Welcome to the official podcast of Rock Hill Baptist Church 2
where we are focused on glorifying God, spreading the
gospel, and making disciples of Jesus Christ right here in the
heart of Greenville, SC. Each week we bring you a life
changing word from our Senior Pastor, Pastor Matthew D Long
Junior, or one of our anointed guest speakers.
We pray this message strengthens your faith, deepens your
understanding, and empowers you to elevate in every area of your
life. Let's join the service already
in progress. Fathered in a sense hundreds of
of youth around the country and still do.
I mean, I say, father, I use it from the definition I've given
to you before of establishing patterns that they, they
literally produce a certain type of individual, not just in
Greenville, SC, but literally across this country.
And they have tapped into a blueprint that is relevant, that
is necessary for the 21st century.
So, if you don't mind, can you give a rousing applause for Mr.
Alfius Anderson as he comes in Graces today?
Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir.
So I hope you got your Bible because I've got Bible for you
all day, all day long. But I, I found that sometimes
you read Scripture and we mess it up.
I mean read it like Tang. Is that really what it says?
Is that what I make it say? And recently I was in
Ecclesiastes chapter 6 and I ran across something that really,
really, really, really changed my perspective.
Matter of fact, read it with me. I want you to read this
Ecclesiastes chapter 6, and let's see, I can do that.
You got your bow. OK, let's do verse number.
How about verse #4? I think that's what I want.
That's it. I'm, I'm sorry, Ephesians,
that's Ecclesiastes. Ephesians chapter 6.
Is it not looking familiar to you?
OK, so as a kid, this this script used to I mean, you let
me do something wrong and and then get that Bible out.
That's my dad. You know, let's preach.
I'm 4th generation PK and he will say, come on, read the
Bible. And so before he be with me
because it is Father's Day, I'm going to tell the Business Today
who I'm going to tell it. He he would he would make me
read the word. I said you will get this word,
but you get your butt cut. Read it verse for children.
Obey your parents in the is that what your Bible say?
Thank you, mother Spurgeous. Oh yeah, uh huh.
Obey your parents in the Lord Colon for this is right and that
we right we together we on the OK verse 2 honor thy father
mother, which is the first commandment with promise three
that it may be well with thee you and so that you can have
long life on the earth. I'm on the edge of my seat like
oh Lord, I'm about to come back get cut today.
Verse 4 is not where we ever went to.
We stopped at verse 3. Verse 4 says and ye fathers,
provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Check this out. It's crazy as I was just just
doing a little work, a little work.
I was looking up that the Greek for this and when you read
Ephesians chapter 6 verse 4 says and you Father's provoke not
your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition Lord, that that phrase provoked to wrath is one
word. It's not 3 words.
It is one word. Matter of fact, I'm gonna help
you speak in tongues today. That word is pangizio.
Help me out. Say I'm sorry.
Paragizio, paragizio. Say it again.
Paragizio, Paragizio, paragizio paragizio paragizio.
Paragizio. Paragizio is comes from 2 words.
The 1st word of the root word is para.
Para is a preposition which means from, of, AT, by, besides,
near. And then the second root of the
second-half of that word is or Giza or Giza which means to
provoke, to rouse, to anger. When you research this, it
really means to pull out from what's hidden.
So he says, fathers don't pull out.
What's hidden? Hidden anger.
Wow, look at your Bible then. It has some colons, Colon says.
We need to expound more on this. He says, but now y'all old
school? Who's in the room?
What does the mayor say? Old school?
Schoolhouse Rock, Right? Let us know.
Conjunction, Conjunction. What's your function?
Right, right that that butt says, ah, halt.
But bring them up in the nurture.
Nurturing is always synonymous with mothering, right in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord.
So let me give you the revelation as we get into this
conversation. Could it be that in giving a
pattern to sons, sons gender neutral, male and female to
children, that is the responsibility of the father?
Not to draw out the anger, but to then instead nurture them and
to put them in an environment where they are surrounded by
only the presence of the Lord. Totally different spin on that
tax. Totally different.
So all my life, always known as that Daddy may not make that son
mad. Don't don't make your child
angry. But statistically, we have a
generation full of angry kids. Oh, I don't like your mouth.
It's it's too clap too close for me.
You got to talk to me that that we've got mad and angry kids.
And could it be because we've misinterpreted the scripture and
we thought that I just was supposed to make you mad?
But really the the text is saying don't constantly pull out
the anger that's in the child. So how do I not do that?
That's why we're here. We do that and how we move the
child. Everybody say the mind, the mind
one more time. Say the mind third time.
Come on, say the mind, the mind, the mind, the mind.
That's that's that's what God's come to save.
He's coming to save our soul. Our soul is harbored in the mind
and the mind let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ
Jesus. The mind, the mind.
The issue is what happens to the mind?
What happens to the mind? We're talking about fathers,
fatherhood, oftentimes we, and again, this is no, no ripe over
wash over, but we talk about poor examples, poor moments, and
it could be because we just don't simply understand the
mind. I got a word for you.
You ready? Thank you.
I appreciate you. It's adult ISM.
Write that one down adult and add ISM at the end.
Adult ISM. Adult ISM is something that I
have suffered with because I said as a kid I can't wait to be
an adult because when I'm an adult, I'm going to be the one.
When I'm the adult. Ain't nobody going to tell me
when I'm the adult. And the truth is, I became that
adult. I'm going to be very honest.
Let me give it to you in a second and be very honest.
In my work as the director of education, Youth Services, it
has caused me to confront a lot of errors in my thought process,
in my mind, because I thought, because I was the adult, because
the authority rested in me, did that mean I was the end all be
all? Praise the Lord, because at the
end of the day, before anybody else get a charge, a call,
responsibility, it's always the man.
It's stuck. It stops with the buck, stops
with us. Been taught that all my life.
Man up right, man up on the job, man up in your homes.
Well, I realized that that could have been that could have been
half correct as well. Adultism.
What is that? That's a good question.
Adultism is when you have a prejudice against a younger
person. Let me use another another word
for that, because those big words, it is when you you say,
you demonstrate. You enact only what you think
and approve to be correct and true Adultism.
All right, somebody said, this still ain't hitting me.
It's OK. Have you ever heard a child say,
why Mama? Why daddy?
And there's a famous response. It's a part of the adult package
you get you get in the flash card and when you need it, you
know, you just you just go back and you say because I said so.
If it feel good being able to say that too, I ain't going to
lie. I ain't got to explain because I
said so. That's adultism.
I know I can't prepare to slay a couple devils.
I did. I knew it was going to be here.
It's adultism. That is when you remove the
voice of a younger individual, the voice that comes from a
heart and a mind that is in development.
So a lot of times kids are asking questions and we refer to
adult ISM or we go into the adult ISM because we don't want
to deal with it. What does it do?
It provokes children to anchor. Oh, that's, that is that's
tough. Go back and listen to this
again. Feast on this again.
Because all those moments I was, you know, because I said because
I did, I was wrong. Check this out.
The brain the brain. The brain of a 2 year old has
twice as many synapses as an adult.
It is constantly living in this emotional state.
You love it, but eventually you get a little tired of him.
Y'all tight on me? I don't know what it take Deacon
has this heat must must be getting you.
It's it's the emotional response that sometimes messes with our
adult ISM not realizing that that 2 year old, that child,
that baby is communicating. Check this out according to its
brain development. Let's go a little bit.
Let's get a little older. All right you, you, you have a
an 8 year old 7 year old right. Each I figure out who keep
eating Oh my candy, who keeps messing with the little Debbie's
who is sneaking into my Eminem power right Yeah Oh, I'm sorry.
I almost got some different kids.
Well, the the brain of of that 7-8 year old has not just only
been steeped in emotionalism as we would say, but the part of
the brain now realized that it wants instant satisfaction and
it is living its life off of dopamine.
Do it get get the reward of happiness that you want.
And they are at the stage, but they just want to be happy.
If it's going to make them happy, they're going to do it.
At this stage, they've got the back of their brain from that
brain stem to another part on the side that's developing.
But you know what is not fully developed?
That prefrontal frontal lobe, that that part that helps decide
what to do or not to do. And you know what the issue is?
What you say, I didn't hear you, what you say, talk loud to me,
decision making. So the issue becomes you have
your 57 year old brain and you're trying to take your 57
year old brain and and conditioned it to a 8 year old
brain and it doesn't match adultism.
And what happens? We provoke them to anger because
then instead of talking, get out.
God, if you don't get up by my camera.
It's happened to all of us. All right, let me let me get to
my last one and I'm gonna hand it over for real. 1314151617
comes that brains been steeped in emotions.
It's been chasing reward, but now a third part of that brain
really starts developing and this part of the brain has
advanced emotions in and out, inside out.
I think it's inside out one. And two, if you've never seen
those movies, great movies to watch to really understand
what's happening in your child's brain.
It's at this moment that child now is not just chasing a high,
that child is also chasing risk that the part of the brain that
says we can do it is always on 100.
So these emotions go from extremely high to extremely low
and our 37 year old brain is trying to rationalize the risk,
the reward and we suck at the recovery.
So what do we do? Provoke them to anger.
And we got we got young kings man at the house who's going
through all these changes, all these changes.
There's a there's research out there that says children between
zero to 15 or 16, I believe, are processing based upon your face
how and what to do. But 40% of the time they
misunderstand what your face is saying to ain't that something
they hear you say one thing. And their brain is trying to
process with their eyes what they see on your face.
So no, was this really good? It's really bad.
Are they happy? Are they sad?
And the whole time they have big emotions on the inside.
So I'm going to give my last point and we will really get to
this conversation. What do you do?
What you do is you have conversations.
One, one thing that we have struggled with is talking and,
and I, I know you won't, you won't beat the hell out of them.
So all you have is heaven left. That's what my dad would say.
But I would suggest that you would take the time to really
get into their actual brain because that developing brain is
trying to figure out what to do. So you got to help them talk out
what is the thing to do or not to do.
Why did they do it? We struggle with that.
If you can do that, I promise you your child would be a
millionaire. Because the things most children
struggle with is computing and then giving the analytics, the
data, the, the rationale or what they were computing in their
brain. For that reason, I got to tap
into the blueprint, the, the, the guru, the strategist of how
in the world do you get all of these kids who are in all these
different phases of their, their, their brain development
and they follow you. How do you do it?
First of all, you can't just ask me that question.
And then 3 minutes ago you just unloaded what you just unloaded.
That was a lot, right? That was a lot because there was
a lot of deductions that now I have some, some bombs going off
in my head because I was that little 8 year old saying why
mommy, why? And so I'm, I'm 43 now and I'm
still saying, why Anybody like me still saying, why?
Like, why do we have this? Why did, why did you do that?
I know many of you guys are saying, why do we have this
president And all God's people said, all right, I know, I know
people just asking God why and it's OK, Everybody says, OK, but
but Pastor, if I may back up, just rewind a little bit.
You said something that I'm dealing with because there's a
scripture that says hope deferred or a dream deferred
makes the heart sick. Hope deferred.
So when I see hope or a dream, anybody have a dream in the
room? Raise your hand.
You know, we're, we're, you know, young and old and so it
hasn't happened yet. Raise your hand.
So that's like a question mark. So what you just said is
interesting. I've never heard it lifted that
way. When we leave students with the
question mark rocking, walking around with the question mark,
we provoke them to anger. And immediately the scripture
came to mind. Is hope deferred makes the heart
sick or perhaps what you just lifted.
So we need to answer the question somebody say answer
the. Questions.
Answer the questions. The hard question, everybody say
answer the questions. Answer the questions.
And perhaps you get rid of the anger.
OK, perhaps. How do I get kids to?
So I'm still dealing with that. I may talk about that for the
rest of the week. Just notice when you just just
know when you leave a kid, when a kid leaves your presence with
a question mark, perhaps they are going to be angry because
perhaps they may not trust me or trust you because you supposed
to be an adult and you don't have answers.
I'm 6 and you 60. You ain't got a better answer
than that. So they're probably going to
pick up their device and find an answer that's different than
what you would like for them to have in their thinking or in
their mind, in their spirit, in their heart or in their levolve,
not the physical heart, levolve, metaphysical heart.
So just one more time, I just want to lift this up.
Everybody say get answered, get answered.
I mean, I mean, the Bible even encourage us as Christians.
All the Christians in the house make some noise.
All right, yes. So I got my fan too because I'm
I ate good this week. So I get hot when I eat good.
So I know we're fanning. So I just wanted to wake us up.
The Bible even encourages Christians, even if you don't
know all of the details, it says to be ready to give an answer
for the hope that's in you. That's right, a defense and
answer so y'all get answers. What was the question again?
How have you, How have you garnered and gathered all these
youth that follow you as they're going through these
developmental stages? First of all, I do feel like I'm
I'm corny and I may look hip. I don't know if I, if you think
I look hip, I don't listen to hip hop, you know, I don't.
I mean, I grill out, I play golf.
But I think the biggest thing is to be organic.
Organic students can spot a fake, you can fake it on your
face, but they, they, they know that behind that, whatever
you're giving off, it's something deeper that's not
real, Amen. They know when it's an you're
only there for a photo op Amen. And so just be organic.
I mean that if there's more, but one, be consistent.
If I say consistent or consistently organic because the
Bible says Jesus is the same when yesterday, today and what
that sounds like consistency to me and because he's consistent.
Guess what we are what attracted to to him.
Jesus is attractive. God is attractive because he's
what he don't flip on on you like your friends.
Amen. He's not finicky Amen and so if
you are consistent, it's attractive.
Pastor is consistent. OK, I think I'm going to
continue to go to the church he leads.
Mr. Alphaeus is always bringing food at rehearsals, like always.
If it's two kids or if it's fifty kids, he's always bringing
food. That's what that's being
consistent. Amen.
Wow. Amen.
So you said be organic,
consistent, just put it together and be consistently organic.
Consistently organic. That consistently organic
methodology has allowed you to I guess I get in trouble.
It's, it's my church anyways that the Lord's given me.
It's it's allowed you to have more youth than most churches
right now. How many, how many youth in pure
in heart, Pure in heart ensemble, USC Upstate Give us,
give us the stats, give us the stats.
I, I would say so if you, if you're not aware, my wife and I,
my wife is here, right here to my right, almost 20 years, clap
your hands for it right here in the yellow.
And so we've been blessed to start a community youth choir.
I am not a pastor, Amen. And we don't have a, our
organization, we don't have a physical building, we don't
have, we don't have tithes coming in every week, Amen.
We have whoever wants to volunteer and help us out.
We're at the mercy of, of, of and it's a good place to be with
the mercy of God's favor and, and, and how he provides for our
vision, Amen. So it is, it is, it's, even
though it's a community organization, a community choir,
it is definitely harder in my opinion, because a church, we
have a, a building, Amen. We have a nice building, we have
TV's everywhere, Amen. In this church, I'm sitting
behind, in front of four TV's. We have a location, we have
givers, we have bodies, Amen. And So what we've been favored
to do is nothing but a miracle, I'm telling you.
But at our our greatest, we had 402 students in one place at one
time. A part of our situation, 402.
Imagine 402 people in your house or in this church right now.
We're putting out chairs, Amen, Amen.
So you that is definitely glamorous, but that's also
liability, Amen. That's also management, Amen.
That's, I mean, and so it is a choir, but what we started is
more than a choir. And we've, we've transitioned
to, to more than just getting students together to sing.
And even in the in the past couple of years, we started a
foundation where we want to do where we've already started to
do cohorts. So we've left the 402 now for 12
because remember what know what Jesus did with the 12 disciples
changed the whole world. Well, how many?
Not 402. How many 12?
Look at somebody say quality. Quality over quantity.
My 11th year USC Upstate, who is now a stellar award nominated
choir. Yep.
And so I'm working with your students and I'm working with
with with freshman in college. So I have to code switch.
So I am definitely consistently or and I'm organic, but I do
meet them where they are. I do something write this down
called OTL. Everybody say OTL, which means I
get on their level. Amen.
I'm 43, how am I able to get do OTL with the six year old I have
to get on their level. Amen.
On their level. Say it.
You know, I'm a musician. Say it on their level, on their
level. And what you lifted is
phenomenal because the prefront frontal cortex is still
developing and and so I'll yield to you.
So when you say on the level, I think you're directly in the
text. And then Ephesians 6 and four
says, Fathers, provoke not your children's of wrath, but bring
them up in the nurture on their level, on their level and
ammunition of the Lord. So you say you get on their
level. What else do you do?
Because these knees get tired. Yep.
It's back. I'm going to give out sometimes
food costs a whole lot of money. That's what Adult ISM says.
Prays a lot. Adults say how?
How do we continue to mold and make that that child, that team,
that young adult, what? Was the question.
Now I'm just kidding and buy you some time.
I mean, obviously you, you, I have my giftings.
I have my genius. I'm I'm, I'm ADD.
I'm anointed, dangerous and discipline.
Get the T-shirt. I got them in the car.
ADDT shirts. Anybody else anointed, dangerous
and discipline. I'm ADD.
Amen. And so, you know, I have my
genius. And so Jethro told Moses to
delegate. If I said delegate, delegate,
you cannot I can't do it all. My wife and I, we can't do it
all. Amen.
And so we delegate, we outsource, we partner and we get
help because the Bible says 1 can do what chase 1000 Come on,
I know y'all, y'all you guys know the Bible here one can do
what chase 1001 can sit loud one the Bible says 1 can chase 1000.
Now you doing something to me, if you, if you, if you're
managing or you're impacting 1000 people, you're doing
something to me. I think that's worth the
handclap. Amen.
I mean, I mean, we can't ignore that, but it said two can do
what the Bible actually says 1 chases, 2 puts.
It's a difference between chasing and putting.
It seems like with more people you're more in control chasing
seems like you're not in control If I'm chasing you ever chase a
little kid around the around the around the room who's in
control? You think you ain't you pay the
bills, but you chasing 2 year old, you ain't in control.
But you ever see a daddy say and then he go over there didn't say
nothing. He just pointed that's you ain't
control. That's pudding.
One can chase, you're not in control.
But two, you're more in control. I get help, pastor.
We get help. You got to get help.
That's so good. And I say that because the
culture we live in makes us think that we have to do it by
ourselves, right? So I'm the single parent where
the single family is just our church, right?
Since she ended plummeted plug. So he's an author.
Is this the second book or the first one?
2nd? That's the second book.
The latest? The newest, the newest.
One the new car smellish. No, no youth, no church
solutions, right. And and the first book when we
had a meeting and you tell me, have you read the book and you
give all these things to do go and find out this person, that
person, this business, this organization, 30 mile radius all
around you. Do they know you?
Do they you know they know you, you know them.
But then you start talking about building out the team and give
all these solutions that are good for a church to build a
youth group, but also for really a parent or a church in itself
to just build the youth that you need partnership.
But in the partnership, everyone has a specific job in the
partnership that I first of all, thank you.
I needed some help that I can't just bring you on the team
without giving you an assignment.
Talk, talk more about that. Talk more about that.
I mean, statistics, studies say, I mean, a kid does better with a
mom and a dad. Amen.
Yeah, it does does better, not
impossible, no condemnation. Life happens.
People are still even adults are still under construction.
Amen. But you, you, you know, even but
but then disclaimer, you can have mommy and daddy and you can
still have a student or a kid. That's you know, you know what
I'm trying to say. Hey, man, but but definitely so
that speaks to roles. That speaks to genius, your
genius. It speaks to putting people in
the right place to get it done. Amen.
And knowing the Bible says, know those who what labor, labor
among you? Look at somebody say, do you
know me? Do you know me?
This church is a wonderful church in a great location, one
of the most coveted zip codes in up in the upstate.
You guys are listen, you guys are going somewhere.
I thought somebody was going to clap.
You guys are already somewhere. You guys are going to do
something great. Come on, y'all should clap for
you. I am I'm giving you all props.
Y'all, y'all got it going on. You're doing better than you
think you are. I said you doing better than you
What I said you doing better than you what the right seat.
We have our genius. You have your genius and it's
putting all of that together. I want to say so much, but
there's something called TYM. Let me lift this real quick.
It's Tandem youth ministry. Everybody say TYM, Tandem youth
ministry, Tandem youth ministry. You guys have the location, you
have the location. Another church down the street,
they have the money, they have the bag.
Another church down the street, they have the students, but they
don't have the location and they don't have the bag.
Imagine if we all come together to reach the next generation.
What a time. I'm a musician.
Don't make me get on that organ. What a time, what a time, what a
time, TYM, Who cares who gets the credit?
Everybody said who cares who gets the credit?
There's students that are struggling.
They are in a burning building and it is on fire, I'm telling
you, and it's about to come down.
We got to get them out of the burning building before it comes
down. We don't want to read the
newspaper no more. Anymore with suicide, fight,
shooting, Amen. We can stop this.
We can intercept this. That's right, Drop the ego and
save a life. Get the song, Drop the ego and
save the save a life. Amen, Amen, Amen.
That's why we don't partner pastor, because we want all the
credit. We don't want nobody else to
join us because we want all the credit, Amen, But not this
church, Amen. We're going to lead the way,
Amen. We're leading the way, leading
the way. So so he he didn't ask me to say
this. So you guys trust what your
pastor is doing with these partnerships in these
out-of-the-box things to reach the community, Amen, Amen.
We can, we can, we can, we can have trends.
Say this with me everybody say trends that don't that.
Don't. Bend, a lot of trends are going
to come from this man, man of God.
But you can trendy and not bendy, not bendy because it's
all about the word Amen. But trends for sure.
Trends that don't bend right. And I appreciate all that you
say. How many stellar awards you
have? 2.
Hold on. Put it to me.
Put put, put. We, we, we have two.
Yes, we have two. Amen.
We have two stellar awards, Stellar awards.
I I used to do radio. I did radio for a number of
years. I don't know if you remember
those, those things back in bed, Gospel bat radio.
Sean, man, you all all of that. Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, something Spartanburg. Street and now we're doing
podcast. Now we don't.
Podcast this is this is next level.
Stellar wards I know small accomplishments of course
immediately you said we and that we is inclusive course of your
life. Honest to God, truth is is real.
I should have her up here as well.
I don't know because it's Father's Day.
I just asked you to come up here because you move as one.
Mother's Day was last month is our time.
They travel together like the the, the vlog, all of it's
beautiful. Love it.
We and then also our team, you know, I could, I could, I could
name the Miss Rita's, I could name the Miss Kathy's, the Josh,
the, the incredible musicians because normally kids choirs
don't have the best music. But we, we, we got a, we got a
nice band at times in production.
And so, so when I say we, it is, it's a lot of us.
It's a lot of us. I said that because I wanted you
to really dig into that. The accomplishment that we're
trying to chase for building our children has a lot of people
that standing behind, pushing, putting together.
And when you start looking at the list of who's in the life of
your child, who's in the life of your youth ministry, I think it
requires some mind mapping, mind mappings take idea and you start
just breaking it all the way down.
This is connected to this, this is connected to this and it
yields this. It's going to produce this that
if if I want my child to be you ready more than that NFL star,
more than an NBA player, which they already have slow chance,
slow, slow odds of being. But I but I want them to be that
narrow side scientist, the music producer that I've got to map
out the team. That's what you're saying and
mapping out the team means being involved in my church because
being involved in my church means that community.
Then it's filled with other key components and players so that
my my child isn't just always provoked to wrath, but they're
brought up in the admonition of the Lord, the Lord's plan.
I'd use some other words to talk about the the Spirit of the
Lord, but now what's about the plan of the Lord?
Because that mind's got to eventually have the mind of
Christ. This is my last deep and
revelatory point, and I'm going to let you have all the good
stuff for real. Is that the mind of Christ is so
complex. Everything you see came out the
mind of God. I want you to look around real
quick. Everything you see is a thought,
even yourself is a thought. Amen.
That that is avowed in and of itself to me.
It's a thought that God that gives to me and you to help
unlock each other so that we can expand the thought of God.
They're not going to go there so that we can create, be an
accomplished seller. Awards, Grammys, countless
awards as I close for real what? What do I do when I feel like I
don't know where to start? As the parent, as the church?
How do I get started? Because I've got I got this
child in development or from this church.
I have no youth. Where's my starting point?
Again, 20 seconds ago he just dropped the bomb.
Did y'all just hear that? He said we are here because of a
thought. Amen.
Everybody look around real quick.
I don't want to get in trouble. I want to answer that question
but I have books. I have books for those questions
and so everybody goes home today with a book.
Of course it cost, but you just said, I mean, you just looked at
something about that that is very important.
Did you guys know that this month is men's health month?
It's it's mental health month. Amen.
Everybody say mental health, mental health and, and again, I
know we're doing this a lot today, but look at somebody.
I think this is a secret to really, really changing the
world. We got to pay attention to each
other. And so perhaps if we if, if it's
just not routine and just we're just doing it out of tradition.
When you look at somebody in church, really look at them.
Hey, man, mental health, because mental health is you can't touch
it. I mean, you see what I'm
wearing. I hope I did OK for you guys.
Am I did All right? You know, you can, you can.
How did I do, fellas? How did I do?
Young men? Did I I'm OK.
I usually wear a hat. You can see that you can feel
this, But mental health is metaphysical.
Amen. And so look at somebody say, are
you OK? You know, I mean, if it's a fake
smile, say we need to talk after service.
We're going to, we're going to, we're going to, we're going to a
restaurant, we're going to talk. We're going to figure out what's
going on in your head and you and you're lifting thoughts and
you're lifting how God uses words, which are metaphysical
and words have power, which you just lifted.
And so just take a, just take just 20 seconds in and speak
something in the atmosphere and change the atmosphere, change
your spirit. Go to somebody and say
something. If you want to say something,
you don't even have to give them a $20 bill.
You could give them something that they can't feel, but they
can feel. Come on, do it right now.
Change your atmosphere, change your spirit.
Change this church. Change the trajectory of this
church in the next 20 seconds. Come on, lift up something in
the atmosphere with words. I will be successful.
I am going to live my best life the rest of my days.
I am going to make it. I am going to pay my bills.
I am going to graduate. I am not crazy.
I am going to have peace. Come on, say it. close mouth.
Don't get fed. Say it.
Say something. If you don't know what to say,
turn it into a praise. Give God praise, worship words.
I'm here for you. Yes, I'm here for you.
Come on, lift it up. Look at a family member and say,
I got your back. And you just may.
Look at the smile that comes on their face.
Look at somebody say I got your back, I got your back.
Look how this room is changing. Hope deferred makes the heart
sick. But words, prayer words is
metaphysical. It can really, really change a
thought. I mean, you're saying thought.
That's why Jesus wants us to think you started this.
There's a scripture that's that Jesus said, and I'll end with
this because it's Father's Day. Jesus said in Matthew, knowing
their thoughts, He said why? If I say why?
Jesus said knowing their thoughts, He was he was talking
about a group of people. He knew their thoughts.
Everybody say God knows everybody say God.
I think it's in Matthew 94, Matthew Chapter 9 verse 4.
Knowing their thoughts, He said, why?
Everybody say why when Jesus asked a question, is he asking
that question for us or for him? Well, Mama, say who?
Who made this mess? And it's only you and Mama who
is she asking that question for? Jesus said, why do you entertain
evil thoughts in your in your heart?
Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your heart?
There's like a head thinking and there's a heart thinking.
If you think about something negative too much, it eventually
settle in your heart. So what I really wanted to end
with is Jesus wants us to think about our thinking.
Speaking of prefrontal cortex, Matthew 9/4 is medic.
Write this down. Metacognition.
Metacognition is basically thinking about your thinking.
Very simple, not deep. It's putting your own thoughts
under a surveillance camera and playing it back like you got the
Ring camera. You say, oh, what you're doing
at my house. You ever had to do that, talk to
someone on your Ring camera. But you, you looked at, you
looked at what was on the what think about your thinking.
Play it back. Why do you entertain evil
thoughts in your heart? Let's think more, Amen.
The mind of Christ, the mind of think, think, think, think,
think. So if you want to know how to
transform your youth ministry, get get the book Call Me and go
to the website, our YouTube channel.
But in this church, your pastor, he has a vision, Amen.
Amen. Without a vision, my people do
it. Parish or cast off restraints is
1 translation. Parish or cast off restraints.
Man, I'm I'm enjoying this time with you.
I've enjoyed this time with you. I don't know if that's my
clothes or I'm yielding to you, but.
Thank you. And it actually went exactly
where I I was hoping to go last year.
I was on a on a men's panel, but a lot of great leaders from our
our region and I'm in the closing words was Pastor Dogan
pastor shot the great Pastor Sean Duncan of the Long Branch
Baptist Church and he says pass along.
He says says our boys and our men need to think more.
And that has been sitting with me for the past year that we
are, we've got to continue to develop our brains and get out
of that that teenage mind as adults, as adults and to think,
think it all the way through. So as I close, please don't call
your child a king. And they're not a king.
Don't, don't give them a label before they've earned it.
Don't give them a title. Titles come with responsibility.
And when you call them the man of the house and there's still a
boy, not gonna be the girl, she's the Princess, not the
queen. Because there's there's
responsibility with being a queen.
I don't know if you've ever played chess, but the most
powerful piece on on the chess board is not the king, it's the
queen. The most coveted piece on the
chess board is the king. It's a difference.
Everybody wants to be coveted as the king, but they don't
understand the responsibility of the queen.
So before they become all those things, allow them to go through
the process. We're going to make mistakes as
adults, as pastors, as leaders, as community leaders.
We're going to make mistakes, but we got to own them quickly.
We can't. We can't just kind of like put
underneath the rug. We got to be honest with our
kids. I messed up.
My consequence was wrong. The way I attacked it was wrong.
That's the only way we're going to, and I don't want to use that
word save, but help develop our next generation because youth
voice is important. I'm going to leave with that.
Your child's voice is important. It's our responsibility as a
collective to help shape the volume, the tenor, the tone of
the voice. But the voice is important
because God has charged us to shoot them as arrows.
There are arrows again, thank you so much.
I, I, I can't say this enough how much I Revere the innocence
altogether that our, our city does not.
I'm sorry our region does not send and give you guys enough
honor because of the pioneering work that you do, literally that
you guys forge pathways, countless churches.
You guys are working with countless churches that that you
took from from zero and five to 25 to 50 youth and that's 50
youth becomes a strong church, eventually becomes a strong
community. It makes our world better, and I
am indebted greatly to your family for the gift that you are
not just to me as an individual, to our church.
You've been in our church so many times.
Nobody knew you were here. Thank you.
Thank you one more time. Can you guys put your hands
together? Thank you for tuning in to the
Rock Hill Baptist Church 2 Podcast.
We pray today's message planted something in your spirit and
gave you the strength to keep growing here at the Rock Hill
Baptist Church 2. We're a growing church, and
growth starts with one step. If you're ready to go deeper,
visit us online at www.myrockhill2.org and click
Next Steps to get connected, join a ministry, or give your
life to Christ. Be sure to follow the podcast so
you never miss a message and share this episode with someone
you know is ready to grow too. And remember, no matter what
comes your way, you were built to elevate.
Until next time, walk in purpose, live in power, and grow
in grace.