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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 this episode of Tell Me More. We're in the studio, just doctor Wiles and I, and we're reflecting on a really full May 10 Sunday. Lots to be thankful for, lots to celebrate, lots to look forward to within our church. We're really glad you're listening. Welcome to the studio.
Speaker 1:It is Monday. Yes. It's later in the afternoon, and it's just Katie and Doctor. Lewis. We've we've inched Luke out by putting it so late in the day today.
Speaker 1:So sorry, Luke.
Speaker 2:He had to leave.
Speaker 1:He had to leave, and we couldn't we weren't available till now. But I
Speaker 2:had lunch with him today, so we had good time.
Speaker 1:Y'all went today to the Metro Women's Clinic.
Speaker 2:We did. We had great time.
Speaker 1:Connection there. They they do a lot of good work for a lot of women in Arlington, and we're doing more and more with them.
Speaker 2:We are. And Luke is Luke has been the one who has crafted all of that. Yeah. He's been there already for the tour, but they gave me the tour. Mean, I haven't been there in a long time.
Speaker 2:It's been twenty years since I've been there. And so at least Okay. Got to check
Speaker 1:it out today.
Speaker 2:Really good.
Speaker 1:Had a great time. We had a
Speaker 2:full day. Together.
Speaker 1:Full discretion. Can I just I Please? Where did I go today? I had a full day here, but I had to, walk away from it quickly because I am first a mom.
Speaker 2:You're a mom. Day after Mother's Day.
Speaker 1:The day after Mother's Day, mister Sam hit his head at the playground no through no fault of the CDC. He's just a little boy. So we had to go get some Dermaglue. They couldn't decide. Were we gonna staple?
Speaker 1:Were we gonna glue? Were we gonna stitch? Were we gonna so we ended up actually just Steri stripping, which, yeah, something I could've done at home. But it took three hours and a couple of nurse practitioners
Speaker 2:to You get wouldn't have known to do it had you not gotten permission.
Speaker 1:And I wouldn't have gotten to watch two mini movies of Paw Patrol. So Sam got a full bag of Cheetos.
Speaker 2:Awesome.
Speaker 1:And two Paw Patrols on mom's phone.
Speaker 2:He's had a great day.
Speaker 1:He's had a great day.
Speaker 2:He's some mommy time.
Speaker 1:He has. It was sweet. It actually was sweet. He was great. But I missed a lot here.
Speaker 2:But And he's okay.
Speaker 1:Not the podcast.
Speaker 2:And he's okay.
Speaker 1:Sam's fine, and he I appreciate the CDC. They're Mhmm. They're always flexible with me, and I'm gracious when these things happen. They feel, you know, as you would want them to be. So But I missed a slew of things.
Speaker 1:I'm not even sure what went on here without me.
Speaker 2:It's been a busy day.
Speaker 1:The other part is that I'm in a rental car because our cars got hailed on. They're in the shop getting fixed, both of our cars. Wow. Because we, although we own a garage, neither of them were in the garage. And there's, one of the car seats is at the shop.
Speaker 1:I'm in the non kid car, so they call me and I'm here and I'm thinking
Speaker 2:You don't have a car seat.
Speaker 1:I can take Sam. I mean, I can, you know, I can cancel on lunch and do these But I can't just buckle him in the back seat. So I call Casey, our preschool minister. Casey, all know Casey? And she's like, my kids are in boosters now.
Speaker 1:And I'm like, dang it. What do I do? And she's like, call Chelsea. So I called Chelsea. Could've called you.
Speaker 2:I have one.
Speaker 1:You have booster, though. Nope. Nope. You used to have a five point like a Gideon. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 1:I could've have a car seat.
Speaker 2:Well Now it's forward facing now.
Speaker 1:Yeah. We're forward facing now. Okay. We we just switched. Even though Sam's small, he could probably be rear, but Ben was big enough.
Speaker 1:Anyway, so we're forward facing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But Sam got to borrow Teddy Judkins' seat, and it fit just fine in my rental car, and we zoomed over and zoomed back, and I just met Chelsea and handed off car seats. Been a weird day. But Sam's fine, and it's so far in his hairline, it will never be a big deal. It's like right up on the
Speaker 2:k.
Speaker 1:He's a cutie anyway.
Speaker 2:Is a cutie. Little Sammy.
Speaker 1:If I have to spend the day with someone Yeah. It's not bad that
Speaker 2:it's Well, I my wanna be your son. No. Especially the day after Mother's Day. Was Mother's Mother's
Speaker 1:Day was great. Mother's Day was different. I was gonna say odd, it wasn't odd. We have always gone, I think even before I had the boys, we've always gone to Ryan's mom after church. She's in Dallas, and we go celebrate her.
Speaker 1:But she's with her mom in Nebraska for this weekend. Her mom is 94, 95. And so she went and spent a weekend, a long weekend with them.
Speaker 2:So people live in Nebraska. Have you ever known anybody that lived in Nebraska?
Speaker 1:Not until I met Ryan's family. Ryan's mom is from Nebraska. McCook, Nebraska, for those listening.
Speaker 2:People live there.
Speaker 1:People live there, I know them. And her mom still lives in the house they grew
Speaker 2:up in. Have you been to Nebraska?
Speaker 1:No, I mean, I've driven through Nebraska, and nothing to do with Ryan's family. I think I've driven through Nebraska.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I never have.
Speaker 1:But I'm not even sure, I can say I don't think I've ever spent the night in Nebraska.
Speaker 2:It's one of the states I've
Speaker 1:never been. I've done some road trips across the Midwest and the West in my younger years, my twenties. I think I probably went through Nebraska on one of those, but that's the extent of it.
Speaker 2:Could you find it on The US map? Could you put it
Speaker 1:on Maybe. Yeah, because I'm related to a bunch of people I love now are from there. Okay. So I hope I can find it on a map. Okay.
Speaker 1:But they are there. Ryan's mom is there, so we didn't go to Dallas. So I offered to my mom and dad, well why don't we meet in Waco, which is about halfway, for like a late dinner, or early dinner for us. Yeah. So we get back a little late, and see them, and we My mom reminded me that the weather was ominous, and it might hail, and we didn't all wanna be on the road.
Speaker 2:And they don't want their car damaged like yours?
Speaker 1:Right. We said we'll do sometimes It was bad
Speaker 2:weather, wasn't it? Down there for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Worse there. I mean, it rained at our house. But so but it ended up being a sleepy little Sunday at our house. Like, it was a very normal, in a good way.
Speaker 1:We went home. Brian kind of carried the load on the kids. I got to kind of be lazy and do whatever I wanted. And we all took naps, and then we all watched I think a Paw Patrol movie. And then went for a little walk, it was a little drippy rain but they put little jackets on and went for a little walk, and it was sweet.
Speaker 2:Splash in the puddles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which is, that's a hit right now. That's a big hit. I had a very normal, quiet Mother's Day. Ryan let me sleep in on Saturday. Wow.
Speaker 1:Which was huge.
Speaker 2:Look at you.
Speaker 1:So I feel loved. All is Yeah.
Speaker 2:Y'all? We had our traditional Mother's Day, which is at our house and, kids and grandkids. And, I grilled steak on the grill. Josiah did most of the rest of the cooking. And, yeah, that's just kinda what we do.
Speaker 2:He and I tag team.
Speaker 1:Did Mimi feel loved?
Speaker 2:She did. Good. She did.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. Had to
Speaker 2:do a little bit, but it's only because she wanted to, you know, not not because she had to. She just kinda piddled around in the kitchen with us. But and, but yeah.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:Really good. And my my son said it's the best steak I've ever cooked. Woah. That's saying something.
Speaker 1:What cut of steak did you choose?
Speaker 2:I did t bones this year. And then I Where
Speaker 1:do you get them?
Speaker 2:I bought them at Tom Thun. And, but, this time after I cooked them, when I was before I let them rest, I went ahead and carved off the strip and the filet Okay. And separated them from the bone And then and I I, you know, covered them. And they were really good actually. Fact, have some more tonight.
Speaker 1:Have a big green egg. I do. Did you cook them on That's a charcoal, not a gas. Think if you're gonna really do it, do it that way. I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And but we like ours rare, medium rare, so we have to we have to pay attention because that thing will cook them.
Speaker 1:Yes. It's hot. Hot. Yes.
Speaker 2:In fact, I was in the house. I I lit the grill, and I was messing around the house doing something. And, Cindy helped me because she wanted to go ahead and marin we always marinate our steak in, Dale's Sauce. It's a sauce from Birmingham
Speaker 1:Of course.
Speaker 2:That we buy. And, you can buy it here. But, it's really good. I would recommend it, by the way. The the podcast is not brought to us by Dale's Sauce.
Speaker 1:No. In It's fact not.
Speaker 2:It's brought to
Speaker 1:At some point, we ought to point toward
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yes. For sure. But you could finish your story first.
Speaker 2:But I did use Dale's Sauce as always do. Anyway but so I go back out to the grill, and it was over 800 degrees.
Speaker 1:We have, an off brand. We don't we have a we call it the little red egg. I mean but it's that double walled ceramic thing. It's just smaller. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it can one, it's the food is better Yeah. Because of the whatever, but it can get hot.
Speaker 2:It's crazy hot.
Speaker 1:It can get screaming hot.
Speaker 2:And will stay hot.
Speaker 1:Yes. What sometimes, we that's kinda honestly, since we've had kids, the smoke Ryan used to smoke a lot of pork butts and some brisket, but that's such a commitment. He's really good at ribs, and he's pretty much perfected like a pork shoulder. But since we had the kids Yeah. It's just it's too much effort.
Speaker 1:It's just not how we're gonna spend our time
Speaker 2:on Saturday. I don't smoke much. I I don't I don't
Speaker 1:It's a real commitment. Kurt Grice is committed to the smoker. But, yeah, we we bought a gas grill, and just with our life right now, we're more gas grillers. But Yeah. I understand.
Speaker 1:If you want the best flavor, you do need to go to the charcoal.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I'm a griller. I don't I don't don't I don't do smoke much occasionally. But
Speaker 1:But those eggs will do it. I mean, that's
Speaker 2:They will, and they'll stay a certain temperature. It's crazy how Yeah. The limited technology, and it just works.
Speaker 1:It's just Yep. It's two vents. And that's what when Ryan used to we used to do this more, I would just buy a ton of meat and have him because it's like, it's already hot and on. Yeah. You pull the ribs off, it'll go for three more hours, so I'd just throw some chicken thighs on there or something because it's like, why not?
Speaker 1:You've you've done all this. But anyway, that was another era. That was at our old house where it was just us and the dogs. At one point, way back in the day, it was just me. That's right.
Speaker 1:And then it was us and then it was us and the dogs.
Speaker 2:We remember when it was just you. Trust me.
Speaker 1:And then we busted at the seams. Yeah. Okay. Speaking of, I keep forgetting. Today is our anniversary.
Speaker 1:Like, since May 11. Yeah. No. I've barely seen Ryan at all, and the phone calls have been mostly quite tactile, like, you coming to get this kid or am I? So
Speaker 2:So what number is this?
Speaker 1:Just seven. Doesn't it feel like longer? I mean, y'all, the listeners that know us, I just feel like I mean, seven's not nothing, but I just feel like Ryan and I maybe it's the kids. It's the dog
Speaker 2:years. Remember seven. Yeah. When we we were at this wedding the other night on the dance floor and Oh, yeah. We were talking about how long people have been married, I asked you how long y'all been married, y'all said seven years.
Speaker 2:And we said, we have arguments over time.
Speaker 1:I know, that's the thing. Ryan and I started dating in 2014, which was, I guess, November ago. Yeah. Twelve. Twelve years ago.
Speaker 1:This and we
Speaker 2:Known each other
Speaker 1:quite a public date, know, everybody knows. We dated for a while, couldn't figure some things out, mainly calling, I think we're talking about it in here. We didn't want to ruin each other's lives and make the other sacrifice That's early game. That was the rub, it wasn't, that was it, and you watched that pretty publicly, Doctor. Wells, because we were next door neighbors during a lot of that.
Speaker 1:And then eventually we're like, we're either gonna do it or not. It's a yes or a no. So I feel like we, it feels more like 10, I mean it really does feel like the commitment was there a long But time seven years, seven years ago in Waco Congratulations. At Day Spring Baptist Church,
Speaker 2:remember.
Speaker 1:Ryan and I got yeah, you were there. It was a great I look on that day very fondly.
Speaker 2:It was a great day.
Speaker 1:Yes. And but we have just lived a lot I of life since mean, was pre pandemic. Just a whole new world. Then of course, triplets just slow down time, you know.
Speaker 2:It's fine, though. It's wonderful. Good.
Speaker 1:But that's yep. So that's my world.
Speaker 2:And we had a sweet day. And this podcast is brought to you by First Baptist Arlington.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about it.
Speaker 2:Mother's Day was awesome. Really
Speaker 1:there was a lot yesterday.
Speaker 2:Living babies, living families.
Speaker 1:And I know it was important to you to fit in, I say this nicely, to fit in doctor Wade. Yes. But we needed to do it on Mother's Day because that was the actual anniversary. Actually, think it's it's either today or it was Saturday. We're one day off.
Speaker 1:The
Speaker 2:ninth, Fifty I fifty years.
Speaker 1:By the way, the ninth, speaking of, is my parents' anniversary, forty five years. Wow. They're forty five years in, so congrats to them.
Speaker 2:So doctor Wade has been at this church longer than your mother, David, married.
Speaker 1:Yes. They got married in '81. Think about that. I know. A whole life.
Speaker 1:And my parents aren't you know, that's not a new marriage. They've been through a lot.
Speaker 2:Fifty years.
Speaker 1:Yes. So okay, doctor Wade and Rosemary
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:They really are I mean, I said it very publicly, did the welcome, as most of y'all know. Are really doctor Wade particularly is a faith hero of He He's pastoral model.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I don't have a lot that outrank him, if any.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:At least in certain categories, you know. I've got a few mentor heroes, and he's one of them.
Speaker 2:Like today, we're at the Metroplex Women's Clinic and we were talking about ministries that are in this town today. And they did not know all of this, but as I shared with them, you know, that we had honored doctor Wade on Sunday and Rosemary. And, I just said, we know Doctor. Wade started Mission Arlington. He started the women's shelter.
Speaker 2:He helped start the life shelter. He helped establish the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday celebration here. And they were like, who who is this man? And they're
Speaker 1:like, come on. You gotta get because some
Speaker 2:of were newer, you know, and they were like, oh my goodness. I said, he's legend.
Speaker 1:This is our legacy.
Speaker 2:And look at what he's left, you know. It's just vibrant. And not only that, he started the, Iglesia Bautista, the Primera Iglesia Bautista, First Baptist Church, Hispanic church. He started the Korean church. He started the Chinese Baptist Church here.
Speaker 2:Started Filipino church.
Speaker 1:Well, he made he made way for Mount Olive.
Speaker 2:He did. Well, that was doctor East.
Speaker 1:Oh. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 2:Doctor West I skipped generation. Sorry. All those language churches branched out from us, and, he brought living hope to First Baptist Arlington. I mean, yeah, there's so many things that we did say Sunday, but there were so many other things we could have said.
Speaker 1:Another thing about Doctor. Wade, I don't hear Doctor. Wade speak ill of anyone.
Speaker 2:No. He won't, and he just doesn't.
Speaker 1:He just doesn't. I mean, I know that sounds, but like, I have, I spend time, I mean, I intentionally, Ashley and I made a commitment to buy him lunch, we said once a month, it's not once a month, but we just know what we've got, and we want to spend as much time with it as he'll let us, because we just love him.
Speaker 2:He's awesome.
Speaker 1:So we do, I mean, we spend, I, it's a gift, but we try to spend intentional time with him, and I have never heard him talk poorly at just a gossip level of anyone ever.
Speaker 2:He won't
Speaker 1:do it. It's it's it's he has such a pure character.
Speaker 2:He is he's an Israelite in whom there is no God.
Speaker 1:He still has conviction, he's not not saying anything, but he he just is a Godly man, and I'm lucky to be around him. And Rosemary
Speaker 2:She's something else, Betty.
Speaker 1:She you know, my closest friend is Bethany Parrott, is a therapist and social worker, and dedicated her baby yesterday. I think that Bethany is one of the funniest people I know, particularly when it comes to just comedic timing, just a well timed phrase. Her and Rosemary might be up there in the rankings. Rosemary can say
Speaker 2:She can.
Speaker 1:She can say it well. Her her comedic timing.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Now, again, there's a lot of depth there.
Speaker 2:There is.
Speaker 1:And there's A lot wisdom. In so many ways, no Charles without Rosemary and the kids, and, you know, she she she's a hero.
Speaker 2:Funny.
Speaker 1:But she's funny.
Speaker 2:It really is.
Speaker 1:You could just start stay there.
Speaker 2:She did that second service where she said, you know, god is with you during the ups and the downs and the ups.
Speaker 1:Just the way she delivers it. The way she delivers it. So I was glad that we
Speaker 2:got
Speaker 1:to
Speaker 2:honor It was very very sweet.
Speaker 1:When doctor Wade said it felt like he was at his funeral, I just giggled so much. Especially he said in the first service and I didn't see it coming. Anyway, I think he felt honored. But a taste of the whole day. Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean, the other part dedicating were there 11? Three in the first? 11. Eight in the second? 11 little babies.
Speaker 1:Families. Wonderful families too. You see the spread, some pretty established, been here a while.
Speaker 2:Some Some brand new still
Speaker 1:getting to know them. Really fun. I love it.
Speaker 2:It was it was just a powerful day. And baptisms, we had three baptisms.
Speaker 1:Three unique baptisms?
Speaker 2:Yes. Yeah. And just And then It was just a complete
Speaker 1:Rocking and rolling. Know? Mother you know, Mother's Day, I got a few, if y'all were there or have watched, we've done this two years in a row, I think we like it, the feedback is good. Yeah. We've done a gift of bulbs to be planted, or this time seeds to be planted.
Speaker 1:That's just trying to sum up how complex Mother's Day is for many. The emotion, I think the little card says love, loss, and longing, they're all part of
Speaker 2:it.
Speaker 1:But I got a lot of women that came up and said thank you, and mostly naming loss, hurt. I mean, things like miscarriage, or infertility, or losing their moms, or whatever it is, and I just am grateful that we all kind of said, let's take a step back, let's look at this.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Let's think about how you strike the right chord on Mother's Day, because it's not a service of lament, but for some, it's a tough day to walk into.
Speaker 2:It's so different than Father's Day.
Speaker 1:Nobody cares.
Speaker 2:It's it's just Father's Day. Because they're
Speaker 1:so That sounds so trite. I know some of y'all are listening. It may be you may have your own lost, longing, whatever. But but also Father's Day is not church centric to be to be
Speaker 2:It's not. Mother's Day just has it a has a feel to it and emotion connected to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And they all wanna go to church together. Yes. So it's church city, like
Speaker 2:It just has that
Speaker 1:For Ryan. I mean, I know that sounds like a joke, but it's like, hey. Do want me to take the kids to church and you can just get nine holes in? I mean, that's can you go you're gonna sleep in or go eat barbecue and play golf? And it's like, oh, that'd be great.
Speaker 1:Know, that's, to me, the expression of Father's Day. Or Mother's Day is like, we're all gonna get to church.
Speaker 2:Yes. Of course.
Speaker 1:We're all gonna go see
Speaker 2:It's very different.
Speaker 1:Grandma. Mhmm. And there is a
Speaker 2:It's very sweet too.
Speaker 1:I don't know, and this isn't fair. This is only speculation. Like, I went through infertility from my side. Ryan went through it from his side. Very personal for me, but in totally different ways than Ryan.
Speaker 1:So I don't know how that hits a guy. I just don't, it's just different. I guess that's all I can say is that it's just different.
Speaker 2:Different.
Speaker 1:I don't want to dismiss it.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Father's Day will come and go and we'll be fine.
Speaker 2:Mother's Day, you know, I remember when my mother died and we took her back to Alabama to bury her. And several of our friends, like my brother Tommy and myself, my brother Emerson, friends of ours of that age all came to I say a lot of them came to the funeral. And, you know, my mom's been gone from Birmingham for, gosh, I don't know how how many ever years.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And, and one of the guys that was there, one of my brother's contemporaries, I I just said, I was a little surprised, you know, that all of y'all came. And he said, well, you know, when mama dies, the whole village comes out.
Speaker 1:You
Speaker 2:know? And I'll never forget that. It was his take that, he didn't come to my dad's funeral, you know, because we we brought my dad back there
Speaker 1:and buried him.
Speaker 2:But when my mama died, all those guys Just show up. So interesting things.
Speaker 1:Something there, isn't it? Mhmm. Yeah. The power of a mom.
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:We talked about this when Aaron was in here, I don't know, a couple weeks ago when I had Michael and Aaron in. Mhmm. About the power of a good dad. Mhmm. But the power of a good mom is almost assumed.
Speaker 1:I hate to say it like that. Good moms are necessary but they're more frequent. Can I say that?
Speaker 2:He just doesn't
Speaker 1:yeah. But in this day and age, good dads, they're not everywhere. That's right. We have a lot in our church. I'm super grateful.
Speaker 1:We have a lot of great young dads. We do. These millennial dads.
Speaker 2:We do.
Speaker 1:That Joe's like, your son, he's he's present. He's a
Speaker 2:great dad.
Speaker 1:Yeah. He's in there.
Speaker 2:Great dad.
Speaker 1:My Ryan is a it shapes his life and he's he's you know, all the things you'd want in a dad and a spouse for me. The sacrifice, the I don't have to beg him to be at home with his kids, you know. I never feel like he's prioritizing other things or. Anyway, have lot of good dads, but I want I want this to be a place where we can help moms and dads Yeah.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:Find their way. So
Speaker 2:Yeah. You know, you think about your mother on that day, I did. So and, well, I talked about her. You know? Sweet Naomi.
Speaker 2:But, but she she had three boys, so she, you know, she she was never intimidated by any of us.
Speaker 1:I love it. May I be the Naomi to my household.
Speaker 2:She's saying she just wasn't. And now now you better not talk about us. You know what I mean? Because, you
Speaker 1:know I do know
Speaker 2:how that is. She let me just tell you
Speaker 1:right now. If that's her role.
Speaker 2:She was a big fan of Emerson, Tommy, and Dennis, and Linda, my sister. My sister was older when
Speaker 1:we Yeah. Yeah. It's different. Y'all kinda had childhood.
Speaker 2:She also was unfazed by, she wasn't looking to be friends. That was not the, she was on the road. No. You know what I mean?
Speaker 1:I I mean, I I'm thankful for it. My mom wasn't trying to be my best friend. She's to my mom.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Ryan's mom for sure, she's a I don't think she'll ever listen to this but if she does, she's an intimidating woman and she raised him right. They know up from down and they know who's boss and they respect her greatly, as do I, she's a great person so.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we packed a lot in somewhere.
Speaker 1:I know, and it was good. And, in fact, during all that, we also, worshiped through song
Speaker 2:We did.
Speaker 1:And Beautiful. The proclamation of the word.
Speaker 2:We actually had a sermon.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I confessed earlier.
Speaker 2:Kinda wove it in.
Speaker 1:I was running around a lot yesterday. I was. And it was I was busy and well doing. Mhmm. But making sure doctor doctor Wade's, reception was gonna go well.
Speaker 1:And Jen did such a good job on that. Yes. I was not Man. In charge of that. Jen did all the details of
Speaker 2:that. Thank you, Jen. Was so good.
Speaker 1:But checking on, you know, how I could support her and just a little bit here and there. Lots and lots
Speaker 2:to do.
Speaker 1:So I actually haven't listened to
Speaker 2:your I I listened to it.
Speaker 1:How how did it land? I thought it was How did it land with you?
Speaker 2:I thought it was pretty good.
Speaker 1:What stood out to you?
Speaker 2:It wasn't perfect.
Speaker 1:If you had more time, what might you add on to it as is the nature of this podcast?
Speaker 2:Right. Well, I love the text. I mean, and I and I, you know, and I when I was thinking about it, I chose to end it at verse three of Ephesians four. Mhmm. Probably could have gone on a little further, you know, simply because the rest of that text, kind of the way the NIV paragraphs it out, goes through verse six where Paul talks about the the power of unity, the the source of unity, if you will, with one word and one hope and one calling and one faith and one baptism and one God.
Speaker 2:I mean, all that sense of which is connected to the unity of the
Speaker 1:spirit world peace. But then you never stop because you just keep I mean, it's Ephesians four.
Speaker 2:Just keeps right on rolling. So I'm actually gonna follow-up with it this coming Sunday.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna I'm gonna grab verse seven, I think, and kinda pull through a little bit more. But but, yeah, I just love that text, you know, about walking worthily, walking in a worthy manner, and the NIV translates it live. But there's Yeah. Four, five times, I think, Paul uses that word in Ephesians about walking. And, and just how, you know, we we have to watch our step, and you walk in humility.
Speaker 2:As I said yesterday, you don't you don't strut, which is such a tendency right now. I think that to me right now, passages like this really do put us in contrast with our culture. As I said that Sunday morning, strutting right now is is just kind of an art form, you know, and I think social media, and I said that Sunday, that for some reason, the world is better off if it knows my opinion on every issue.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, my my my microphone now is social media, so Right.
Speaker 1:You're out there.
Speaker 2:Yes. And it's just the world be better if you all know what I believe about pick a topic. And we just that's how it is. And it just reinforces the worst in us, I think. And so when Paul says, you know, be be humble and be gentle, be lowly of mind, generous in your spirit.
Speaker 2:And, as I said Sunday, it's not thinking less of yourself. That's not really it. It's just thinking of yourself less. It's just not having to always be so central to everything. And man, that is that is so countercultural right now because everything feeds on, you know, how you can present yourself in such a way.
Speaker 2:You get so many followers.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You're a we now call it a so called influencer. I'm I'm not sure Mhmm. Exactly what's meant by that. If that means that person is shaping others, I guess that's what it's
Speaker 1:supposed I to mean, in a marketing sense. Right? I mean, that's what I
Speaker 2:It's think interesting that that's the word they've chosen. Right. Yeah. Because I think it's
Speaker 1:But if you do it well, it's
Speaker 2:Martin Luther Martin Luther King, you know, or Billy Graham. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's upon a time. Well, and we've talked about this, and here the scary part is the Christian influencers, you used to have to have people
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:To have a platform. Right. I mean, if it was videoed and that got more viral, you at least still had to be kind of in a church setting.
Speaker 2:Not now.
Speaker 1:No. All you need is an iPhone. That's right. And people follow you. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And you don't have to mean, there's a lot of junk, junk, junk,
Speaker 2:junk Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Just slop Mhmm. On the internet of people solo Yeah. That might be just good communicators. Mhmm. And they're creating people are following them.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And they're leading them.
Speaker 2:It's interesting.
Speaker 1:It's awful, I hate it so much. And if you do it right, you make a lot of money.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So it's also lucrative.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Once again, feeds the worst part of you, you know.
Speaker 1:You know, when I preached sometime in the last year, I got on this little kick, and I I used this illustration about mirrors. I'm gonna get it wrong, and it's not that important, but basically that it wasn't really until mid eighteen hundreds that the average home had a mirror. People who have ever existed lived most of their life. The closest reflection of themselves they would get is still water, or like a really polished metal at like a blacksmith shop. You would, like, if I, in middle class, wherever we were Medieval Europe.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. Put me and Ryan in medieval Europe raising our kids, I would do whatever work was to be done every day, in and out, go to the store, manage the household, whatever it is, and never look at myself. I wouldn't think about my mean, I would imagine you don't, because you can't look at yourself, you wouldn't think of yourself as much.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:But think about now, how many times a day do I get a glance of myself? I mean, obviously, there are several built in, restroom, whatever. But it's everywhere. I mean, I see myself and therefore examine myself and then get self conscious or look at, you know, I mean, just whatever it is. Even, this is the classic female, like the eyebrows while driving, know, like, oh, okay, whatever, you know.
Speaker 1:And just think about how culturally we've sped up, and now our whole lives are on display, and we get insecure and self conscious and self centered. Not that Whatever Paul was speaking into more depth.
Speaker 2:Of course.
Speaker 1:But there's a vanity that we carry right now that I don't even think we realize how anxious it makes us, how insecure it makes us, how selfish in this biblical sense. Distracting. It is very distracting.
Speaker 2:And it pulls so much within. Mhmm. Because when Paul says, not only that, but be patient and bear with each other, those are kind of outward focused. And so, we talk Sunday morning about just, you know, putting up with each other. You walk together.
Speaker 2:You don't you don't the Christian life is personal, but it's interpersonal. So, the more the way I look at the New Testament, the more personal it gets, the more interpersonal it becomes because we do live in communities. Kinda what you were saying a while ago about people that now are teaching and doing all this stuff online completely independent of any community of faith, which is so foreign Yeah. To what the New Testament describes, the life
Speaker 1:that we And so dangerous.
Speaker 2:Yes. It's so because there's no accountability if you don't live in community, and it's so important. Learning how to put up with each other, it's just, it's it's such a necessary skill to help preserve the unity in the body and to and to also mature as a believer. You can't really mature as a believer on your own. It's just not how it works.
Speaker 2:You know? We we do this altogether. And so that's why I love this text.
Speaker 1:It's very communal. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, there was a time when this was one of the texts you know, it took us a while as the as as I served as pastor here to finally land on the scripture that we read over everyone that
Speaker 1:Oh, uh-huh.
Speaker 2:That joins. When we first came, this was one of the texts. We we had a few texts that we used, and this was one of them. One through three? Yes.
Speaker 2:Now, would you know, one of the reasons we kind of move past is because it it uses the first person. And, you know, we didn't use the as a prisoner for the Lord. We would just say, I urge you to Okay. And so
Speaker 1:That's lovely.
Speaker 2:I love that. We also pulled one off from a couple other places that we would read, but then eventually landed on the Colossians passage. Yeah. And, and it it to me is a communal text with each other, with the Lord. And I think that's the life Paul's describing.
Speaker 2:The life he lived because everywhere he went, he lived in community if you think about it. If he established churches, he
Speaker 1:Yeah. The only time he wasn't believers. Is when he was actually
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:Bound.
Speaker 2:When he gets put in prison.
Speaker 1:He was physically
Speaker 2:And even then held back. He's inviting people to
Speaker 1:come and Figured out. Be with Yeah. So Or saying how much he longs to
Speaker 2:be with So
Speaker 1:he
Speaker 2:knew Yeah. The value of it. And I think for us, is there's just something about addressing this individualistic nature. It's funny. Today, I was I was driving, somewhere earlier today.
Speaker 2:I was taking my granddaughter to school. I took Ada to school today. And, I was listening to, PGA Tour Radio. You might have been listening to PGA Tour Radio. I don't know if you were not, but you may not have been.
Speaker 1:Over under if I've ever ever listened to PGA Tour Radio.
Speaker 2:Anybody? Well, there's a it's interesting right now because
Speaker 1:I think I know what PGA stands for.
Speaker 2:Yeah. K. Well, there's a little bit of tumult It's golf. With the Professional Golf Association Tour Okay. Which is for touring professionals.
Speaker 2:There's a there's just a professional golf association, the the PGA.
Speaker 1:The PGA. And then there's the PGA Tour.
Speaker 2:PGA Tour. And so the PGA, the Professional Golfers Association, they're they're just the they're the pro golfers all over America.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I'm in Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. They they work at local clubs. This week is their championship. Okay? The PGA.
Speaker 1:PGA. Mhmm. Championship.
Speaker 2:But the ones that are touring pros, they're on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 1:These are the more famous ones? Yes. These are the people we know, the names we
Speaker 2:would from place to place
Speaker 1:They're on the PGA Tour.
Speaker 2:During the tour. And you have to earn your way there, stay there. Well, anyway but but you do it in community because you do it in competition with the best golfers in the world. That's really how this thing works.
Speaker 1:That's how you get good.
Speaker 2:That's right. Right. You know? And how you demonstrate that you belong. And and on one hand, it's a very individual thing because it's highly competitive.
Speaker 2:On the other hand though, you're doing it in community with kind of an agreed upon approach and there's, the the accountability has to do with the way you follow the rules and the way you manage your life and your schedule and all those kinds of things. Mhmm. Well, a while back, another competitive tour kind of arose called the LIV tour.
Speaker 1:Saudi backed.
Speaker 2:Yes. This
Speaker 1:is what I understand about
Speaker 2:that I was not in favor of it, I'm still not. Mhmm. So some of the guys left the tour and joined it. They have one in Europe called the DP tour. Used to just be called the European Tour, but it's named now for a company.
Speaker 2:But regardless, the PGA Tour is the is is the one. So but what's interesting is these guys were on the on this, show I was listening to, these professional got both of the guys on the show are former PGA Tour players. Players. So they're commenting, and they have a show talking about what's going on in the in the in the, golf world. Anyway.
Speaker 2:Worship music. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's what I normally listen to in the car.
Speaker 2:Just so you know. Anyway. Well, what was interesting is
Speaker 1:Michael Glenn made us a playlist. That's pretty much it.
Speaker 2:There's a movement right now among some of these really, really good young golfers to just not, even try to do professional golf at that level to make it on the tour, any of those kinds of things. They're developing YouTube channels and they're doing all these, YouTube golf things that they kinda just manage themselves. Mhmm. And as they gain followers, as I understand it, and you gain sponsors and then they end up making money, but they're not having to compete. It's not like they go out every week and they're living in this community of the of kind of the the really, really talented golfers that sharpen you.
Speaker 2:And they always these guys all talk about how they make each other better. Right. You know, kinda like, man, Scottie Scheffer's doing this. Well, you know what? I've gotta get better.
Speaker 2:I mean, I can't if I'm gonna win and I'm gonna compete, I can't just keep doing what I'm doing. Right. And they were just saying, so is this really a thing? And there was a younger person on the show that was kinda describing to these two older golfers. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Well, here's what's happening, and here are the guys that are doing this, Mhmm. And they're making money and they're just forging their own path. And so these two older guys were like, well, who are they playing against?
Speaker 1:Well, who
Speaker 2:well, who's
Speaker 1:How are they getting better?
Speaker 2:Watching the tournament. Yeah. Well, well, who's watching? Well, why would you watch that? And they and this younger person was like, well, a lot of people watch it.
Speaker 2:You know? YouTube is actually a thing whether y'all know it or not.
Speaker 1:And you're like, it's a whole new
Speaker 2:world. Yes.
Speaker 1:It's a whole new world.
Speaker 2:What a what a culture we have we have built. It just feeds that part of us that we're supposed to be struggling with and trying to overcome. And and that's why I believe that that right now, I think this is a wonderful opportunity for Christians to live in such a different way. You know? It doesn't mean you you know are no longer an individual.
Speaker 2:That that's not the point. It doesn't mean that you no longer have your individuality, that you don't contribute your giftedness, that you add your flavor to things. When of course, all that is still true.
Speaker 1:But it's not all about you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But you do it in a in concert with your fellow believers and together, that that's how we make a difference in the world and offer something different, you know. And I think people are hungry for it. I think that's one of the reasons that, you know, so many, groups are are are are just thrive in the culture, you know, fraternal organizations or whatever you wanna call them. People wanna belong to something, you know, and this is the best thing to belong to.
Speaker 1:The church.
Speaker 2:You know? Yeah. It's the body of Christ. It's it's the movement of God. It's the great plan of redemption.
Speaker 2:It's salvation history.
Speaker 1:It's the only thing like it.
Speaker 2:Yes. It's it's there's nothing else like it. And so Paul here's Paul in prison looking out at his culture, you know, first century Greco Roman world, and he's like, okay, you know, this is how you've got to live, y'all. This right here works. You can't you can't do this on your own.
Speaker 2:You don't manufacture unity. God's given it to you, but you protect it. And the way you do it is by being humble and gentle and patient and bear with each other and walk in a way that honors God. And that whole that whole concept of worthy, that Greek word is axios, which means balanced or suitable. And so, as I shared Sunday morning, it's the scales.
Speaker 2:You put the weight on one side and then whatever it is you're buying on the other and they and once they balance, then it's axios. It's good. It's it it works, if you will. Well, that's our life. We've got a calling in from God on one side.
Speaker 2:We got our life on the other. And we're supposed to be bringing some balance to what God's already done for us. And so that's the beauty of of being able to live this life and walk this this, this life that the Lord has given us. And, and plus it's to me, it's, it's got a sense of adventure to it because it's different for everybody in a You know, the finding your way in it, the Lord gives you the chance to do that. So it's not a cookie cutter kind of thing.
Speaker 2:That that's part of the beauty of the spiritual life, if you will. And so I love it. I love how Paul describes it. And, and I think that for us in this culture, it's a great chance to live it out in front of other people. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:You know? And so you can use Yeah.
Speaker 1:So countertopical.
Speaker 2:Social media. You can use whatever it is as a tool, but use it in the right way. Celebrate the right things. Point people to the right things.
Speaker 1:If you can.
Speaker 2:If you can. Yes. You know? And I believe it I believe it can be it can that's why I said Sunday morning, you can do it. We can do it.
Speaker 2:We we can actually mature as believers. We can. We can be intentional disciples. We actually can. But we can't do it just on our own because left to ourselves, it's almost like if we just try to do this on our own, we we end up feeding that part of us which is the worst of us.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. That's that's just the nature of what it means to be a sinner. And so that's why I need every day. I've gotta make sure I'm pointed in the right direction. I'm bringing the right things into my life.
Speaker 2:I'm I'm I'm, being blessed and nurtured by the right people, and the right priorities are what govern me every day. Because, as we talked about this morning in staff meeting, you know, our friend Curt Grice is fond of saying nobody drifts into godliness. Just don't. Drift always away from what is best and what's right. And so, so yeah.
Speaker 2:And so Paul, this is an imperative from Paul when he says, walk worthily. It's a it's in the imperative mood in Greek, so it's a it's a command. It's it's a true opportunity for you to evaluate your life. And, and I think it's a and you're not measuring yourself against yourself. You're measuring yourself and your life against what God's done for you, you know?
Speaker 2:So it's that's where the accountability comes in. So, yeah. I think it's all good. I love it.
Speaker 1:There's a lot there.
Speaker 2:It's all good. Okay. Come back next Sunday.
Speaker 1:Well, speak up. Was gonna say. We got high school kids in the Here we are. If you have kids in the home, camp is you need to register them. Don't miss it.
Speaker 1:If you can't pay for it, we can help. I mean, we all the kids should go to camp. Mhmm. Both connect camp for the kids Yes. And then youth camp.
Speaker 1:It's called encounter week. It's coming up quick. I mean, it's gonna be Mhmm. It's gonna be here. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And it's good.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:Meaningful. And particularly, it's extra countercultural. It is. To go away, put your phone away, just be together.
Speaker 2:So good for them.
Speaker 1:This Sunday, we'll celebrate our high school graduates. I was just talking to Chelsea about it all.
Speaker 2:Yeah. A lot
Speaker 1:of moving parts
Speaker 2:I got a grandson that's gonna be graduating.
Speaker 1:Bibles are out in the welcome center to be signed. Those that's a meaningful that's a meaningful kind of rite of passage, a gift that we give them. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Chance to pray over them while you're signing those bibles
Speaker 1:that you're done. Absolutely. I was joking. I highlighted I've I've highlighted the same verse in Luke for a while, but not Mary Kay Bass, her daughter. Melissa?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Eastman. Melissa Eastman got to it before me. Not that verse, but the same page, and I thought, well, gotta diversify. Mean, you don't need three highlighters on the same page.
Speaker 1:Anyway, Get out of Luke. Get out of Luke 12.
Speaker 2:It's all it's all good. No. I But do Hebrews twelve one and two always.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.
Speaker 1:The staff did, we hovered around it, Thursday and prayed over them.
Speaker 2:We did.
Speaker 1:Spend some attentional time together, so that
Speaker 2:was good.
Speaker 1:Gosh. Anyway, there's a lot going on around here. But we're switching gears pretty quick, and we're gonna head to summer.
Speaker 2:We are.
Speaker 1:So Pastor's Bible Study has two more on Wednesdays, and then we'll pick that back up in July. Anyway, just check out f b c a dot org slash events if you wanna know what's going on around here but there really is something for everybody.
Speaker 2:I like it.
Speaker 1:Turns out we're here every Sunday. Mhmm. And we want you to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:That's right. So
Speaker 1:I think it's awesome and we won't be in here next Monday, I bet. You're golfing. It's the Restore Hope Golf Tournament. It is. So I bet I bet we'll catch y'all next week.
Speaker 1:So have a good day. Thank you. 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.
Speaker 1:Have a good day.