Ep. 218 - Authentic Evangelism
Welcome to this episode of Tell Me More. We have another exclusive all ladies of First Baptist, but this time, it's our younger, newer staff members. We have Jalen Harris and Tatum Scully, and they talk about their life, their calling, life at First Baptist, and what it's like to minister to their generation. So really fun conversation, and we're glad you're listening. Okay.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the podcast. I don't know when Addison will decide this starts, but definitely by this point. Because we have been silly and serious, and here we are. So if you're watching, you realize it's different. If you're listening, then I'm about to blow your mind.
Speaker 1:We have two of our youngest female staff and newest to the to the church with us today. Doctor Walls and Cindy here in Canada, and so with me today, I have our first and inaugural and pioneering guinea pig of a resident, Jalen Harris.
Speaker 2:Yes. Super excited to be here.
Speaker 1:I should get you to it out the way. Jalen is also, I think, our top podcast fan.
Speaker 2:I was. I was. You know, I live far and so there's a lot of time driving in a car. Uh-huh. And so this podcast passed so many hours in my little Buick on the way to the local
Speaker 1:Blue Canyonhandle. So y'all might not know her but she knows us.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yes. Don't you love it? And we're gonna talk more about where you're from and why you drive far to go home. And then to my right is Tatum Scully, who is our new ish college associate.
Speaker 3:Yes. Hi, Tatum.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Tatum is also my mentee.
Speaker 3:It's true. I'm very blessed.
Speaker 1:Likewise. Thank you. But that means that we meet for coffee every Thursday morning Mhmm. And talk about whatever we need to talk about. Pray together, all that.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. It's fun for me. I'm glad to for hear me. Yeah? Is it mutual?
Speaker 1:Yes. Is. I brought you here to ask you if you like me. I'm just kidding. I do.
Speaker 1:I do. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3:It's been a blessing as the semester
Speaker 1:has been. Think it's mutually beneficial. Yeah. I like it a lot. I think it's valuable.
Speaker 1:Everyone should be mentoring someone and be mentored by someone. Okay, with that, I'm pretty excited about this. We wanted to be in here together for a bit but we had to kind of, you know, look at the calendar and with Oza preaching yesterday, which we'll definitely talk about, and Doctor. Wells gone today in Toronto, at least I think he's starting in Toronto and maybe ending in Montreal. They go to both places.
Speaker 1:He, Cindy, and then Peggy Coolitz, who's the vice chair of our missions committee, our GCC. They're all out there working with our partners. There's a leadership meeting, training, exposure thing, so very cool. Glad for it. But he ain't here and we took over.
Speaker 1:So, Jaylen, you wanna... Let's go with you first. Tell us tell us about you. Okay. Who are you?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm Jaylen. Okay. I grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle in a really, really small, not even technically a town, it's considered a village.
Speaker 1:A village? Village, yeah. Okay. Tell me about the village. How many people?
Speaker 2:So the best way I
Speaker 1:know how to describe
Speaker 2:it was I graduated with 18.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And at that point, we're the biggest class on campus, so it was a big deal.
Speaker 1:Wow. So teachers... And this is public school? This is public school.
Speaker 2:Okay. So teachers had enough desks for our class. And when we graduated, they're all like, yes. We can get rid of desks.
Speaker 1:Yes. You're you're the largest one. That totally makes sense.
Speaker 2:I love that. I think the year behind me was maybe ten or 12. So super, super
Speaker 1:small.... Was the town or the village?
Speaker 2:I don't know. Okay. I don't have a population. Alright. Small.
Speaker 2:It's very, very small.
Speaker 1:Did it have a... Stoplight. Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes. Okay.
Speaker 1:We did
Speaker 2:have a stoplight where two major highways intersect. Okay.
Speaker 3:Did you have a Walmart? Did you have
Speaker 1:a Walmart?
Speaker 2:The closest one was actually in Kansas and it was...
Speaker 1:Stop. Is that what's above the Oklahoma Panhandle? Had I asked you that, would you have known that? What do you... Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's... Well, I know Texas is below the Oklahoma Panhandle. Right. But had I said, Tatum, what's above it?
Speaker 3:I didn't... I couldn't have guessed it.
Speaker 1:I'd be like maybe Colorado? Woah.
Speaker 3:I would have guessed... No. Colorado 's North of New Mexico.
Speaker 1:But I thought maybe it could be north of both. But it's Kansas. Okay. Yes. Did you learn something today?
Speaker 1:Yep. I did.
Speaker 2:Yep. Okay. So Okay. Wait a minute. Wait
Speaker 1:a Yeah. Well So For the second time.
Speaker 2:My dad is an educator Okay. For high school history in Texas. K. We lived in Oklahoma and my mom is an educational audiologist in the state of Kansas.
Speaker 1:My mind is blown. For Texans, you know, we're so... It's so big. We're used to... You live, work, play, and everyone you know lives, works, plays in Texas.
Speaker 1:How far of a drive was it for your dad? He went he went down to the... Is it pay more to work in Texas? Is that the simplest way to explain that?
Speaker 2:No. He just found a Okay. Yeah. Both of my parents were about forty five minutes for work.
Speaker 1:And you split the difference by living in your village? Yeah. Wow. Okay. Pause right there because I've got a lot more follow-up questions.
Speaker 1:We didn't even get to that much. But okay, Jada, where are you from?
Speaker 3:I am from San Antonio
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Texas. Uh-huh. Born and raised.
Speaker 1:Yes. And your parents work in San Antonio?
Speaker 3:It's true.
Speaker 1:Yeah. There it is.
Speaker 3:Yes. They both work in San Antonio currently.
Speaker 1:And you've lived there your whole life?
Speaker 3:Yes. Until I moved up here to UTA Arlington.
Speaker 1:To UTA. How long of a drive is that for you from San Antonio? Okay. Well, there's two options. The hill country?
Speaker 3:Right. If you go two eighty one, it's like at least five hours.
Speaker 1:Okay. But not pleasant sometimes.
Speaker 3:Sometimes.
Speaker 1:Okay. No.
Speaker 3:Yeah. The speed limit changes a lot. Yeah. Pay attention. If you go 35, it's like you're mostly driving 75 the whole time.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh. But it is miserable from my Right. My attestation. For hours and
Speaker 3:fifteen minutes or it could be seven hours.
Speaker 1:Has it been
Speaker 3:seven for you? I know someone and it took them seven hours to get from San Antonio to here because they went through Austin and Waco.
Speaker 1:And how long for you coming from Oklahoma Panhandle?
Speaker 2:About five and a half to six hours.
Speaker 1:So y'all both drove, let's say five plus Mhmm. To come to what I think of as mostly a regional state school. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:Yes. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Tell us that story.
Speaker 2:So there's a ministry that operates out of the DFW area called Glowing Heart, and they do Discible Now weekends. So it looks a lot like our wake up weekend did in the past.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And they came to my home church, and so I felt like the Lord was calling me to join them. And so I said, okay. And then I opened my computer, and I Googled schools in the DFW area, and UTA popped up, and I said, looks interesting. And then I realized that they had a social work program, and so I said, okay, I guess I will go there.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then I applied and then kind of all of the things that needed to happen after applying, like getting out of state waived and getting housing, all of that fell into place.
Speaker 3:And so I said,
Speaker 2:mom, dad, go into UTA. And they said, okay. I didn't do the classic touring a bunch of different colleges.
Speaker 1:Did you even come look at UTA?
Speaker 2:We did like a welcome...
Speaker 1:Like after you already got in? Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think so. I don't remember the timeline of how that all happened but I knew that I was supposed to do glowing heart for a few years and so I just kinda said, well, I guess I should also go to school.
Speaker 1:Glowing Heart was like the driving force?
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. There would have been no way
Speaker 1:I would have ended up
Speaker 2:at UTA or even here at First Baptist if it wasn't for the pool of Glowing Heart.
Speaker 1:You know, one of my first impressions of ministry was that the BSM at A and M came and did the DNOWs at the Baptist church next door to my Methodist church. And that is one of the reasons that I went and got involved in BSM when I got to a college campus. So I guess if you're thinking, does youth ministry matter? Are these these very formative experiences change your freaking life? Right?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Change the path. Yeah. Noted. Noted.
Speaker 1:Alright, Tatum. How'd you get here?
Speaker 3:I did do the regular applying to a bunch of schools touring. So I actually applied to eight schools.
Speaker 1:Eight? All in Texas?
Speaker 3:Yes. Actually, no. One was Belmont University in
Speaker 1:Nashville. In Nashville. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I was looking all over the place and I was like, how am I supposed to know where to go? So I did as any, middle class student might and I followed the money. So by the grace of God, I got a full scholarship to UTA.
Speaker 1:Love
Speaker 3:it. And that's why I came up here. There was a lot of prayer but that's definitely the way
Speaker 1:was But God opened the door. Yeah. To finance it for you which is a real blessing. Yeah. So...
Speaker 1:For sure. Okay. And what are you majoring in? You have not yet graduated? No.
Speaker 1:You're a next May graduate? Yes. This coming May?
Speaker 2:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Yet, Tatum, you're last May? You just graduated in May? Yes. Yes. Right?
Speaker 1:I did graduate in May. Okay. May have worded that weird. I take I take responsibility for that. You're a 2026 grad?
Speaker 1:Yes. You... Tatum, you will be a 2027 grad? Correct. So what's your major?
Speaker 1:What are you doing right now?
Speaker 3:I study advertising and English Okay. As a double major and I work for a church. And you work for
Speaker 1:a church. So what got you... Why advertising in English?
Speaker 3:Well, I actually wanted to be an engineer when I was in high school. Okay. And then I took calc two and I had a
Speaker 1:terrible So calculus one you're like, okay, I can do it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. For sure. I was like, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna be an engineer for ten years and then I'll be a teacher. That was my plan.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:A chemistry teacher. Okay. And then I took Calculus No on STEM for me.
Speaker 1:Really? Like I'm not out I
Speaker 2:actually enjoy.
Speaker 1:The opposite? Literature? Yes.
Speaker 3:Yes. So literature and advertising, I was like, you know what?
Speaker 2:If I do those,
Speaker 3:I'll probably never be out of a job because it's so broad and I could do anything. Mhmm. I could go to law school if I wanted. Not going to law school.
Speaker 1:But you thought about it.
Speaker 3:But yeah, I did.
Speaker 1:Okay. Okay.
Speaker 3:So that's what led to that double major and now I'm so far in. I just finished it.
Speaker 1:The anti... That you're anti STEM? Yes. That's what your college degree is?
Speaker 3:I appreciate those who are STEM like Jaylen.
Speaker 1:Jaylen, social work major? Okay. Wasn't your major social work?
Speaker 2:Yes. It was social work. So for a really long time, I thought my...
Speaker 1:I believe the s in STEM is not social work. Correct. Just for those listening.
Speaker 2:For a really long time, I believed that my degree was the science of social work.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I made a joke to our very actual STEM major engineer friends.
Speaker 1:This is an inside joke. Yeah. I'm and the inside I'm
Speaker 2:STEM major And they were like, no, you're not. And I was like, yeah, because it's the science
Speaker 1:of It's social the science of, you know,
Speaker 2:literature. Think it was like the bachelor's of science in social work.
Speaker 1:Then... Bachelor of science is a STEM degree. Yeah. Not true. No.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 2:And as I'm sitting
Speaker 1:Good morning.
Speaker 2:Watching graduation, I promptly realized, oh, it's just a bachelor's of social work. And I felt really silly but it's this running inside joke that I'm a STEM major. I'm not. I don't wanna do the math.
Speaker 1:How the science? How are you with math and science?
Speaker 2:I could do them if you really wanted me to but I don't really wanna do them.
Speaker 1:Was a great debate when I was college minister of whether nursing was a STEM degree.
Speaker 3:Yes. I say yes.
Speaker 1:Hot take. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Those nursing majors are so smart and doing a lot of science.
Speaker 1:I do think... I mean, if if not, then we're we're being a little bit, I don't know, too too narrow in our thinking perhaps. So I'll I'll let y'all decide. Tweet me your answer. Are you...
Speaker 1:Is nursing a STEM degree?
Speaker 2:Nursing is social work...
Speaker 1:Is a hot dog a sandwich. Know? So this is the level of unanswerable questions. Yeah. Okay.
Speaker 1:Very good. So you're you're using your social degree in the sense that it informs what you're doing here. Yes. But are... How'd you end up to be a resident?
Speaker 2:I knew that I was graduating college and I had a heart for missions or at least to work cross culturally, so in spaces where a bunch of cultures are gathering.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Okay.
Speaker 2:Didn't really know what that meant, I but knew that I was tired of school so I didn't wanna go straight to get my masters.
Speaker 1:I was
Speaker 2:like, I'm with this. Yeah. And so I just had a lot of conversations with Ashley of like, hey, I'm hungry. I don't know what's next. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And then she was like, hey, like, wait. I think we have something in the wings happening. We're gonna have this residency. I need you to wait as we figure out some of the background stuff before we can launch it, before you can fart... Start support raising.
Speaker 2:And so... Oh, I said, I'm all in. Right? I remember having a conversation with Ashley in the local home center and said, like, I'm here. Like, whatever we're doing, I'm game.
Speaker 1:Don't you love it? Don't you love it? I trust these people. I trust
Speaker 2:what we're doing. And so I will do it. I'll do whatever you, like, ask of me because I believe in what's going on. And so then it started launching and then I just started to jump in head first and I was like, oh, this is real. Okay.
Speaker 2:I'm here. Like, let's go.
Speaker 1:So we can blame Ashley Berryhill.
Speaker 2:Oh, a thousand We're taking
Speaker 1:brands with your life. A thousand... And aren't we grateful?
Speaker 2:Thank you, Ashley. And that started like my freshman year. She was my mentor for about I think a year, year and a half maybe. There's a theme. So...
Speaker 1:Maybe we should be mentoring someone.
Speaker 2:So all it started.
Speaker 1:I love it. And are you enjoying it?
Speaker 2:I am having a blast. It is so much fun.
Speaker 1:I know some of what you do. Yeah. I'm not sure I know all of what you do.
Speaker 2:I do a bunch of different things. So kind of the vision and heart of the global residency is for the first year to be shaped and formed and equipped. And then the second year Here with us.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Particularly.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then the second year to be launched internationally. And so I do a lot of hands on ministry. So I serve at the table helping greet and welcome. Sunday mornings, you can find me at the welcome desk on Center Street Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Or right, I guess, inside. Yep. Yeah. Connecting with guests, getting them plugged in. And then on Wednesday nights, I'm a part of the strategic discipleship group that talks a lot about what does it look like to strategically multiply
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And make more believers in church plant. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so, those are things that I do, and then I go on trips. So, like, I went to Montreal this past month on a learning tour, so learning some of the same things that doctor Wiles will be learning.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then here shortly, I'll be headed on another trip. Where are going? To Sierra Leone.
Speaker 1:You're going?
Speaker 2:I am. Exposure. Yes. So it's all about exposure and then discerning calling and so having a lot
Speaker 1:of... And we'll place you next year Mhmm. Somewhere. Yeah. Way to go to be humble and pioneering and you you only get to walk in the light that's right in front of you.
Speaker 1:That's all you get with this. Correct. It's just the nature of building something. Correct. How's that been for your spirit?
Speaker 2:It's been forming for sure. Mhmm. And it's been a lot of being like, okay, Lord. Like, you have me here. I don't know what this looks like.
Speaker 2:I don't know what's next, but I'm gonna be here and I'm gonna show up. Mhmm. And I think something I've learned through it is like how profoundly you start to recognize how loved you are by spending time in the word. Mhmm. And so, like, I go home.
Speaker 1:So how profoundly you feel how loved you are by spending time in God's word.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So like I go home and I'm just like, wow, I feel so loved. And as I'm thinking of this, it's not like the people that I'm around have changed drastically.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Right? Some of the same people are speaking in, but I just feel so loved because I'm realizing how people are loving me through Christ. And so that's been super sweet.
Speaker 1:You feel loved right now in So this loved. Yeah. Good to feel loved. It's so good. Yeah.
Speaker 1:May everyone feel loved. This is a It's so good. Answer. Okay. Tatum.
Speaker 3:Yes,
Speaker 1:ma'am. What attracted you to this job? And then I'm gonna talk about... Y'all are actually really good friends. Right?
Speaker 1:Okay. Yeah. We've kinda buried the lead there but we'll talk about that in a second. But, Tatum, what attracted you to this job? What made you even wanna apply?
Speaker 1:What's going on with you as far as journey?
Speaker 3:Yeah. The Lord has been whispering slowly, kind of like revealing what he might want to do with my life. So, if I didn't make it obvious enough when I was talking about my degree, I don't really wanna
Speaker 1:do advertising. Read something like, I'm too far in to ditch it now. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And, yeah. And that's okay because the Lord has me here at UTA in that major and with those people...
Speaker 1:And you'll take something from that
Speaker 3:with you. For sure.
Speaker 1:Definitely. Did not do a bible undergrad. I use I use what I got all the time.
Speaker 3:Yeah. There's a lot of things that I'm like, oh, this is oddly applicable to ministry. So those things are cool. But the Lord just kinda began revealing about a year ago, like, an interest in church planning after going on a mission trip with our college ministry to Denver. Exposure.
Speaker 3:Exposure. Yes. So then I was like, okay. What does that look like? So I was thinking I'm gonna do some sort of church planting, help a church plant in another part of the country and I need to figure out how I can like grow towards that.
Speaker 1:Then this job comes open.
Speaker 3:Exactly. Really like other summer plans that I had wanted like were were dashed and I wrestled with the Lord about that a little bit and then this job opened and I was like, oh. Perhaps. Your way is better.
Speaker 1:Perhaps. I got into Builds up trust, right? Builds trust. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Can't see it all but I'm gonna trust you. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's very similar to Jalen. Only what is in front of you.
Speaker 1:You only get to walk in what you got.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And that's scriptural,
Speaker 1:you know?
Speaker 3:He's the light unto our feet.
Speaker 2:Straight up.
Speaker 1:His word.
Speaker 3:Not the whole map.
Speaker 1:Not the whole map. Yeah. We don't... We never get the whole map. And I...
Speaker 1:Just to crush y'all's spirit a little bit, the landscape of church right now, we're all walking in only the light we have in front of us. The old ways of doing just aren't gonna work. And so y'all y'all are probably more comfortable in that than we are, but it's true for all of us right now. If we just wanna run the same playbook, like, it's just not gonna work and it's not gonna feel like it's meeting the day. And so y'all are pioneering for us and with us in a landscape that's just even different than twenty years ago when I was kind of...
Speaker 1:I hate to say that I'm twenty years older than y'all. We won't camp out on that, but I think that's probably pretty close to accurate, but it's true. So, you're walking in the light that you have. You're like, okay. Next step, perhaps.
Speaker 1:Apply for this job. Feels right. You you get it. That sounds a little more transactional. We feel like God put you in the spot.
Speaker 1:That's really what we think. But, you know, the practical of it is that you interviewed well and got the job. Yes. And you've been doing it for four months? Five months?
Speaker 3:I started in May. So yes, five, about five months.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh. With a with a a break to go work at Pine Cove Christian Camp and back. Okay.
Speaker 3:So I guess four if you take out my time going.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. In a five month period. So, tell me just initial, what's God doing in you through this job?
Speaker 3:I think a lot of what I've been learning kind of including my time with camp and, like, preparing for the semester because a lot of the summer was just planning meetings. Like, how can we start
Speaker 1:this school year well.
Speaker 3:And then after camp, I just feel like the Lord has been impressing upon me like how precious it is to be a minister reconciliation and just like, man, all the people we see in the world, he loves. You know? Christ died to prove his love for us even while we were still sinners. And it's like, man, we can feel loved by people who love us through Christ.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:But the fact that we're called to love others who don't know him, like, that's so precious. So I've been learning a lot about how to, like, hold it Mhmm. Like, gently and with my hands open because I can't... I shouldn't be closing my hands and trying to control. I gotta really lean on God and like ask for help because I don't know what I'm doing,
Speaker 1:you know?
Speaker 3:I'm a senior in college working for our college ministry.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You have a interesting dynamic. Right? You are leading your peers
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:In that way.
Speaker 3:So it's been a transition and a lot of learning and asking Connor for help and he's a great boss.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Three Cheers for Connor. I think we talked about him before the... Potentially before the recording started depending on where Addison decides to start it. Yeah, Three Cheers for Conor Tory album.
Speaker 1:Right? Yeah. Yeah. Great guy. Great person to learn from.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Great mentor in ministry, I would imagine. Very
Speaker 3:gracious.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Any... Like, for me, any new season of ministry, God uses it because because you're... You don't know what you're doing. You're acute acutely aware that you don't know what you're doing.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. So aware. So aware. And more, you know, sometimes you can get comfortable and not in the best ways where you're like, I think I know how to do this now. We never know how do it.
Speaker 1:But you can get... You just know you don't know what you're doing. It's just humble before God. Like, you know what I need today because I know don't have it. It's just an accelerated growth period, I think.
Speaker 1:It can be. Can be if you submit it to God that way. Mhmm. Or it can be like, I'm out. This is...
Speaker 1:This ain't it. You know? And and that's depending on how, you know, the circumstances are. That can be either way. So...
Speaker 1:And so you're you're getting... Dipping the foot into vocational ministry
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And seeing where that might lead you. Still thinking maybe church planting?
Speaker 3:Yes. But at this point, I'm interested in more cross cultural church planting, specifically overseas.
Speaker 1:Got it. Maybe even Europe is what Wow. I heard from Would you think about doing that through our church? Yes. Are you someone that we could just be proud of for a really long time?
Speaker 1:How about you? Yeah. Yeah. It's my heart. These are the kind of ones that we wanna keep close.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Stay near us.
Speaker 3:By the grace of God, you know? Whatever's in his will.
Speaker 1:Wherever leads, I'll go. Yeah. I love it. Okay. So y'all know each other?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Just a little bit.
Speaker 2:Tell me how...
Speaker 1:Tell me how you... What's the meet cute? Don't... BSM? No.
Speaker 1:College ministry?
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Yeah. Do you
Speaker 1:remember the first time you met?
Speaker 3:No. Oh. I think I remember seeing her for the first time.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:And because we were both freshmen but she already knew a lot of people because of glowing heart. Oh. Connor.
Speaker 1:Who is Because Connor had a glowing heart connection. Okay.
Speaker 3:So I was thinking, who is this like really bubbly like short person that already knows everyone?
Speaker 1:Tell him. Even though we're justice do. Okay. We're all sitting behind tables. Are you short?
Speaker 1:How tall are you?
Speaker 2:Five foot, five one. I'm wearing platforms right now so I'll take a five two, five three.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 3:You're not that short?
Speaker 2:That was my original perception.
Speaker 1:Are you like my height? I'm five three. Let me just... Who's this short person that's my height?
Speaker 3:A little bit of that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, that was my... That was
Speaker 3:the first time I remember like
Speaker 1:seeing Short.
Speaker 3:It wasn't until we went on Denver trip together in
Speaker 1:2024. The next spring break?
Speaker 2:No. Would have been the summer.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Oh, the next summer.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Summer after our freshman year.
Speaker 1:Okay. So you're kinda like around each other for some time and then we're
Speaker 3:living in the same building.
Speaker 2:RA was her best friend growing up. Mhmm. So like Okay. I knew connections
Speaker 1:connection points.
Speaker 3:Through, like Yeah.
Speaker 2:I knew Lindsay, so then I knew Tatum. And then
Speaker 1:y'all went on the Denver trip with the college ministry summer twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And what... Tell me everything. Nothing? Just time together?
Speaker 2:Time together, I think, like, I think it was the first time that I was like, oh, this is my community of people and so I felt really kind of encouraged and invested to get to know them. I think sometimes it takes experience Mhmm. To really feel that connection. Yeah. Also, community takes time.
Speaker 2:I think, like, if there are any college students out there listening, it takes time and so just continue to show up and feed into that. Mhmm. Yes. And that Denver trip, was like, oh, like, these are the people that I wanna do life with.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so we just had a blast. Like, that trip was incredibly formative. Mhmm. And a ton of weight. You too.
Speaker 2:So for me,
Speaker 3:there was like a specific conversation we had on Denver. She's smiling because she knows what I'm talking about. I was really frustrated one day of ministry. I don't even remember why, but she just approached me like very gently but confrontationally and asked how I was doing and how I was managing whatever she thought I might be feeling. Uh-huh.
Speaker 1:And I
Speaker 3:was like, oh, this girl's legit.
Speaker 1:Like, she's real, she cares about me. Yeah. She's seeing you not at your best, knowing something's gonna go on in internally and she's sitting next to you saying like, how how you doing today? Mhmm. And you're like, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Okay. I could
Speaker 1:be real friends with this person.
Speaker 3:That next year we kind of grew in friendship and then the following year we lived in a house together
Speaker 1:I love that. And shared a room. Yeah. Real close. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And it was in the house I think... Can we say it's it's the the Holmes house. Mhmm. Right? The room.
Speaker 1:Carmen and David's house. Right David? Or is David the son? What am I saying? He always
Speaker 2:has this conversation, Tim.
Speaker 3:Know Robert.
Speaker 1:Oh, it is Robert. Hey. Sorry, Robert. I mean, I know y'all. I just...
Speaker 1:David David Holmes sounds great and it's your son. So... Okay. Y'all live in the Holmes house? Yeah.
Speaker 1:Did. Shared a room. Yeah. That's a that's a friendship right there. That's a make or breaker.
Speaker 1:Right?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And it was a blast. Like, there's not... I've had a few different roommates. Uh-huh.
Speaker 2:They've been all been, like, great but rarely ever do...
Speaker 1:Yeah. This is public so you gotta... They're all great. They're fun. They're awesome.
Speaker 2:However... Rarely ever do you have a roommate that's like, oh, you're probably gonna hold my babies. Like, one day when I have babies, you're gonna you're gonna be the one that probably can Yeah. Help Real friendship. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think it, like, kind of grew on the base of like, it's okay, we're probably gonna get frustrated at each other because we live together. Mhmm. And there's space for that. Mhmm. And it's allowed.
Speaker 2:Because it's a deep friendship. Because it's a deep friendship. Yeah. I think sometimes we get into holes when it's like, I have to hide my frustration.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:But very early on I was like, I'm not... If I get frustrated, like, I'm just gonna be frustrated....
Speaker 1:Tell you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then we're gonna talk about it and then we're gonna get over it and then we're gonna go grocery shopping in a few hours later.
Speaker 1:I think y'all are are probably navigating conflict better than some adults at that level.
Speaker 2:Well, we
Speaker 3:walked through so much. Like Okay. Her discerning residency, me discerning this position, like Uh-huh. There was a lot of formation and like, what are we doing Mhmm. In that year that we lived together and it was it was a beautiful time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And you both came out the other end like you're all, you know, you're still standing. Yeah. And hopefully where God wants you.
Speaker 2:Yeah. A lot of conversations of how do we love each other well? Because it changed. Support raising is hard and it's a really intense process.
Speaker 1:You're very vulnerable. Very vulnerable. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I just remember coming home being like, I I Totally. Like, don't know what to do. Like, don't know how to navigate this. And she's like, we're... I'm gonna sit here and we're gonna love on each other well and I'm gonna show up different in the ways that you need me to show up.
Speaker 2:And we just kind of, I felt like, passed that baton back and forth
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All semester. So...
Speaker 1:I love it. I have a few women in my life. Women, I don't know. What do you call people my age? Friends?
Speaker 1:Women. Women.
Speaker 2:I have friends. And I've
Speaker 1:known them for decades and it's a spiritual friendship. It just is. There's a spiritual friendship to us and it's really really special and very important to me And they show up for you when you need it. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I hope everybody has that, but not everybody does. We know that. So... Okay. We're gonna talk about this sermon, by the way, you're like, hey, we're here as evangelism.
Speaker 1:Well, we will. We will. But I I want... This is kind of a segue. Well, no.
Speaker 1:Okay. For those of you listening, just go on the journey with me. We're not done with the friendship part. Okay. Jalen, what's your favorite thing about Tatum?
Speaker 1:Tatum, you should expect this question in return. Okay.
Speaker 2:I think my favorite thing is, like, she wants to come and sit with me, like, last Friday even. I was like, I don't feel super well, and I don't really know what's going on. Like, I'm kinda stressed out. Was like, can you just come? And she's like, yeah.
Speaker 2:I'll just come. And so she just came and we sat and we cried, and it wasn't this hurry to, like, let's solve it or, like, let's get to this problem, but it's like, yeah, like, I get it and it's scary. And so her willingness to just kinda show up and be is really sweet and fun. And she's a phenomenal communicator, like, to levels that is, like, I don't understand. Right?
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And so it's cool to see her step into that communication and step into, like, practicing that
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Through the college ministry and just watching her, like... Anytime she talks, like, okay, everybody be quiet. Like, everybody be really quiet. Everybody sit, like, sit still and watch. Because she can communicate.
Speaker 1:Love it.
Speaker 2:And it's phenomenal to be around. It's... Yeah.
Speaker 1:How's that feel? How's it feel to be complimented in that way? I'm blushing. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I love it. Okay. Tatum, what's favorite thing about Jaylen?
Speaker 3:I think I realized it Jaylen.
Speaker 1:We're to say it right. We've been together
Speaker 3:because we were talking about my cat and she was like, I am not quiet or slow because my cat like is scared of
Speaker 1:people. Responds.
Speaker 3:And I was like, he doesn't like people who are fast or loud
Speaker 2:and she was like, I am both of those things.
Speaker 3:So she would talk about herself in this way and I was just like, when I look at Jalen, like, I see gentleness and just like just, like, gentleness and patience. And she is patient in how she, like, loves people and approaches confrontation even if she... Like, it's uncomfortable. She doesn't wanna do it, but she she does it out of love. And just kind of watching her love me as a friend as we lived together and had to have a lot of confrontation.
Speaker 3:Like, man, may... My cat may not be at rest around her but I am.
Speaker 1:To caveat.
Speaker 2:Communication. Yeah.
Speaker 1:What a great turn of phrase.
Speaker 2:Right? When she would leave, her cat would then actually become obsessed with me.
Speaker 1:You're like the next best thing in the room.
Speaker 2:But I...
Speaker 1:And a house.... Left so I'll take you. Yeah. I'm not very quiet. Yes.
Speaker 1:I have a a goldendoodle. Have two goldendoodles. Mhmm. One of which has some cat like qualities in the sense that, like, she wants to be in your lap and kinda wrapped around you. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:But, you gotta win her over, which is the cat part. Yeah. Tell you what. Yeah. And she's also sixty five pounds.
Speaker 1:She is a... She's a lap full. So see all our friends. It's cool. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Need to be on the same staff together in this season. Yeah. It's so fun. It's unique, wouldn't you say? I hope everybody has a good friend.
Speaker 1:Important. It's just very, very important. Life can be brutal. Yes. And it's good to have friends.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Speaking of, how is your generation out there? I'm a millennial, squarely millennial. Y'all are gen z. Mhmm. Y'all are the early twenties.
Speaker 1:Yes. Yes. Is that fair? Mhmm. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Fresh into Yeah. The
Speaker 2:I'm 21. Like
Speaker 1:you're just rolling into your twenties.
Speaker 3:I'm almost two.
Speaker 1:Wow. Not a big difference. Just for the record. Just for the record. I'm squarely 40 and will be 41 before we know it.
Speaker 1:So, we are really living... Like, my high school experience is very different y'all's. My college experience is very different than y'all's. I I didn't have a smartphone until I was three years out of college. Wow.
Speaker 1:Maybe two. Wow. Jaylen just did a double take. Almost like a spit take. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I went to Stephen F. Austin State. I had a laptop but they didn't have WiFi in the dorms. So I would... Sorry.
Speaker 1:My eyebrows. Yeah. They're telling a story. So I had a laptop but it's pretty much stayed on the desk in my dorm with an ethernet cable plugged into it.
Speaker 3:Wow. Crazy.
Speaker 1:And we didn't have Facebook yet and we didn't have like social media was just kind of dawning. I mean, had MySpace. I would take a spiral notebook and a pen to class Mhmm. And I wouldn't And if I wanted to have lunch with my friends, would call them because you had to pay, like, 10¢ per text. Like, that was my era.
Speaker 1:So the idea of, like, a group chat or just, like, texting your friends all the time, it was like, no. We just kinda show up to the cafeteria and see who's there. I also grew up, because of all these things I just named, in a much less anxious generation. Yeah. Anyway, we'll talk about that.
Speaker 1:So I do wonder, for those listening that are probably maybe a little bit older than me in average age, what do you think about your generation? We're reading a lot right now. We're hearing things about revival, but then there's also maybe an underbelly that I think we all are aware of. So how would y'all describe your generation? What's out there?
Speaker 2:I would describe us as scared and lonely, which is heavy and I know, but we are desperate for connection. Mhmm. We wanna feel known, we wanna feel loved, but we don't actually know how to find that.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:We don't actually know where to look. And so, I think you have two sides of the coin. So you have some people in our generation going all the opposite opposite directions. So looking into like drugs or kind of materialistic things. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And then you have the other side of like, we're hungry for faith. Mhmm. Because we know, and once we've experienced a good God, it's like, oh my gosh, this is all that we want. We wanna learn more, we wanna sit and kinda dwell in his presence.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:But it's because we're desperate for connection. Mhmm. So like, it is a two sided coin there. There's a hopeful side to it but there's also this really heavy thing that, like, just grieves my heart.
Speaker 1:And the heaviness, the root of it, you said scared and lonely. Mhmm. That's how you might describe. Tatum, how's that land with you?
Speaker 2:I
Speaker 3:think I look around and I see people hiding. So I think that matches pretty well. Like, there's a desire to be known. But because of our culture and social media and just everything going on in the world, it's like this constant feeling like we shouldn't be known. It's scary to be known and if I'm known, can't be loved.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:I think
Speaker 3:a lot of people struggle with that.
Speaker 1:So when you say hiding, not literally like just... Well, probably some of them hiding out in their dorm room but hiding even like masking.
Speaker 3:Masking Hard to be known. Socially. Yeah. Like, like, hiding on social media like with these facades that we see. But just like so many people in my classes, it's just like they don't want to talk to you.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. They don't... There's... They're, like, wary if you do wanna talk to them. There's there's just, a lot of walls.
Speaker 3:And I think they're hungry for connection, but a lot of them don't wanna risk the pain of seeking it even though others I think are more desperate so they go to, like, where communities are thriving. Like, think the pride community is very strong and it draws a lot of people because of that desire of shared identity and community.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Even though, like, there's there's not fulfillment to be found there.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. But but it's a place of acceptance and love. Mhmm. It's a nonjudgmental place of acceptance and love.
Speaker 3:Sometimes.
Speaker 1:At its best. Yes. Yes. And I... It's not...
Speaker 1:Yeah. Right? It's not the landing place. Yeah. That's the attraction.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's the promise. Mhmm. Even if it doesn't fulfill. So, it sounds like the church is like ripe for ministry.
Speaker 2:Yes. So so ripe but it's... I think like you nodded to it earlier, it's not like it used to be. Right? We're pioneering.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Go on. Tell me everything.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I know everything but I think like because we're striving for connection, it's that simplicity. Right? Like, we just wanna go and sit with people. We wanna have conversations around a table. I remember when I first got to college, was talking to somebody like, I just wanna be invited to dinner.
Speaker 2:I just wanna go sit at somebody's table
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And eat a dinner and eat a meal that somebody's cooked because that's authentic connection. The quickest, I think, way to get people to leave the church or young people to be suspicious of it is inauthentic
Speaker 1:connection. Inauthentic. Uh-huh. Which looks like... How would you describe connection?
Speaker 1:Tatum?
Speaker 3:It's just shallow. Like, you just... You can just tell. Like, oh, they said hello to me. It's kind of like this thing that we do and we really do it.
Speaker 3:It's a southern thing, think.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:We're like, hey, how are you? As we're walking by. Why did you ask how
Speaker 1:I am?
Speaker 2:You're walking by.
Speaker 3:You don't want to know. And I think a lot of the hiding like, is like, I'm fine. Yeah. How are you doing? Oh, I'm fine.
Speaker 3:Or I'm good. Or in Christian community, I think we can just cover it like, you know, God is good. Which is always true, but a part of saying that is, like, hiding what's actually
Speaker 1:happening very the dismissive of what's really going on within you. Yeah. The more... Well, like the Christian subcultures. Like, husband works at DBU, and I think one of the DBU pits can be, like, pretending everything's okay.
Speaker 1:Because God is good, everything's fine, which dismissive of like inner turmoil, you know? Yeah. And is not a way of being fully known. Mhmm. So so y'all, your generation can smell out like inauthentic quick.
Speaker 1:Right? So fast. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Faster than like anything. Yes. Moment where like, oh, this is weird.
Speaker 1:Yep. So does that come in... I'm asking genuinely, like production value? Because like I've heard like like a worship service. If it's too highly produced and looks too like, Broadway, does that turn you off?
Speaker 1:Or you can see the heart of those that are leading. You know what I mean?
Speaker 3:I think it depends on the people. Because I know I'm at... As like an advertising major, I'm just skeptical of everything. So, like, I'll be designing an ad and be like, ugh, who would, like, actually buy this based on this ad? But then people do buy things based off of ads all the time that I would never buy things from.
Speaker 3:From. So sometimes I think my view of the world is more cynical than maybe the general masses, but there is, like, kind of a of a lens that we have to see authenticity. Authenticity. Mhmm. And especially in a worship set, like I am...
Speaker 3:I'm more looking at how it's being led than the production value, at least for me.
Speaker 1:What do you think, Jalen? You're not representing, like, your entire generation with these answers. Yeah. But our people don't know... I mean, unless you have kids your age or neighbors or whatever, they
Speaker 2:may not know. You know? I would agree. I think it's... In those spaces, it's the value of the community that you're kind of in.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And so, like, the touch points that I have with, like, Connor and, like, even the college staff, like, I can see their authentic heart. And so believing in somebody's authentic heart, you can kind of see it reflected in staff. And so, like, a high production thing, if I know people that are running it, it's like, oh, I know their heart. And so I think for our generations, it's like, how do we share the heart behind Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because if we can get a heartbeat, and we can know why you will get people that are hungry and all in and committed to things and super passionate about it, but it's because they've caught heart, or even this language of like, they caught the vision. I'm like, oh, I get why we're doing this. Because I think something else is like, we don't do things that we don't understand. Or like, we don't do things that we can't figure out. Like, why are we doing this?
Speaker 2:Why are we doing church this way? Why are we Mhmm. Doing worship this way? Mhmm. If we can't see the heart, it's like Yeah.
Speaker 2:What's going on? But once we get the heart, it's like, oh, we're in. And it sense
Speaker 1:to me. Mean, y'all tell me, but it makes sense to me in in such a... This is maybe the last five years. Such an AI generated, like, obviously we've had Instagram filters for a decade. Like, whatever I present is not always what's real.
Speaker 1:I think given that that's like the barrage of information, it makes sense to me that your generation specifically that's been like sadly like kind of discipled by all of that in the worst ways is like looking for like, what if there's no filter? What if I actually can trust the heart behind... And I'm not saying like we don't wear makeup or we you know, that's not what I'm trying to say. But like, what if we're not just trying to make you think we're a certain thing Mhmm. Like everyone else?
Speaker 3:I think an example from our lives is last year, we started attending a prayer night that a couple of guys from the were hosting at the BSM, and it wasn't fancy. Like, there was a white whiteboard with some prayer requests and, like, their big, wall map, and they would just introduce it. But the... And it... Like, it wasn't it wasn't high production value, if you will.
Speaker 3:It was just a space to come and be, and we could see the hearts of everybody else who was there. Like, we knew each other's hearts because we went to this together. And that was a moment where it was like, this is this is why we're going. Mhmm. Not because there is anything super special about it other than we knew that God was being invited in.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Yeah. I think you guys both hit right... Hit it right on the nail of, like, we want authenticity. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And we're finding inauthentic... Inauthentic... How do you say
Speaker 1:that one? Inauthenticity? Yeah. That one.
Speaker 2:We're finding that
Speaker 1:Those who are inauthentic?
Speaker 2:Yeah. We're finding that everywhere. Yeah. We're finding that on social media. We're finding even sometimes with our friends.
Speaker 2:And so it's like once we can catch authentic people in a space that is simple, like, we're all in.
Speaker 1:All good. Mhmm. All good. Okay. Speaking of evangelism, how how do we reach y'all's generation?
Speaker 1:Is that it? Set the table?
Speaker 2:That's how I would say.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. I have a lot
Speaker 2:of conversations from, just invite people to dinner. Yeah. Food breaks down the walls. Like, we've even seen that recently at my We do Friday night dinners together, and just that space is holy. Like, whether there's a batch of people or just two of us, like, it's holy.
Speaker 2:And every week, as people leave, I'm like, ugh. It was holy, and it's not fancy at all. Like... But the Lord is in that place because we're just kinda showing up after a week and we're talking about what we did. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:We play... Mhmm. Sometimes we play board games. Sometimes we watch a movie. But it's this it's this simple.
Speaker 2:Like, we're hungry for simple.
Speaker 1:And that draws people in. Mhmm. I mean, that's the first door. It's the open door to, like, gospel conversations and life together and transform life.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think once people find belonging
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Then they start to question.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Why are bad things happening? Mhmm. And those are just open doors to walk in and say, hey, there's a good God that has a lot of hope for you. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. There's been a lot of talk about like belief, behavior, belonging, you know, which comes first. Because I think, like, a more traditional model is, like, people need to come act like us and believe what we believe and then and then they'll behave. You know what I mean? Mhmm.
Speaker 1:And that's the behavior. Then then then they can belong with us. Mhmm. If they act like us and believe like us, then they can belong with us. And I think a newer model, maybe it's just a better model, is like the Jesus way, which is like, you can actually belong among us.
Speaker 1:You can sit at the table and then you can catch the spirit and then your belief might come to fruition and then all of that will influence your behavior. And so maybe we don't have to get too caught up in, like, the the moral compass yet. Absolutely. And people consider our table, and that can be a front door of love and life change, perhaps.
Speaker 2:Yeah. No. I would a 110% agree with that. Like, we just wanna belong. And when
Speaker 3:you create belonging, people people respond to the hope. I think something in the sermon actually.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah. Here in
Speaker 2:the forty third minute. Let's talk
Speaker 3:about that. Based on what you said, kind of like coming and being a part of it before you act all the right ways. Like Moses said, based off of John four, Jesus connected with the woman at the well before he corrected her. And, like, that was a good reminder for me, like... Connection before correction.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I also had a lot of turns of phrases that will... Good.
Speaker 3:But that's the one I wrote down. Yeah. And I'll be... And remember.
Speaker 1:Tatum's got two pages of notes over there. And she also brought two different bibles with her.
Speaker 3:Something that's on the table. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because you didn't wanna look like an overachiever.
Speaker 3:No. I didn't wanna seem
Speaker 2:performative. Because you're gen z.
Speaker 1:Yes. And you didn't know what to think.
Speaker 2:Yes. Straight up. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I love it. The dichotomy of being performative in gen z.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And you were you were like a theater kid too.
Speaker 3:I was.
Speaker 1:So you've got it in there.
Speaker 3:I think other than like what Jalen is saying about just invite people is kind of like the posture that you have going to people. I think something that I have to remind myself is like, there are people who are open. Mhmm. Like, Jesus is right that the harvest is ready. Like, we just need to go out and have our eyes open and like, help the Lord find those people.
Speaker 3:Because, I mean, at the BSM and even just already in our college ministry this year, we've seen people come to Christ. And we're seeing people who, like, are open to spiritual conversation and to reading the Bible for maybe their first time and trying to figure out what it all means. Mhmm. So I think maybe there's this that we have that, oh, well all of the lost people, they just don't wanna be
Speaker 1:They're all closed off.
Speaker 3:They're all Right.
Speaker 1:They're all closed off. Decisions made.
Speaker 3:But it's just not true.
Speaker 1:And they may have not even had a chance to make an informed decision. Mhmm. So get out there. Is that what you're saying? So what if, like, someone my age invited a Gen Z that they sat next to at church to dinner?
Speaker 1:Is that weird or would they actually like it? Do know I what I
Speaker 2:would encourage to always extend that invite to you and your friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Makes sense. That makes sense. That's awkward for anybody, right, to come by yourself.
Speaker 2:So you and your friend, hey, I wanna take you and your friend out for dinner.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But if I said, come to my house, you bring whoever you want, come to my house. Mhmm. That would be relatively well received generally. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Especially as a consequence, you know, we want free food.
Speaker 1:Right. I'll cook it.
Speaker 3:It matter if it's home cooked?
Speaker 2:I prefer it or enjoy it being home
Speaker 1:cooked Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Because it is this idea of like, I see you and I'm doing this because I love you and I wanna invite you in.
Speaker 1:It's an expression of love.
Speaker 2:An expression of love. And even like other cultures, right? Instead of saying like, how are you? They say, have you eaten? Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so like food is an avenue and Yeah. To that. Mhmm.
Speaker 3:And something Jalen said, we did a lot of posting together when we lived together and like in my background, just for my mom and and how I grew up, like, the house needs to be clean if people are coming over. Mhmm. And Jaylen kind of changed my mind about that. She was like, we can have dishes in the sink. Like, we we live here.
Speaker 1:This is
Speaker 3:a house that we live in. So don't invite people into a performance. Like, invite them into your This
Speaker 1:word's popping up. This word's popping up. You know, had do in
Speaker 3:your sink.
Speaker 1:It's fine. We had to do that at some point with the... Because our house is... It just... It does not exist in a picture perfect state except for like maybe one hour if I work really hard.
Speaker 1:And that's it. Then it's... I mean, maybe last Friday, I spent a lot of the day just like decluttering and, it really looked nice. It really looked really nice. And I even sat in my living room for just like an hour, had a cup of tea and was like, this looks really nice.
Speaker 1:And then my kids came home. My husband picked them up and they came home and it was like, boom. I mean, huge like toy baskets everywhere and stuff everywhere and it's just... But we've had to say like, you could come over but like we have a very lived in house right now. Like it just is.
Speaker 1:It's like gonna be like clean in the basic ways. Yeah. You know? Like the toilet's been wiped down but like the house is a mess. We don't have rugs anymore because our dogs messed up all of them.
Speaker 1:Like we have a rug less home. But like you can come sit at our table. Mhmm. And the table will clean. I I don't want the table pull.
Speaker 1:You know? But we've had to like... It's either we never host for the next like ten years literally. Yeah. Like we just don't invite people to our house and that isolates us and it isolates opportunity or we say, listen, our house just looks like it looks and you can even help us tidy it up when you get here if you want and we can come and we can do life together.
Speaker 1:And so we've had to like, just the pride has had to drop because it's like, I can't keep a picture perfect home.
Speaker 2:And we're not looking for picture perfect.
Speaker 1:I hear that. Yeah. I hear that from both sides.
Speaker 3:Because it's the authenticity. Right? The authenticity.
Speaker 2:You don't
Speaker 1:want production. You don't want performance.
Speaker 3:When we see that you're real, it makes us feel like we're allowed to be real in that space too.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Y'all need to come to my house. Could you and a friend come to my house sometime? Yes. To have that feel?
Speaker 2:Yes. That is that is it. That is golden. Yeah. I think my most profound moments of feeling loved and feeling known happened at somebody's dinner table, and they just said, come sit.
Speaker 2:And I sat, and I just cried.
Speaker 1:It also most tears for you, it seems. Do you hear that? There's a recurring theme. Yeah. Anything else?
Speaker 1:K. We talked about the sermon for about ten seconds, although it informed our entire conversation. Mhmm. But I think Oza did a great job. Sounds really shallow.
Speaker 1:Yeah. There was a lot there. I don't wanna keep our listeners much longer. It was one of those that I think is worth going back to listen to because it's... With a guest, there's just a different perspective, and he he packed in a lot.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. And so that's... I really, genuinely, at the end of the second service, invited people, come to the table because if the table is meant to have an unhurried time of prayer based on the sermon, we might need that with the Oza sermon. You know what I mean? Like, there's just so much in it that we need to spend...
Speaker 1:That was worth spending more time with.
Speaker 3:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:So I hope I hope it came off as a compliment to oza, not a diss. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's a that's a millennial word. But I got it.
Speaker 1:But there's just a lot to it that was worth was worth us thinking on. So can I make a plug for a few things going on around the church Absolutely? Before we... Okay. I want people to know about the service of remembrance, which is next Sunday.
Speaker 1:It's the eleventh, and I think it just seems to have come quickly. We're advertising it. Postcards are in the mail. I mean, landed already. But I wanna make sure that people who might be affected by it know about it.
Speaker 1:So it's our church wide memorial service for those that we've lost within the past year. It's really meaningful. We read names. We write candles. Doctor Wiles preaches a message of hope.
Speaker 1:Worship ministry has some some input. It's really special, but I want people to make sure they know about it. So that makes me a little anxious. I want people to know. Wednesday night at the table, we just talked about it, 6PM.
Speaker 1:Actually, Wednesday nights in general, 6PM. Come as a family. We'll help you get where you're supposed to go. Come as a come as a pair or spare. We'll help you find your way.
Speaker 1:Come sit next to us, pray together. Together. So... And then there's a whole slew of other things. Y'all going on a camp out soon.
Speaker 1:Yes. What is that?
Speaker 3:The college camp out, fall camp out is happening October twenty third through twenty fifth. Love it. So y'all can be praying for us as we drive and pray that we have lovely weather.
Speaker 1:And is sign ups still open?
Speaker 3:Yes. Sign ups are open. If you want, one of our cool sweatshirts that was designed by our new graphic designer, you need to sign up by the eighth.
Speaker 1:Which is basically tomorrow. Which is Thursday. Yeah. Okay. You'll...
Speaker 1:I mean, that's gonna come quick.
Speaker 3:Yes. Eighth. The Thursday, the eighth. You register, you'll get access to the link to order a sweatshirt. Cool.
Speaker 3:Love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Good. I'm sure there's lots more. Go to our website. Don't miss anything.
Speaker 1:Go scam the event page on our website because there is a lot going on. Mhmm. It's all it's all coming quickly. So doctor Wells will be back this Sunday. We're excited.
Speaker 3:Praise the lord.
Speaker 1:Praise the lord. And he'll be back in here on Monday. But I've had fun with y'all today. Any closing thoughts? It was a blast.
Speaker 2:I think I say this all the time. Invite somebody to dinner.
Speaker 1:Oh, we didn't catch that. I did not catch that, so I'm glad you. I didn't put a bow on it with that one. Anything anything from you, Tatum?
Speaker 3:Like Oza said, the gospel is one size fits all.
Speaker 1:Invite everyone. Go get them. I love it. I love it. Well, this was fun for me, fulfilling for me, and I appreciate you all taking the time to be in here today.
Speaker 1:For y'all at home, and we'll see you next week. Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.