1 00:00:10,980 --> 00:00:16,140 Hey, what's up everybody? We are back with another episode 2 00:00:16,140 --> 00:00:19,860 of Meet the Church Man. Our boy Hector is out right now. 3 00:00:19,900 --> 00:00:23,180 But so we just want this thing going because we have a lot of 4 00:00:23,180 --> 00:00:25,860 interesting people at City Post Church. 5 00:00:26,700 --> 00:00:29,340 I'm Pastor Ricky and this is. Vaughn. 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,440 It's that simple, bro. That's right. 4 letters. 7 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:38,080 That's right, man. And I've been wanting to sit 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,720 down and and talk to you 'cause you have probably one of the 9 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,920 most interesting stories or testimonies of how how God like, 10 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,640 transformed your life, like your encounter with Jesus. 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,760 And honestly, I just want to get into it. 12 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:54,480 Cool. Yeah. 13 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,160 But I think I think it could really help somebody. 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,880 Yeah, well, I always say, like I have two testimonies, you know, 15 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,640 like the first one when I really finally wanted to know who Jesus 16 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,360 was and then became the prodigal son, son, I guess. 17 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:10,960 And then I came back to the Lord. 18 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:13,920 But both stories, they start the same. 19 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,400 They both involve drugs. The first one, you know, I was 20 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:24,160 smoking a lot of weed and I just remember getting a panic attack, 21 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:30,160 one that I couldn't ever break. And I remember my aunt was like 22 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,640 super involved in church and I just reached out and I remember 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:35,320 just saying like, I, I need something. 24 00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:37,520 I need to try something. And so I did. 25 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:42,040 And yeah, you know, it worked. I guess. 26 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:42,960 You know all. Right. 27 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:44,920 So let let's let's start there. All right. 28 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:46,840 You mentioned, you mentioned drugs. 29 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,800 So when, when was like that you could remember when was like the 30 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,880 first time that you were introduced to some sort of like 31 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,760 drug or some sort of enhancement? 32 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,600 Yeah, man, I was in like 7th or 8th grade. 33 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,640 Yeah. I mean, I had a buddy and his 34 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,320 name was. We won't actually won't say 35 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,880 that, but it's not good. But calm, buddy. 36 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,680 Yeah, well. I had a buddy and actually his 37 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,120 dad would smoke weed and so he smoked weed. 38 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,000 So when we would go over, we would just get high with his 39 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:25,160 dad, you know, and it just became as as like a common as a 40 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,200 cigarette, honestly. And so yeah, that that led me 41 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:33,040 into just smoking at a very young age all. 42 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,200 The time is that interesting? I know this is just a random 43 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:40,680 thought because even when I was young, the first time that I saw 44 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,560 beer or alcohol, it was because my buddy's dad thought it was 45 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:50,680 funny to drop a a cooler full of beers like right in front of him 46 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:52,720 and his friends and said have had it, guys. 47 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,440 And it's almost like it's not even the the friends, it's not 48 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:58,480 the kids. It's like the parents, right 49 00:02:58,720 --> 00:02:59,800 that do that. Yeah. 50 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,240 So I just thought that was like a really interesting thought. 51 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,160 Yeah, like, I even remember, like, when there would be 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,080 parties at the house, my mom would want to play a joke on the 53 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,240 men and she would empty the beer bottle and put water in it and 54 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:14,520 tell me go drink in front of him. 55 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,280 Just to get a stash with him, yeah. 56 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,440 So I mean, yeah, you're right, it does start with adults It's 57 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:23,960 and it's interesting how that. Works right? 58 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:25,120 Right? Anyway, sorry. 59 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:32,600 No, but yeah, you know, I found the Lord in like 2010 or 11. 60 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,080 I was going to a small church off of Berry St. 61 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:40,120 Juan 316, and I remember the day I gave my life to Jesus. 62 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,360 But I hadn't really understood what I did because when I did 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,080 it, they baptized me, but not by immersion. 64 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,400 It was more just like sprinkling water. 65 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:52,160 And everybody was congratulating me, but I didn't understand why. 66 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:59,440 And I just remember really just falling in love with God's Word. 67 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,840 But once everything got better, I just kind of left. 68 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:07,800 And yeah, yeah, just. And I guess like what that there 69 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,840 was there a point in life where you hit rock bottom? 70 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,240 I know we, we always talk about like there's times in our lives 71 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,920 where we're living, we're going, everything is great. 72 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,320 It's, it's almost like, oh man, there's no need for God. 73 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:27,280 And and then you look up and you're like, man, I'm at a point 74 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,800 in life where nothing is working, nothing is happening. 75 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,760 I need a savior. Did you have one of those 76 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,240 moments? Yeah, and that moment was about 77 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,440 3 years ago or so. So when I came back to the Lord 78 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,760 is when I had that rock bottom moment. 79 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:46,800 Yeah. And it really started with 80 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,640 Connie. I remember Connie just not being 81 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,760 who she was, that loving, caring woman that that I grew to, to 82 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:58,040 know she was having some issues with her, like temper and stuff. 83 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,000 And it was just unusual. And I didn't know what to do. 84 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,800 I didn't know how to help her. And I just felt called to like 85 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,280 just go to church, you know? And so Connie got saved, 86 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:10,840 baptized on her birthday and stuff. 87 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:15,800 But I, I never did that for me, you know, like I when I saw 88 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,720 Connie struggling, it was to help her, you know, I didn't 89 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:19,760 think anything was wrong with me. 90 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,880 I could hold my, my liquor, you know. 91 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,520 So yeah, I got pretty bad there. I was like going getting off of 92 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,680 work, going to Bucky's, getting 2-3 tall boys driving, drinking 93 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,440 them, driving on on the way home, stopping at either the QT 94 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:39,040 by the house or the the truck stop on 35, getting two or three 95 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,520 more, finish them before I got home, go inside, open a bottle 96 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,000 of whiskey, drink that and just do that every day. 97 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:49,880 That's wild. So that's like before you get to 98 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,200 the house, you've had about like what, 6 tall? 99 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,760 Boys, sometimes 8. That's impressive. 100 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,000 My goodness. Wow. 101 00:05:58,440 --> 00:05:59,640 That that is. Yeah. 102 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,240 So I guess when did that peak? I mean, man, because your 103 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:05,600 tolerance must have been through the roof. 104 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,480 I mean, that's the. And it peaked when I started 105 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,080 killing like full bottles and needing another one or, and then 106 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,520 and then it got really bad when I would, you know, kill the 107 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:16,960 bottle. And then I'd need like, 108 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,920 something to keep me going. So that's when I kind of fell 109 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,760 back into like the drug stuff. Yeah. 110 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:24,560 But this time it was a little bit heavier. 111 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:26,800 Yeah. I fell back into Coke. 112 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:32,240 I was doing a lot of Coke and so every weekend was drinking and 113 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,040 doing, yeah, doing the code. Yeah. 114 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:39,120 How did you, I guess, while you were in that phase #1 115 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,320 financially? Because I know that that's got 116 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:47,760 to take a financial toll. But also, when was it were you, 117 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,800 do you think you were trying to fill something like a void or 118 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,280 was this just like, I guess this is just a culture? 119 00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:58,000 Yeah, the financial stuff, as you know, I'm into fragrances. 120 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,760 That's right. So I would sell like little 121 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:03,600 samples and I would use that to fund everything. 122 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,040 And yet you ask about filling a void. 123 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,760 Honestly, bro, like, I don't know. 124 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,320 I don't, I don't, I don't know if I was trying to fill 125 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,440 something, but I know it wasn't because I didn't do it because I 126 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,120 thought this is the culture. No, that wasn't it. 127 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:25,440 Because I don't consider myself a very, like, Mexican person per 128 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,720 SE, you know, But I will tell you, I was influenced by someone 129 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:33,360 like that to do the drugs. And so it just kind of I liked 130 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,280 it, you know, I loved it, honestly. 131 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,360 And it was just a matter of that, really. 132 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,000 I just liked it, yeah. So I mean, you're, you're living 133 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,280 this way. So when I guess when when did 134 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:50,560 Christ enter the the picture? Yeah, so I remember, I remember 135 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:54,160 the cycle was yesterday, bro. Like I was pretty drunk and I 136 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,240 don't remember what had happened between me and Connie, but we 137 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,600 were on our way to Zoe's and I freaked out by freaking out, I 138 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,280 mean like I was going off on whatever the issue was, right? 139 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,720 And few days after that I realized like I had no peace, 140 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,560 you know, I had no joy. I was, I was trying to feel 141 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,040 something, but I wasn't sure what, you know, I had a lot of 142 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,040 anger. I had a lot of stuff that needed 143 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:23,080 forgiveness and I just, I didn't have anywhere else to go. 144 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,280 That was my rock bottom. But I but I had AI had a 145 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,040 foundation. I knew because Connie was still 146 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,200 doing the church stuff. It was just me that wasn't 147 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:35,679 involved in it to the point where like she would go to 148 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:36,919 church and I would just stay home. 149 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,559 Gotcha. Most of the time because I was 150 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,080 too hungover and but most also because I just wasn't interested 151 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:43,679 my. Goodness, yeah. 152 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:48,360 So I mean, even even in those that moment in time, I mean, so 153 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:52,440 when that happened, that moment, did you just wake up say, you 154 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,040 know what? I I need to like, what was the 155 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:57,880 eye opening that you're like, I need to change. 156 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,560 Really, when you drink a lot of alcohol, it does something to 157 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:06,120 your face like you're swollen and you just don't look right. 158 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,320 And I remember looking in the mirror, like just not 159 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,760 recognizing that guy, you know? So I knew I needed to do 160 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,840 something about it and it was more drastic than just pouring 161 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,120 the alcohol down the drain cause I've done that a lot. 162 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:21,040 Right. I'm never. 163 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,000 I'm like, yeah. You know, you're drunk all the 164 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:23,720 time. Toilet. 165 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:25,240 Jesus, have you just made me sober? 166 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,320 Yeah, you know. The last time, yeah, you. 167 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:29,640 Pour all the alcohol and then a week later you're back at it. 168 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:31,600 You know, it was a little bit more than that. 169 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,400 And that was when I realized, like, man, I need, I need 170 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,440 something too. And I knew from the first time 171 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:45,040 with the, you know, with the marijuana and stuff that I had, 172 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,200 I knew where to go though. I just said it. 173 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:48,560 I'm going to try it, too. Yeah. 174 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:49,960 So. Right on. 175 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,840 And I guess what was the do you remember when, when you 176 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,240 surrendered your life? I mean this this time, like do 177 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,880 you remember, like the day? Do you remember what was said if 178 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:02,880 there was a passage? Or something. 179 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,640 Honestly, bro, no. But I'll tell you things as far 180 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,320 as like when things really started to shift for me, was it 181 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:14,040 until I came here, OK. Because we were going to a 182 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,240 church called Hope and they're wonderful church man. 183 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,200 Yeah. The kids ministry is awesome. 184 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,640 They built an amazing foundation for us. 185 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,200 I will. I will always be very grateful 186 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,520 for that church. But there was a point that came 187 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,200 where I was like, I want more of the gospel. 188 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,280 The gospel message is what I really was like craving. 189 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,400 And so then I, we found like paradox and we just kind of felt 190 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:40,360 out of place, if I'm being honest. 191 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,640 And then I that's when I reached out to Gavino, you know, because 192 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,360 we were kind of church searching at that point. 193 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,280 And we came here and I don't remember the sermon, but I do 194 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,200 remember the first sermon that I listened to to check it out. 195 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,240 And it was a sermon that you did on was is it it's Mary, like how 196 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,080 she was like complaining about like the sister. 197 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,440 Yeah, yeah. Mary, Martha. 198 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,360 Yeah. Yeah, that I heard that sermon 199 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,600 and I remember texting Gavino saying next time, tell the 200 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,080 pastor my name if he's going to call me out like that. 201 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,320 But I didn't know. That's funny. 202 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,400 I didn't know what that was. That's conviction. 203 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:14,680 Yeah, that's right. Yeah. 204 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,160 And it was that sermon that brought me here. 205 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,240 Yeah, it's amazing. I love that you said that the 206 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,320 amount of times it it's so let me go back. 207 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,440 It's funny as as you prepare sermons and I've talked to I 208 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:32,360 I've said this a lot. Whenever you prepare the text, 209 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,160 you know, and you start walking through it, you always talk to 210 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:40,400 yourself first as a as a pastor, like it's like, what is the Lord 211 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:42,800 she teaching me? What is he showing me? 212 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:47,360 What are, what are some sins in my life that I need to confess 213 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:50,360 to him? Like, and, and based out of the 214 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,640 text, that's, that's kind of like what comes out. 215 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:57,640 And I think that's how conviction works. 216 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,960 And I know if I've had some, some people accuse me of like 217 00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:05,560 man who, who told you or I was like, brother, listen, I don't 218 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:09,440 think of you like, I know it sounds terrible, but of course 219 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,280 I, I think of my people or the people of the church. 220 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,400 But that's, I think that's one of the as an expository 221 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,360 preacher, I think that could be one of the greatest compliments, 222 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:22,880 to be honest with you. When somebody says, man, I 223 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,400 didn't know that or man, you know, you like Oliver, my 224 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,920 kool-aid, don't know the flavor, like what's going on here, like 225 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,760 because I've I've done that. I felt that way before too. 226 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,320 So that's that's great, bro. That's great to hear that. 227 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,040 That was a good message bro. No, that's good. 228 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,360 I will just try to be faithful to the text man. 229 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,080 That's and that's why that's that's the proof of it. 230 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,840 So I mean, that's great. And then, you know, so I guess 231 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:53,200 as as you begin to start coming and growing, what were some 232 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:58,320 changes, I guess that you've made in your life that you're 233 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,960 saying, hey, me and my family, like As for me and my family, 234 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,520 we're going to serve the Lord. So are there things that you 235 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,960 implemented in your life, you know, in order for you to like 236 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,400 continue to live like this, this Christian life and not go 237 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:14,880 backwards? Oh yeah? 238 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,400 Well, the first one was I stopped drinking. 239 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,760 Yeah. And yeah, man. 240 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,040 And actually, all glory to God, I'm one year sober next week. 241 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,680 Wow, that's amazing. So no alcohol for a year, not a 242 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,840 drop. That is crazy anybody. 243 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:31,240 I'm telling you, if you think you can't do it. 244 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,520 You can definitely do. It that's right, that's. 245 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,400 Awesome. And so that it started with that 246 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,440 and then and then for sure, just letting the kids see me read my 247 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,760 Bible at the table, letting the kids know how important it was 248 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:54,160 to me to be in the Word and just try and bring them up in that. 249 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,360 Why am I doing what I'm doing? Well, because this is what God's 250 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:58,520 Word says. That's right. 251 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,280 And not only that, but letting them see that it's OK to mess up 252 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,280 and apologizing and, and just being like, yeah, like we're 253 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,320 going to fall, you know, Dad's going to fall, but I'm going to 254 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,120 get, we're going to all have to get right back there. 255 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,480 And that's so good, so. I think that's one of the most 256 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,840 powerful things that you could do as a as a father and as a man 257 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:20,240 is apologize to your kids or like admit that you're wrong and 258 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,240 say I'm sorry. And I've done that to my kids as 259 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:25,840 well. Know where I've I've might have 260 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:30,480 like lost my cool or I might have said something that made my 261 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,840 my babies cry, thinking that it was a joke to me and but it 262 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,400 really hurt their feelings and just coming up to them being 263 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,080 like, I'm so sorry to forgive me. 264 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,000 And I think more kids need to see that. 100% kids feelings, 265 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,480 they want to be validated. They do, you know, and they and 266 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,360 they want to be seen. And it starts with the with the 267 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,520 dads. Yeah, and, and what's amazing 268 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,920 about your testimony is not just how God saved you and how God 269 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,640 like redeemed your heart and restored your relationships, but 270 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,600 also he's he, it's like he's giving you a passion for the men 271 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,240 of the church or, or the men in general. 272 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,120 So just wanted to ask you like, I guess from your perspective, 273 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,320 why is it, why do you think it's so important for men to be 274 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,040 active members of a local body? Well. 275 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,520 You know, there's that statistic that says like 80 something 276 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:28,560 percent of families will come to Christ if the man does it. 1st 277 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,680 That's true. You know, so one that but two, I 278 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,520 think it shows this level of meekness that you can't get 279 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,760 anywhere else where if you see this man submit like it almost 280 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,720 piques your interest as to why. So the the submission aspect of 281 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,360 of of like submitting to a higher power. 282 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:57,760 Jesus, you know, it shows, man. It shows that we're we're not 283 00:15:57,800 --> 00:15:59,920 all that strong. I don't know man, like. 284 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,520 No, that's, that's real, Yeah. And not only that like, but a 285 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:08,520 man serving the Lord in a church is a role model to the other 286 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,400 little children. So that's good. 287 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,200 And that's something I've been passionate about. 288 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,000 A lot of churches that I've come from. 289 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:22,080 The men are not there. Like you don't see it like you. 290 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,200 And I don't want this to come off as chauvinistic, but you 291 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,480 know, you always see like the women servings, the women's are, 292 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,360 they're the ones teaching all the classes. 293 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,640 They're the ones setting up tables and chairs. 294 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:37,760 They're the ones and men might like mow a lawn here or there, 295 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:43,680 but I've never like actively seen like men of God be men of 296 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:45,640 God. And so that was one of the 297 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,200 passions that I had. Like whenever we planted City 298 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,320 Post, even the preaching, it's like you want to preach to men. 299 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,640 So like just real, direct, truthful, not all emotional. 300 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:00,120 And and that's something that, you know, we want you to be 301 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,800 saved, but not soft. Like we want you to be men of 302 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:06,400 the church. So, so yeah, like not all 303 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,400 emotional, all that stuff like that's not what guys are and 304 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,440 that's OK, you know. And I think that the body, the 305 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,720 church needs to see that. I also heard another statistic 306 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:19,800 that the two signs of a, of a growing church or healthy church 307 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,720 are crying babies and singing men, you know. 308 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,319 So if men are engaged in the worship and singing, that's a 309 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,800 good sign, you know, Or if men are active, like listening to 310 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,360 the sermon, that's a good sign, you know? 311 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:34,400 So I think that's really important. 312 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,720 And you mentioned a lot about like family life as well. 313 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:42,000 Why do you think besides the obvious, it's why it's so 314 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,120 important for men to be active in their kids lives. 315 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,600 Like to be the spiritual leaders, yeah. 316 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:56,520 It starts with just making sure one that they're that you build 317 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:01,120 that foundation, but build it theologically sound to let your 318 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,800 kids know like this is who Jesus is. 319 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,080 This is the Jesus of the Bible. This is not a Jesus from TikTok 320 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,040 or some other false religionary because there's a lot of that. 321 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,600 But again, also just to show them like the love of Christ, 322 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,440 what does that look like at home? 323 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,960 The fruits of the Spirit, you know, all that stuff. 324 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,520 I just think it's so important for men to show their kids what 325 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,640 a godly man is so they know what to look for when they're ready 326 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,560 to to be married. And I guess like on on the flip 327 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,400 side of that, when men are not present, what have you seen? 328 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:42,440 Just discord a lot of that, a lot of thinking like things that 329 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:44,880 are OK are really not right. You know, with the whole 330 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,320 drinking, the drugs, I just kind of look back at what I thought 331 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,800 was OK, you know? And it's, it's not, I mean, you 332 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,720 just see the pornography, the drinking, the drugs, drinking 333 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:01,440 and driving, the cussing, which I mean, you can take that as you 334 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:05,000 want, but yeah, I mean, if you have a potty mouth, it's just, 335 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,360 what does that teach your children? 336 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:10,080 I mean, we can go on. It's a yeah. 337 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:13,640 But I the big things for me is just because it's where I came 338 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:18,240 from, was the drinking and the drugs and then the porn. 339 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,760 Yeah. Yeah, it's like when whenever 340 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:24,280 there's a lack of manhood in the home, you start seeing these 341 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:25,240 things. And I think it goes back to 342 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,120 Genesis. I mean, when God, God created 343 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,960 the earth, but he also established an order, you know, 344 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:33,440 and it has nothing to do with hierarchy. 345 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,800 It has nothing to do with like you must bow down to the no, it, 346 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,680 he did it for a reason. And, and something I've seen a 347 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,400 lot of is when the man is not present in the home. 348 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,680 So when the whole like machismo thing kicks in and it's like, I, 349 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,960 I just bring home the bacon, cook my dinner, you know, and so 350 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:53,360 you're present, but you're not present. 351 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:56,000 Man. There's a lot of identity issues 352 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,680 with kids. They end up going to other 353 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,200 places looking for those answers. 354 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,400 They feel like they can't open up to their fathers. 355 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:09,160 And a lot of just a lack of emotional EQ like it's, it's 356 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,320 hard for you to manage your feelings, your emotions, how how 357 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,800 to react to things. And you just kind of look for 358 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,600 that and somewhere else. Yeah, you do. 359 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,560 And if, if it's a, you know, your little girl, she's going to 360 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,200 look forward to another man. That's right. 361 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,200 You know what? You know, there's a saying out 362 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,720 there that says whatever your little girl wants from another 363 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,880 boy is what she's not getting from the dad. 364 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,200 And. And it's and it's very true. 365 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,440 Yeah. So we have to be present. 366 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,480 We have to be intentional. We have to show what love is. 367 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,440 Yeah. We can't just sit on her phones 368 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:44,680 and scroll all day and and call that parenting. 369 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,480 That's right. That's not that's not what being 370 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,480 a dad is. You know, spend some time with 371 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,840 your kids and get to know their likes and dislikes and what's 372 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,480 going on at school with their friends, etcetera, etcetera. 373 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,240 And the more you let off the gas on doing that, you'll be 374 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,000 surprised how quick things will take a turn for the worse. 375 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,280 No, that's great man. And I think too, another thing 376 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,840 that we have to do better as as parents is we got to pray for 377 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,320 our kids. 100%. You know, like you gotta, you 378 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,480 got to pray for your kids all the time. 379 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,320 Like I'm a product of a mother who'd never stop praying because 380 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,360 even in my life there were sometimes where I was like, you 381 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:20,880 know what, I'm going to try this direction or I'm going to go 382 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:24,200 make some, some new friends because I felt betrayed or, you 383 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,160 know, just whatever BS excuse. And my mom just never stopped 384 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,240 praying and she never stopped loving me. 385 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,120 But also she never was like, I'm OK with what you're doing, 386 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:35,920 right? She was very honest and said, 387 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,640 this is a bad thing. Like this is not good for you. 388 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,880 So honesty, I think is is something that we lack sometimes 389 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,720 because we want to love our kids, but loving your kids does 390 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:48,520 not mean letting them do whatever they want. 391 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,480 Yeah, we're not supposed to be their friends. 392 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,600 Exactly. I want to a certain extent. 393 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,200 You know, I know what you mean. Where their parents, where the 394 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,080 yeah, forces of the law, you know, whatever you want to. 395 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,280 Call us Best. I mean, but we're there to 396 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,480 protect them guys, right? And make sure they have food and 397 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,080 all that and we're not there to be their homies on. 398 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,880 That's right, Snapchat. Keeping the street going or 399 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:10,160 something? Right, right. 400 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,560 I know it's weird to me, like when I hear about parents, like 401 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,920 we're going to go like go out drinking together. 402 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,680 Like it's just, it's just odd, you know? 403 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,280 It's like, it's so strange. I mean, you talked a little bit 404 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:25,120 about or a lot of it about God's Word, how impactful that is, 405 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,680 man. What is it about God's Word? 406 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,760 Like, why are you so passionate about that? 407 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:35,960 Man, honestly, it's because that's where a lot of my change 408 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:37,800 comes from, yeah. Amen. 409 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:43,360 I take God's word very serious and yes, I fall short on a lot 410 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:47,040 of things, but on the things that things that stick in my 411 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,120 mind, they've stuck for a reason, right? 412 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,720 And those are the ones that I really, really try to focus on, 413 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:59,800 I guess. But it's, it's just a great tool 414 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,960 or guide for your life. You know, like I've heard I saw 415 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,840 an acronym for Bible a basic instructions before leaving 416 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,160 earth. And that's what they are our 417 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,680 instructions on how to live this Christian life. 418 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,880 And when you put it into practice, you see the fruit. 419 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:16,160 It's so true. So. 420 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:21,920 Man, that's good, bro, man. And I guess what would you, what 421 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,400 would be your prayer for City Post Church? 422 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,520 You know, as we continue to move forward, as we continue to grow, 423 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,080 as you know, we, we continue to learn together. 424 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:32,000 You know, we, we are a young church. 425 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:34,240 So I guess, what would be your prayer? 426 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,160 That the men of the church would, would surrender. 427 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,440 That's good, honestly. There's something about 428 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,680 surrender that it that that brings this type of freedom that 429 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,600 you don't understand unless you do it. 430 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,800 When you give everything to Christ, when you really bring it 431 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,640 at his feet, there's nothing to worry about because he's going 432 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,600 to handle it. And if even if he doesn't, it's 433 00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,040 OK and he's going to find another way, he's going to give 434 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,400 you another way. And I I'm a testimony of that 435 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,840 time and time again has he's done that for me. 436 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,520 So there's there's this just this render piece man that I 437 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,360 wish that not just the men of the church, but every Christian 438 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:15,280 man that's right. What would just surrender at the 439 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,480 feet of Jesus? What do you think causes people 440 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:23,080 not to? The word, the actual word 441 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:26,720 surrender, I think is a lot to take in. 442 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:31,760 So it's the same kind of like where the you know, where the 443 00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:34,680 brides of Christ, you know, it's that same kind of language. 444 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:36,880 You're like, I know, bride. He's the bride of Christ. 445 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,120 Man, what? Surrender the church? 446 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:40,200 You know, I've been listening to both. 447 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,000 That is my own life. They said no surrender. 448 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,760 That's right. So yeah, yeah, honestly, I think 449 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:53,200 it's the the language, but I think with that comes a little 450 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,680 bit of ignorance of what that really means. 451 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,640 That's real. So yeah, I know. 452 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,800 I've seen, you know, I always say pride is an amazing thing. 453 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,680 And I've seen people who would rather go down with the ship 454 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,720 then ask for help. And in my mind I was like, what 455 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:16,280 is it about life that you rather fail, like miserably fail than 456 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,240 to say, hey, I need help. You know, that for me that 457 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,640 that's just, I don't get it, you know? 458 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:28,600 And I've seen it time and time and time again, you know, So I 459 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,400 think our pride gets in the way of that. 460 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,120 Oh, yeah. You know, and there's a lot of 461 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:35,080 insecurities there. There's a lot of this, how I 462 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,600 grew up there. There's a lot of just trying to 463 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,960 get the approval and the adoration of man that is there. 464 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,000 Because maybe you didn't get that when you were a child. 465 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,680 I don't know, I'm not a psychologist, but but you see it 466 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:51,840 in scripture time and time again. 467 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,080 Yeah, and and that's why the word is so important, man, like 468 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,000 Paul says, you know, I'm, I'm not here to please, man, here to 469 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,160 be, you know, please Christ. That's right. 470 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,360 When you really dive in Scripture and and try to live 471 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:12,880 your life by God's living, breathing word, it's a very big 472 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,080 eye opener. Yeah. 473 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:15,800 And it just makes life easier, honestly. 474 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:18,720 So. And you know, and I know it's a 475 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,080 little bit off topic, but when you talk about scripture, so the 476 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:27,440 other day I had AI had a meeting with my team at work and our 477 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:30,800 office came up with these conflict resolutions. 478 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,400 Like this is how you deal with conflict within the office of 479 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:36,440 these nine steps. And so our VP wanted to, to 480 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:39,320 share that with our team. So we as we were sharing that, 481 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:42,480 some, some folks on the team start giggling a little bit like 482 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,040 he's saying this because of me this and that, you know, calling 483 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,120 it out. And after I went through, I was 484 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,600 like, yeah, you know, it makes sense. 485 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:54,160 But this is just a corporate way of saying it, you know? 486 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,840 And somebody on my team said, well, Ricky, what do you do if 487 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,760 you do all those things and they still don't like and they still 488 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,520 fail. And, and the first thing that 489 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:05,040 came my mind, and I was just honest. 490 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,960 I was like, honestly, like I go to my Bible and I was like 491 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,280 Matthew 18. And it's the same thing with 492 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:14,080 church discipline. It's like you go one-on-one to 493 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,120 the brother and if that doesn't work, then you bring a witness. 494 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,080 And if that doesn't work, then you go to leadership. 495 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,160 And then if that doesn't work, you treat him like a non 496 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,520 believer. And, and it was funny when I 497 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,200 said that the person that asked the question was like, wow, 498 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:27,640 that's, that's actually really wise. 499 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,680 It makes sense. And in my mind, I'm like, that's 500 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,760 what Jesus told us to do. Of course it makes sense. 501 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,600 It's in the Scripture. And, and I mean, those are some 502 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,120 of the concepts that I always use. 503 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:40,880 I was like, what does the Bible say about it? 504 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,280 And you do it and it works. You know, lo and behold, it's 505 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:45,480 crazy. What do you know? 506 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,240 What do you know? Who would have thought? 507 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:49,000 Who would have thought? No, yeah, man. 508 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,320 And I think a lot of people focus on what they don't 509 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,520 understand versus what they do understand when it comes to the 510 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:55,520 Scriptures. That's right. 511 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,080 That's good, man. Just focus on what God is 512 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,680 revealing to you, and in time He will reveal the rest. 513 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:04,000 I think like when I first came to Christ, I wanted to 514 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,760 understand Revelation so bad, you know? 515 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,400 And I still don't understand it, but it's definitely more now 516 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,840 than I ever did. And I wholeheartedly believe 517 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,240 that God will let you understand what's right for you. 518 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,040 Yeah. And I think there's an element 519 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:23,080 of obedience as well, because there's there's a lot of things 520 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:28,120 in Scripture that are hard to to grasp, but you do it because you 521 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:31,280 trust that God's word is truth and that that he's the one that 522 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,720 told you. So it's like taking this step 523 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,560 and saying, I don't know, Lord, but I'm going to do it because 524 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,480 you said and that's hard to. It is. 525 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:43,400 Bro it takes time so but if you do it I'm telling you it's the 526 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,880 best. It's I'd rather step out the 527 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:51,120 boat and, yeah, have him catch me then, yeah, you know, not 528 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:52,920 step out the boat at all. And that's right. 529 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,640 Just go about life sailing away. I guess so true. 530 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,800 But yeah, man, I'm big on Scripture. 531 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,280 I love it. I really try to read it every 532 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:04,680 day. I love teaching it. 533 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,760 I love talking about it. And it is definitely the life 534 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:11,440 changer. Because just church isn't 535 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:12,400 enough. That's right. 536 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,160 Yeah. Yeah, that's something I 537 00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,440 whenever we planted City Post Church, that was the heart. 538 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,720 It was, you know, that's where that's where the name came out 539 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,160 of. We wanted to be like where the 540 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:27,040 truth came out of, you know, like the Washington Post, you 541 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:31,240 know, So if, if our church is going to be known for one thing 542 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:37,040 regardless, you know, of, of everything else, people have to 543 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,000 be able to say, man, I got truth. 544 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,680 You know, everything else, like whatever worship was different, 545 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,520 whatever. But if if people could say, man, 546 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,040 they they honor the word of the Lord there, that's kind of what 547 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,520 we wanted to be about, you know, So everything else is icing on 548 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:55,280 the cake, right? Could say, yeah, man. 549 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,520 So just last couple things we'll do like a little quick round so 550 00:29:58,520 --> 00:29:59,800 people get to know you a little bit more. 551 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:02,720 All right, All right. So favorite Taco spot? 552 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,120 Man I know this is hard. Well the first one that comes to 553 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,280 mind is milk tacos. OK, but I went there the other 554 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,560 day and it was kind of wack. Yeah, dude, it kind of fell off 555 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,840 a little bit. But you know what I'm going to 556 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:15,520 say? Milk tacos. 557 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:17,960 Anyway, so you're Juanitos are real tacos. 558 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,400 No, bro, Juanitos is too dry. I need salt. 559 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,480 Yeah. I'm not sure why it's so packed. 560 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,360 They must be running like a business in the back I don't 561 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:27,840 know about or something you know. 562 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:30,080 This one was divided the church, I'm just saying. 563 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,840 But yeah, meat tacos. OK, cool, cool man. 564 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,760 So what are you listening to on Spotify right now? 565 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,640 I listen to a lot of worship music. 566 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,800 Yeah, some of my favorite Benjamin William Hasting. 567 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:46,000 Yeah, he's awesome. Yeah, I. 568 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:49,440 Love, I really love Force Frank. He's pretty cool. 569 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:52,280 But SEU worship, yeah, it's pretty good. 570 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,000 Yeah, those are top three, I guess. 571 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:56,400 Nice man. So what's your go to movie? 572 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,720 What's a movie that you could watch over and over and over 573 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,200 again? Fire, dude, That's Rachel's. 574 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,560 Really. So Wild Man on Fire is the bomb. 575 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,800 Rachel loves that movie and loves that movie Casey. 576 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:15,800 Anyways, yeah, yeah, the next one is you, You and Connie. 577 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,760 If if you guys go on a date, do you have like a specific spot or 578 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:21,960 something that y'all love doing? Not really. 579 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,560 Connie's like super chill, bro. OK. 580 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:26,480 She's like a goal with the flow kind of guy. 581 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,400 Whatever. She don't want to plan nothing. 582 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,960 She's like, yeah, that's good. Yeah, so. 583 00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:34,040 But we really like pluckers. OK, nice. 584 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:36,520 The kids really like pluckers. We like pluckers. 585 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,400 Well, we'll go eat pho. Yeah, that's why. 586 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:43,000 Actually, we did last night. Dream destination? 587 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,480 Like if you could go on a vacation anywhere, where would 588 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,120 you guys love to go? Man, probably Greece, really 589 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:53,760 Greece for the history and it's super beautiful and the food. 590 00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:57,680 But yeah, other than that, I think I'm good right here. 591 00:31:57,720 --> 00:31:59,960 That's right. Or Padre. 592 00:31:59,960 --> 00:32:01,640 We love Padre. That's true, Padre. 593 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,280 Just easy. OK, that's dope, man. 594 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,840 And then like, are you the type of person that when you go on 595 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,080 vacation, do you want like an agenda or you just want to go 596 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,840 and just hang out? A little bit of both. 597 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,920 I definitely want to have some stuff planned just to kind of 598 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:19,360 have a little bit of structure, because if not, we're just going 599 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:20,880 to be at the beach 12 hours a day. 600 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:24,560 Praise God. So that's me right there A. 601 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,800 Little bit of both. OK, awesome man. 602 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,160 And and as we close up, you know, I was thinking about what 603 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,520 you were talking about, like the men of the church, the families, 604 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:38,400 things that you're seeing. What do you how do you encourage 605 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:43,240 the mom or the wife who says, I don't have that? 606 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:48,360 You know, I love the person I'm with, but they're not that 607 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,320 person, you know, like how, how do you encourage somebody? 608 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,520 Well, next to the obvious pray, yeah, we're just going to share 609 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:58,840 what Connie did, and that was live out her faith and be 610 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:06,560 faithful to the Lord and just not bending for anything when 611 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:10,760 Connie's conviction is what really led me to really dig 612 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,600 deeper. She was really infatuated with 613 00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:17,560 Jesus and we weren't married, but we were still doing married 614 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,600 people stuff. And she did it because she loved 615 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,680 me, but she would repent right after. 616 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:28,640 And that killed me, you know. So her living out her faith was 617 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,520 a really big push for me. So I would just encourage 618 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:36,760 anybody, what man or woman, to just continue to live out your 619 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,680 faith and don't stop praying. I love that man. 620 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:42,120 Yeah. And that's something I've 621 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,880 learned too, is like it's the Holy Spirit that changes the 622 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:47,080 heart. So it's right, you know, our, 623 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,400 our role is to, to share the gospel, live it out, love 624 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:53,840 people, you know, follow the ways of Christ. 625 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:56,400 But it's only him that could do it. 626 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:57,640 You can't. That's right. 627 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,280 And once you realize that, and there's a weight that's lifted. 628 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:03,040 Yeah, life's a little bit. It's a little easy. 629 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,080 Less frustrating, That's right. Man, that's awesome, brother. 630 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,199 Man, any last words before we shut this thing down? 631 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:14,159 Man, just glad to be here, honestly, about part of City 632 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:15,920 Post. I know I've mentioned to you 633 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,159 before, God has put a calling on my life and I'm able to serve 634 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:22,760 here at City Post with no theological decree and just a 635 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,560 truck driver who has a lot of time to sit and read the word, 636 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,560 you know? But I love what City Post is 637 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:32,600 doing, and I'm just very, very honored and blessed to be a part 638 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,199 of that stuff. Man, that's great, dude. 639 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,600 And I will say, I mean, I have a degree and I still don't know. 640 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:39,080 So it's all right, man. That's awesome. 641 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:41,280 Hey, guys. So thank you, Juan, for hanging 642 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:43,520 out with us, and we'll see you around. 643 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:44,440 Yeah.