okay. Sure.
Speaker 2:I wasn't why I went over there. I just wanted to go check-in and put eyes on it, and it's it's really good. It's still done a great job.
Speaker 3:So Did you see Tatum dress up as a steak?
Speaker 2:No. I got there after.
Speaker 3:Oh, bro.
Speaker 2:I got there after.
Speaker 3:Well, she was dressed up as a dog.
Speaker 2:I mean, I saw the I will. I saw the Instagram.
Speaker 3:For our
Speaker 1:listeners slash watchers, if you really enjoy Gen z style humor, which if you're not Gen
Speaker 2:Z, just
Speaker 3:Gen Z
Speaker 2:style humor.
Speaker 3:It's on our Instagram.
Speaker 1:Dollar state night video Yeah. Was just
Speaker 3:Both of them? Which one?
Speaker 1:The one about inflation.
Speaker 3:Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It was just so good.
Speaker 2:It was good.
Speaker 1:Just peak Gen z bleak humor, and I loved
Speaker 3:it. I yeah. I loved I loved the the social reel reels we've been able to do and all of that. And I think the from Dollar State Night and the other events that we've been able to do over the past couple weeks, it's been great. I think we've we've been able to have a lot of gospel appointments.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's
Speaker 3:been really great too. So
Speaker 1:So what's what's a gospel appointment?
Speaker 3:It's an appointment to share the gospel. It's, you know, we Tatum or I or another student on our lead team will connect with somebody at an event or a Thursday or a Sunday and just, hey, I'd love to hear your story, grab coffee or something. And then we meet up, we talk about testimonies, and talk a bit about like what are you looking for in a church group, because they visited a church group. So that's our starting point. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Easy. And then from there, we try to show the Gospel if they don't already, if they're not able to articulate a testimony that sounds like they've understood the Gospel for you.
Speaker 1:Is that easy? Yeah. You know? And So anyone could do that.
Speaker 3:Everybody could do it. Jump. Okay. That's fine. But but, those have been great.
Speaker 3:I think that we've had about
Speaker 2:I think I stumbled upon a gospel appointment today. Would that be true? Mhmm. Yeah. Great.
Speaker 2:We went to set up for a lunch and you were in there chatting with somebody. Mhmm. I was trying to be quiet and also pray for you.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:You not interrupt. It was great.
Speaker 3:It was good. He he has a good church background. It's funny. He he he's connected with somebody that I went to seminary with way back in the day. So they already knew each other somehow from that.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 3:Small world. And he's an international student.
Speaker 2:I think one of the things since you brought it up that I was the college minister.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I was here six years. So I hope that you eclipse me in terms of tenure because we really like you. Know what you're going. Thanks.
Speaker 3:No plans. No plans of retirement.
Speaker 2:Think one of the
Speaker 1:A change is not coming.
Speaker 2:A change is not coming. Period. We won't allow it. But one of the things that I had hoped for after me because I we've talked about this in here. I don't know if you're talking about it.
Speaker 2:I think I did a really good job of, like, creating some identity and tilling the soil Sure. And took it from one thing to the next. But really, when I handed it off to a committee, I mean, you you weren't we didn't know who you were. Kara was being a really faithful steward in the interim. Shout out to Kara Milton.
Speaker 2:She did a great job there. But I was like, I really think we need and I just kinda described like a a straw man. And one of the things was like someone who's more intentional with follow-up and evangelism and just There's some things that I could do well, but I am more of a shepherd in my posture. And you say you're not an evangelist by like trade, but you have a conviction to just do some of these. But I think one of the things that makes me very proud is this very intentional system of follow-up Thanks.
Speaker 2:That y'all have, where we just can never accuse y'all or I guess anybody can accuse anybody, but we can
Speaker 3:It would be basic.
Speaker 2:It would be tough to accuse you of just, like, corner evangelism with no follow-up and discipleship. Or just, like, a flood of people for steak night.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Steak night is not for the purpose of just steak night.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:It is I mean, and that's everybody knows that. It's not like it's a bait and switch. It's like, come get this, but learn more about our ministry. But then y'all are so intentional with the information you get to ensure, and truly just make sure that the people who are in the building get a chance to understand the truth of the gospel.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And it's not it's very, very healthy in a way that I don't think a lot of ministries are doing. It's like they can do one or the other
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But not both. And I I'm just been well, I tell I tell thankful. I tell you this a lot, but I'm just so thankful and proud, I guess, in the right ways Yeah. Of the state of the college ministry under your leadership. Thank you.
Speaker 2:So and I I really do. Connor just asked me the the mentorship program that you have that I continue to say no to Because I wanted to say Yeah. Wanted to say yes well. But this one, you you have asked me to mentor quote unquote, Tatum Yeah. Your new associate.
Speaker 2:And I said, I don't think I can say no to that one. That's a really good ask. Very appropriate ask as like a woman in ministry Right. College fifteen years. Anyway, and I'm really enjoying getting to know her.
Speaker 3:Good.
Speaker 2:She's a great addition. Oh, yeah. I just think she's got the right heart and the right she's really a good I like her a lot. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:She's awesome.
Speaker 3:She's awesome.
Speaker 2:Getting her feet underneath her. So
Speaker 3:Speaking of awesome, how about yesterday?
Speaker 1:Gosh. Look at that transition.
Speaker 2:That was a pretty good one. I didn't see that one coming. I do wanna talk about it just for a second. If not if only not if not only to thank those who worked so hard to man.
Speaker 3:It seems So much work.
Speaker 2:Sunday. It was. And I mean
Speaker 3:Weeks weeks of work.
Speaker 2:There were at least weeks of work. A great lay team that really understood the vision and worked really hard to make it happen and kinda divided and conquered in those ways which was sweet. But on staff, people that aren't always on stage, so I think that's why I wanna make sure
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Phyllis really kept things moving. Kyle, because there's so much communication Sure. And before and during and after. I mean, think about the piece that was in everybody's hand, any graphics that went along with it, a lot of the fellowship hall prints along with just, like, setting up the web page. I think actually, Billy helped with some of that, but there's a lot that went into it.
Speaker 2:And and I think Kyle carried a ton of that that no one would really think about or know about, you know. And then Erica, especially, like, as it got closer because it's an event and that's what she does. And she just all of the food service, all the decorating of the fellowship hall, and then Andy setting up all the Andy and Kyle, the extra overflow spaces and thinking that all through. Just a tremendous haul from our more operations side of the staff.
Speaker 1:Well
Speaker 2:done. Extremely well done. Not to mention, I mean, just to I'm I was on the committee and pretty active until a certain life event in my life happened in with my mom dying unexpectedly, where those three, Erica
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Kyle, Andy, you should be in there too, and Phyllis, just had to run with some initiatives as well to the point where I saw some things yesterday and I was like, oh my gosh. Someone got that across the finish line because I didn't. You know what I mean? So really a good team effort and special to have everybody. Especially with the short staffed summer where everybody's doing whatever we need to do.
Speaker 2:Like when I said setting up the website, I actually think Billy turned out those websites for Kyle because he we didn't have Chase yet.
Speaker 3:Sure.
Speaker 2:And it was like, we need to set up a way for people to give to the love offering and write their notes and, you know, it's just a a team effort. So from a very, like
Speaker 3:Shouts out.
Speaker 2:Like, staff perspective. Lot of hard work. We have great people. And I'm not even talking about anyone that was on stage yesterday.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Like, the worship ministry in the hall to make that True. I don't think you call it a blend blended to me has a negative connotation because I grew up in, like The combined worship wars where blended was, like, the compromise nobody nobody won from.
Speaker 3:The word synthetic feels wrong. Dude, yeah.
Speaker 2:What do you want? What do you want? Yeah. The combined
Speaker 1:worship service. Unified service.
Speaker 2:However you wanna call it. I I know we know this, but, like, every Sunday at First Baptist is better than most of the churches on Easter Sunday. Like, every Sunday here. Yes. It's better.
Speaker 2:What what they the effort they put in and just the beauty of to me, that tribute, the the Jesus way rewritten with Michael involved in It's just timely, sweet. I was I got a POV to kinda lean over and watch doctor Wiles react to it. I was far right and sitting in the sanctuary far right. And it's just really sweet to watch his face and watch it all play out. Good.
Speaker 2:I just I think it was really well done.
Speaker 1:It was a beautiful Sunday.
Speaker 2:And I'm not a far right person. I'm not a far any I'm not a very extreme person. So far right also has a connotation.
Speaker 1:Who is it gonna call to sign? I do. But I did not assume that about you, Kim.
Speaker 2:Not far right or far left on many things. I'm moderate in all ways. So
Speaker 1:Well and it was so good to see messages from our fellow centrist
Speaker 2:Here it is.
Speaker 1:Christian leaders like Chris Packard and alleged Brown and pastors from around the state. Mhmm. Then And to have Julio and doctor Livingstone, doctor Guarnieri.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:We call them both by
Speaker 2:their Yeah.
Speaker 1:Titles. Mhmm. I just know Julio so
Speaker 3:A lot of doctors, honestly.
Speaker 1:There were a lot of doctors doctors still just across the board. Yep. Great people.
Speaker 2:It was great.
Speaker 1:To celebrate someone I mean, twenty five years is a huge achievement. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Just period. I was seven years old when I came here. That's crazy to think about. Is Who are I'm 32. So it was twenty five years ago.
Speaker 3:Am I doing my math wrong?
Speaker 1:I'm not the person to ask.
Speaker 2:No. You were seven. Yeah. How about that? Sorry.
Speaker 2:Hey, Connor. You're wrong.
Speaker 1:Pity is extreme on math.
Speaker 2:I did do math yesterday with the boys. We're learning about addition and subtraction. Subtraction is a little more abstract. Yeah. But we got the blueberries out and did like, if you have three blueberries and you eat one of them, how many blueberries do you have left?
Speaker 2:And they got, you know, we got subtraction down so anyway. Alright boys. But that is about the level that I can take them to.
Speaker 3:You're 32 now and doctor Ross has been here for twenty five years.
Speaker 2:Then how old were you?
Speaker 3:Seven. Seven.
Speaker 2:No. Mm-mm. That doesn't sound right to me. I was No. Turns out it was exactly right.
Speaker 2:I was in a sophomore in high school.
Speaker 3:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Because then it's also it's where were you when doctor came is also where were you when nine eleven happened. Yeah. Because it well, he's about to knock it over because it's it's a month of
Speaker 1:was I think it was the day of his first staff meeting.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Staff retreat.
Speaker 3:Staff retreat. Okay. Wow.
Speaker 2:Day of first staff retreat. Yeah. He was six weeks in when nine eleven hit. I know, I don't mean to joke about it, obviously that's a huge terrible event in the life of our country. But it is
Speaker 3:like I laughed just because it was shocking. Yes. That feels so
Speaker 2:crazy. When I think about where was I in the fall of twenty eleven Right. 2001, I'm like, oh, well, 09/11. Yeah. I was a sophomore in high school.
Speaker 2:You know I mean? Wow. Sorry.
Speaker 1:It's all good.
Speaker 3:But it
Speaker 1:was a beautiful Sunday.
Speaker 2:This has had some curveballs, this one. Can we just say it? Can we just say it?
Speaker 3:No. This is just a episode.
Speaker 2:Name it, feel it, move on from on.
Speaker 1:And it was a beautiful this has been one of our wilder episodes ever.
Speaker 2:Yesterday was lovely and I will say because doctor Wells isn't here and if he was, he was very moved. Oh, yeah. Was very moved. I I texted some but I because I had had got to emcee the last half of this thing, being on stage with him, I think he needed someone to look at every once in while to like and he was very moved by it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, it was just very
Speaker 3:impactful for them which was the goal. Way to go, Katie.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Well, I think No. As well.
Speaker 2:No. No. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:You were you were like guiding light through some of this stuff. Was important.
Speaker 1:You did a very good job And I think
Speaker 2:And I love doctor Wells. So, like, I did I was invested in it Yeah. Being Yeah. That part is true. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Good work. Good job.
Speaker 1:And I wanna emphasize one of the things that he said from the pulpit during his remarks, and I think Jim Bacham kind of had the same sentiment in his video that he sent is it really takes a special kind of church to to have a pastor for twenty five years. You don't pastor a church for twenty five years. If that church is against you, doesn't like you Right. It's just hard. You don't stay.
Speaker 2:And the fact that we have both doctor Wade
Speaker 3:For sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And doctor Wiles, who I think genuinely love and respect one another, work well together It's beautiful. Often deferential to one another. I mean, I watch it on funerals. I watch it smaller circles.
Speaker 2:They're two very humble, very godly men. And not every church can do that.
Speaker 1:No. Think this church has had four pastors since 1941, if my math's correct on that.
Speaker 2:Well, already failed at math today. So So I'm gonna say
Speaker 1:this Yes. That sounds I
Speaker 2:was 70. Right.
Speaker 1:I think that's correct. That's all. But just all that to say, this is a special church. Yes. I know.
Speaker 1:And so I hope
Speaker 2:we feel it.
Speaker 1:The people who are listening, like, yes, doctor Wiles is amazing and I wanna celebrate that but also, you guys are amazing.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is.
Speaker 3:You're worthy
Speaker 2:of celebrating. Once in a while, like, that would be my my POV from yesterday. Being on stage, watching our beloved church, and actually from where I was standing as far into the organ as I could lean, there's like a 150 people Right. To to my right in the orchestra and choir. And then, know, like 950 out there
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or something like that. Just to see the church
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Celebrate this way, and and knowing that we, the three of us, are in some way, like, in the stream of it all. Like, we are participating and being blessed by it. It can be very special. And I want our people, our new people Mhmm. To understand, like, the beautiful thing that if this is a church for you, let's just say it is, that this church can be for you.
Speaker 2:And that's I just thought about that a lot standing there for forty five minutes. Mhmm. I'm like, the more insider you were yesterday, the more special it was. Just Sure. It's just the nature of a celebration like that.
Speaker 2:But I hope that if there were quote unquote outsiders, that they can catch the beauty of being a part of something and being blessed by being part of any church. Being a part of any church ought to be a blessing. But I know, very personally, being here now eleven years, there's a there's just a beautiful Yeah. Symbiotic Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Relationship that is the body of Christ together. And we got to, I think, at its best yesterday, there's a snapshot of that. This is a really special
Speaker 1:church and it has a really special pastor.
Speaker 2:And the more you're here this is my experience. And the longer you're here, the more blessed you can be by it. And then I think it's it's not earned, but there is something about being known.
Speaker 1:Yeah. For sure.
Speaker 2:Just you can be loved by it. Mhmm. So I have been loved by First Baptist Arlington.
Speaker 1:Well, and First Baptist Arlington sponsors this podcast.
Speaker 2:And there is a lot going on Oh my goodness. There's so much going on. Family getaways this weekend. I think you you probably need to have already been signed up for that if you're going.
Speaker 1:I think
Speaker 2:it's too late. But you can know that it is happening.
Speaker 1:So pray for our families who are going. Mhmm. They're gonna have a great time.
Speaker 2:It's great. They're to Riverbend. Casey's leading the charge on that as she is also the children's minister and there's no formation minister. So she's she's she joked about it in the I don't for those on the camera, this will work, but she joked, like, making some decisions about families. You know?
Speaker 2:It was like, well, can this person go if if this situation situation existed? Existed? And she's like, I don't know, Casey. What do you think? Should this person be able to go with that?
Speaker 2:And she's like, yeah, Casey. Think that's a good night. Like, it's just she's the team. She's the line. Not that she's actually in a vacuum, but just knowing that she is the minister
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 2:Carrying this across finish line. And aren't we grateful for her?
Speaker 1:She's doing
Speaker 2:a great job. She's doing a great job. But gonna get away
Speaker 3:And then
Speaker 2:It is Labor Day, and then
Speaker 1:We're kicking off our fall series. So
Speaker 2:Our Sunday school series.
Speaker 1:Sunday school Bible study. New preaching series. So Sunday morning bible studies are gonna start working through the book of Jonah, this reluctant missionary.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And then
Speaker 2:The wideness of God's mercy. The tagline for that bible study.
Speaker 1:Excited and then It's really good.
Speaker 2:Was I got to sit in the back of doctor Dennis Tucker's training for it. Can you
Speaker 3:guarantee that they will have a whale of a time?
Speaker 2:A big fish of a time.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. Excuse me. Fair enough. Fair enough.
Speaker 2:Apparently, the Hebrew doesn't really say whale.
Speaker 1:That true? Says, big dog. Dog is the Hebrew word for fish. So it's a big dog. Who knew?
Speaker 2:I think we'll have
Speaker 3:a whale of could have a whale of a time.
Speaker 2:It was so good when we were.
Speaker 1:And then
Speaker 2:Yes. Jonah bible study
Speaker 1:We have equipping brunches. So your bible study leaders will talk to you about that and communicate with you with you about that.
Speaker 2:But Mhmm. If you're type a and you like a lot of information, you can have it all. If you're type b and just need to know, like, where to show up to the next thing, just come to come to bible study every Sunday
Speaker 1:We'll get you there.
Speaker 2:And one of those, you'll have a sign on your door that says go to the fellowship hall.
Speaker 1:Yep. And we'll have
Speaker 2:the engagement team. The engagement team is doing
Speaker 1:Basically doing practical evangelism skills.
Speaker 2:Yes. So you're learning about it, but then you're also able to practice it, which I think is awesome.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be good.
Speaker 2:It's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be awesome. And then doctor Wells
Speaker 2:It's gonna be gonna be
Speaker 3:a whale
Speaker 1:of a time.
Speaker 2:I mean, that should be the forget the wideness of god's mercy. Jonah, a whale of a time.
Speaker 1:And then, doctor
Speaker 2:We haven't even made it past Sunday. That's what's happening on Sundays at First Baptist Arlington.
Speaker 1:I don't know that the three of us will make a podcast together again for a while.
Speaker 2:I don't know. Cool. Cool. God. Alright.
Speaker 2:Give me your feedback.
Speaker 3:Actually, it
Speaker 1:won't because we've talked about this.
Speaker 2:Hey. You for you at home, if this is your favorite podcast yet, tweet me. I'll buy you a snow cone.
Speaker 1:You're still on Twitter?
Speaker 2:No one is. It doesn't even exist anymore. Oh, god.
Speaker 1:And then doctor Miles is starting a new sermon series focused on evangelism. The series is called gone fishing
Speaker 2:Gone fishing.
Speaker 1:A whale of a time. Yeah. It's a it's a thing now. It's a tagline that works for anything.
Speaker 2:Anything. I was gonna make a buzz. I was gonna make a dog care ministry joke. I I was not thinking about it. I won't do it.
Speaker 2:Tweet me later.
Speaker 1:I'll tell
Speaker 2:you about it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Gotcha. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then When's the nights? When's the nights are gonna be, Connor? A whale of a tie. At the table.
Speaker 3:At the table. Yeah. What's the table, Luke?
Speaker 2:I don't know that funny. Okay. Fellowship Hall, 6PM. All adults are welcome. We know there's groups going on.
Speaker 2:We know the choir and orchestra are going on. But for any because college doesn't meet on Thursday night. I mean, 18 and up, we want any adult in the Fellowship Hall for a time of worship and prayer. Yeah. It's not really the old Wednesday night prayer night where we pray over the prayer list.
Speaker 2:And let me just invite y'all into the HIPAA personal info dilemmas of this modern era. We really don't share that as much as we used to. This prayer list is just a different animal. That's some context. But really, we just wanna be praying for the life of our church, our personal Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Discipleship journeys. It's gonna tag onto the theme of each week. So it'll be a deeper, different expression of the sermon, small devotional, large prayer time. It'll be really meaningful.
Speaker 1:It's gonna be great.
Speaker 2:I really am hopeful for it.
Speaker 1:And then our kids are back, and so Yeah. I think it's a deep dive in bible heroes again.
Speaker 2:It is. Youth has been rolling.
Speaker 1:Youth has never really stops rolling.
Speaker 2:Yep. Y'all are on Thursday nights. Mhmm. And I'm excited about that for y'all. So Yeah.
Speaker 2:Midweek is rolling. So if you wanna do if you wanna participate in the care hallway, we have grief share divorce care, and then we'll start next not this week, but the ninth, an anxiety support group as well that Bill Nichols is leading. And so those are all
Speaker 1:Who is a trained therapist?
Speaker 2:Yes. Which is the lovely part of yes. Course Care and Grief Shear use a curriculum that's written by therapists and counselors, although our leaders are not necessarily those. Some of them are retired ministers. And then our anxiety support group, the curriculum is chosen and led by a therapist.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, really proud of them, the work that hallway does. But if you are listening and thinking, I don't really know, Wednesday nights, there is something for everyone. I mean, I always say that but and if you come with Give it a shot. With any arrangement of family
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:There is a place for everyone. Yeah. Because any adult, we want to be praying with you in the fellowship hall and anyone in kind of a age graded. Like, my we come as a family. Ryan, me, the kids, and there's something for all of us.
Speaker 2:So really would like people to be there.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's gonna be great.
Speaker 2:It's a good thing. I'm sure there's more.
Speaker 1:There's gotta be more.
Speaker 2:See past that. You're starting Alpha.
Speaker 1:Alpha is beginning. We're gonna launch on September 13. And so if you don't know what Alpha is, it's a program that started in The UK, really as a way for a church for Anglican churches to actually, like, focus outwards on people who had really left church behind, stopped going to church, stopped believing in the gospel. And so it is an evangelism program that has now, I think, been run-in a 160 something countries, and we are launching on September 13. So it's not really for church members to just show up to like it's a bible study.
Speaker 1:It's really for you to invite people to. If you invite someone, we'd love for you to you can come on in and join with them. But some of the kind of unique things about Alpha, it's very hospitality driven. So we have a team of lay people who are actually committed to bringing and cooking meals each week. Love it.
Speaker 1:It's very prayer oriented, so we have a prayer team, so you may hear about that. Or if you wanna be a part of our prayer team for Alpha, we'd love, to hear from you. You can email me, which is my first name dot last name, luke dot stare at f b c a dot org. I'll connect you with our lay leader who's working on that.
Speaker 2:But Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Everyone gathers for a meal, you watch a video that basically walks people through the basics of Christian faith. So I think the first week is what if your life had meaning? And so it just starts off with, like, those good kind of questions that are oriented not so much for people who are used to church Mhmm. But for people who really may be skeptical about faith, skeptical about Jesus. And so the second week is who who was Jesus?
Speaker 1:And so it really just walks people through those basics and then there's
Speaker 2:based on, like, really good questions. Yeah. Is that fair? That's what I think of. I've never run the course, but when I when I think of it, it's really thoughtful questions and people's doubts or whatever are also met with, like, people who have more.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Soft landing in terms of it's not it's not apologetics, it's not a debate Nope. It's it's come bring who you are and let us kind of talk it through with you Yeah. And actually maybe land on something more.
Speaker 1:And one of the I things it does is you actually never debate people. So someone could say, well, I think this. Mhmm. And it could be completely contrary to what we believe as Christians and you you don't debate them. Yep.
Speaker 1:You just kinda let it sit and you go, okay, well, so and so, what do what do you think? Right. And you just keep the conversation moving and going around and the idea is, you know, you may win the argument and that person may never come back. But if you win the person with hospitality Yeah. They're gonna keep coming back.
Speaker 1:And if they come back next week, they'll hear the Gospel again. And if they come back next week, they'll hear the gospel again. Mhmm. And if you win the person and they keep coming back, every week, they're gonna hear the gospel. And so you don't have to debate them.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You just have to love them and keep engaging them with the good news of Jesus and I they actually see
Speaker 2:like that model.
Speaker 1:People come to know Christ. It was a really good success rate.
Speaker 2:So for those listening and they wanna participate, especially if they have a friend, maybe Yeah.
Speaker 1:Bring friends. We're gonna have invite cards, I think, that'll be ready this Sunday that are a little more substantial, have kind of where to park, how to find the building. We're doing it in our student building because it's the easiest for first time guests to find their way to. Yeah. And we'd love to have them.
Speaker 1:Sundays at 05:30 starting September 13.
Speaker 2:I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We're excited. Praying for it. It's gonna be good.
Speaker 2:Connor oops. Sorry.
Speaker 1:No. Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Well, was gonna kinda aim us toward the end.
Speaker 1:Is that okay? Let's go for it.
Speaker 2:I was gonna say, Connor, as we close out, and you're just starting your college ministry, like, How can the church be praying? Are there any needs that you have that you want us to kinda be aware of?
Speaker 3:Prayer requests would be just that, like, the connection starts that we've had so far would continue to mature Mhmm. Into relationships. And that we would get to have more gospel appointments every week and we'll hear the gospel and come to Christ.
Speaker 2:It's good. So it's kind of that follow-up we're talking about. Mhmm. Follow-up time. Yep.
Speaker 2:So that people yeah. People will be receptive, their hearts will be open, spirit will be moving. Yeah. And that y'all will be faithful. Exactly.
Speaker 2:I love that. We can pray that.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Love it.
Speaker 1:Well, thanks for listening everyone. We have had a great time tonight.
Speaker 2:We've had
Speaker 3:a Whale of
Speaker 2:it is. Fun.
Speaker 1:I haven't laughed this hard on an episode of Tell Me More, maybe ever.
Speaker 2:I think we need our boss back. We need the dad in the room.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm a father.
Speaker 3:Luke's a father.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Doesn't help.
Speaker 2:No. I'm sorry. Yeah. Well, we hope that you'll listen again sometime, and we'll see
Speaker 1:you next Connor back. I promise.
Speaker 3:Wasn't that bad.
Speaker 2:It was
Speaker 1:It was awesome. Okay.
Speaker 2:See you on next week.
Speaker 1:Listening, everyone. Bye.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.