Talking Calling and Youth Ministry with Erick Sorto -ep. 38

[SPEAKER_02]: Welcome back to the Unison Church Podcast.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is Michael Sean, and I'm here with the with a new friend of mine Eric Sourto is here to talk about youth ministry.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're in like a little many series where I'm trying to interview people that do youth work Which is one of the one of the hats that I wear at my church is with youth ministry and something I wasn't expecting to Enjoy as much as I do But I do enjoy it and I think that people that work

[SPEAKER_02]: with youth have a really interesting insights to bring to the table with reference to church and what's coming next and how do we care for people.

[SPEAKER_02]: So thank you for joining us.

[SPEAKER_02]: I appreciate it, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for having me.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was really last minute.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like we talked like two days ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: And you were like, yeah, I ready to go.

[SPEAKER_02]: Let's just do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I appreciate that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was looking forward to it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then when in the back of my mind, I always had something like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: kind of wanting like I always wanted to do a podcast or always wanting to have a conversation like this.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when I opportunity to present it to my calendar was free, I said, you know what?

[SPEAKER_02]: Jump on it.

[SPEAKER_00]: God does things for reasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: So let's do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: 100%.

[SPEAKER_02]: Tell us about your like church journey.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, I was pretty much born into it as much as you're able to, you know, my parents are both immigrants from different Hispanic countries, my mom immigrated from Mexico, my dad immigrated from Massachusetts, my Lord, and they both landed in Tennessee, and specifically Springfield, Tennessee, North and Nashville, and I grew up there in my whole life.

[SPEAKER_00]: fraction of a time, you know, really, really small time in Texas and different places, but for the most part of Tennessee, grew up in an independent fundamental Baptist church and went to their Christian school and was there pretty much the whole time.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was 13.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was 13 years old when I got reassuring to my salvation, and I never second guessed that again after that in a year later.

[SPEAKER_00]: at church camp.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, I felt like he was calling me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I made a prayer.

[SPEAKER_00]: I honestly don't remember what the pastor was preaching about, but I said, you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: God, I'll do whatever you want.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll be a teacher, a patient school teacher, a principal, a missionary, I'll go, I'll go wherever, do whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: The only thing I didn't mention was pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: That wasn't on purpose.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as soon as I said amen, I turned around and stood up.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was kneeling at my seat.

[SPEAKER_00]: As soon as I said amen, I turned around and stood up.

[SPEAKER_00]: As soon as I stood up and looked up on stage, the pastor said from the pulpit.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you believe the Lord has called you today to be a pastor, could you please join me on stage?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like a second seconds after.

[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just said all right, like I'll do whatever and that was the next thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: And to me that was that was clear.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I I wear contacts and glasses and I remember the first time I put them on and I was like, oh man, I can I can see again.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was like that moment all over again, but more spiritually, I guess, and so I took a step of faith and remember being scared out of my mind and super fearful.

[SPEAKER_00]: But praise God, I said yes, I remember taking the step out of my seat, walking down the aisle, going up on stage, and I believe that day, church camp, there was eight of us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Eight of us guys that said, you know, we believe God's calling us to preach.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then what was really cool too, he said, here guys, the pastor, he looked at it and said, just stand here real quick, let me show you something.

[SPEAKER_00]: and he looked back out to the crowd and he said, if the Lord has already given you that calling, before hand, before it today, could you come join your brothers on stage?

[SPEAKER_00]: Next day, I know one, two, five, 10, 20, 30.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it was like 40 other guys came up on stage.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think it was the room, like how many people were there?

[SPEAKER_00]: It was several hundred, it was down at Pensacola, Florida, PCC, the TNC stream there, and so it was several hundred within the auditorium there, and so I think at the end of the video it was like 40 something of us on stage, one of them was my cousin, and so we did, you know, the whole

[SPEAKER_00]: But man, this is where I'm just crying my eyes out like yeah, I'm just saying thank you God because I asked for Direction and it just so happened seconds later got it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I got it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Not everybody is that fortunate You know like I actually just I preached on Sunday and I said that from the stages like

[SPEAKER_02]: a lot of people are waiting around for God's call and like he's made a lot of stuff clear and scripture that we should do, you know, and in that we were talking mostly about like justice stuff like feeding the poor and you know, those types of things, you know, and don't wait around for that call because like we don't always, we don't, not everybody gets that super clear 100% what a blessing that you did.

[SPEAKER_00]: I absolutely agree with that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I, I, I, I, I tell I'm, look, part of taking a chance or taking a step of faith is taking the step.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah,

[SPEAKER_00]: We are worried about X, Y, and Z when we still haven't figured out A, B, and Z, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I know I'm blessed, I know that's not everyone's story, but I'm really grateful and blessed to have experienced that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so at 14, I surrendered to being a pastor, 15, I went out to California for a youth conference,

[SPEAKER_00]: God just made it clear that more likely that was going to be my training ground.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so finally, when school was over, which I graduated COVID, I graduated 2020, so that was interesting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I went back out to California for COVID.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was super locked down, I bet.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we had our curtains down the middle of the road.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then the roommate situation was limited to two people per room.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Crazy how God allowed that, but basically California was set down with the exception of training essential workers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then when you look that, okay, what was the central church's fell in that?

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, so, okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: Our administration and the president went to whoever the government, the city, whatever.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it was like, because we're part of the school's

[SPEAKER_00]: What's cool is it?

[SPEAKER_00]: West Coast Baptist is called West Coast Baptist College and so the president went out there and was like, look, if churches are essential and the training of workers are essential.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, where that's what we do and that's what we do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you okay with us like doing it and Sounded like even though they didn't like it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they were okay with it.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were kind of hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: They had to approve it right and so which allowed us to Go out there and and study and train and I was there for four years.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: What did you get in the four years?

[SPEAKER_02]: Is it like it's called?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so it's called church ministries.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm actually I'm still working on it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm online now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but it's called church ministries.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, with a Religious of education in church ministries.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, okay cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it allows us to Like how I'm using it now to go teach Inertition school, but also have the knowledge and experience to leader youth group.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah

[SPEAKER_00]: lead a youth rally to run some games to a songworship, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: It kind of touches on several different.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: Manishy aspects.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's awesome.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's awesome.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I had, um, when I, I had it, I didn't necessarily get like a direct like call from God to ministry necessarily.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I grew up, same similar.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like it's grew up in the church.

[SPEAKER_02]: My father, uh, I still work my father now.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I actually work in my, the church

[SPEAKER_02]: my father was a pastor ever since I was born and I you know as a little kid you're like I just want to do what my dad does and then as like a teenager you're like I want to do anything but what my dad does right now and I was just kind of like I had my hands and a lot of stuff and a lot of different interests but I was at a I was at a missions conference and the missionary was talking about some of like the zeal that people had

[SPEAKER_02]: in this country where it was illegal to be a Christian and grown up in the church, you know, sometimes you see a window into some of the hypocritical aspects of ministry, and especially as a pastor's kid, it's like you see the worst parts of the church often as a pastor's kid.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so I was aware of that, and when the missionary was talking about this zeal that this underground church had for the Lord, I was like, I wish that we could get some of that here.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I felt like I would, I had the tools to help make that.

[SPEAKER_02]: It was more of like a practical decision, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: Then like it directly like God's call me to do this.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then I was always like I'm going to be a multi-vocational.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like I don't want to just do one thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, so I do that and I could do music and game stuff as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: But my degree is in music, primarily with a minor in Bible because I went to a Cedarville in Ohio, which is like a school.

[SPEAKER_02]: They're like, I didn't, they weren't when I was looking at the school.

[SPEAKER_02]: But now I think they're like Southern Baptist technically, but I don't know.

[SPEAKER_02]: I wasn't there primarily for Bible.

[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't want my Bible stuff in high school.

[SPEAKER_02]: You were right around doing Roman.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, but yeah, and then came back and now I'm doing this.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, there's a word.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now, when you say that you were called to be a pastor working Christian schools, sounds kind of like it's part of that too, is that yes, yes, yes and no.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, for the longest time, it was just pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, that was the only thing I knew.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's kind of what I was going off of.

[SPEAKER_00]: But then through some training and maturity, that calling became a little bit more specific.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like they're, I've received a lot more clarity on that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, I do feel like I'm still called to be a pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: specifically one day I'd like to pastor a Spanish-speaking church, a Hispanic church and and kind of connect with my people, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I actually lost a lot of my Spanish growing up being being from the south and being an predominantly English-speaking culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: their intensity.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was ashamed of my Spanish.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was confused by my Spanish.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was too American for the Hispanic folks and too Hispanic for the American folks.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it was kind of frustrating.

[SPEAKER_00]: And however, one time after my after my calling,

[SPEAKER_00]: There was two situations where one I wasn't able to speak with my grandmother, due to the language barrier, and then two, I wasn't able to witness to someone because of the language barrier, that at that point, I felt very silly and where it was made clear to me that I should have potentially statistically, I guess.

[SPEAKER_00]: a greater chance to witness was now hindering me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so since then, God really has burdened my heart for Spanish speaking folks and Hispanics in our country.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I believe he eventually once would like for me to pastor and I would like to pastor and Spanish church.

[SPEAKER_00]: But before that, I realized as I'm in college,

[SPEAKER_00]: Most churches can't just hire a Spanish pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: Most churches can't afford it as much as the heart and the conviction is there right And places are real thing and life is a real thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you got to be able to pay for everything right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I realized okay, how can I

[SPEAKER_00]: be more of a threat as far, more attractive as, if you will, when it comes to working in a church or whatever, and I realized besides church, I don't really have a lot, so I said, how can I, what am I good at or what do I really enjoy and what can I learn and be willing to to add to my portfolio if you, if you will.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I realized I had a background in music, I

[SPEAKER_00]: my mother liked love the idea of David as of how he was a warrior and a battle leader and commander on this and that but then also played the harp for song right and love the idea of that so she she got us my brothers and I all into music rather quickly rather early

[SPEAKER_00]: Got you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I started out in piano, and as soon as they threw in the left hand with complex music, I was like, you know, this doesn't work.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: It taught me how to read music though.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's good.

[SPEAKER_00]: So then from there, I went to violin, and my teachers weren't intense, just it just didn't click with me though.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: So in the fourth grade, my school had us all joined band and from there,

[SPEAKER_00]: pick an instrument and I don't even remember how it came to be but long story short I ended up with the trumpet and that's been my music instrument.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the one.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so besides that I've also really enjoyed singing and kind of felt comfortable with the mic and hand and and so I started singing quite a bit different competition group like for Fine Arts and stuff like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I realized that in background of music, the school I grew up was blessed, privileged enough to have sports, and so I played football, played soccer, played basketball, and so I said, okay, I could coach, but then like, okay, not, not, so now I'm thinking, okay, the football coach slash music teacher isn't very,

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's not the easiest cell, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I'm like, okay, what else can I do?

[SPEAKER_00]: And then finally, I realized like, oh, dude.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because at this point, I really learned a lot of my Spanish.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And because I had to learn it, I can also not,

[SPEAKER_00]: teacher to the best at the time, but I could teach it, potentially.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I became a lot more focused on honing in my Spanish and messing up and getting laughed at.

[SPEAKER_00]: But also getting people, my parents, my friends, mentors, no, no, this is how you say it, no, this is when you do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe I'm supposed to be on this earth to influence and to lead people to Christ.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yes, we should be doing that out in the world with adults, but who better than the next generation?

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so therefore, I said, you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think to help me and my wife and our family,

[SPEAKER_00]: just to ensure that we were safe, if you will.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a few things that we could do to help that, and so for me, it looked like any more practical sense being a teacher.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: But, similar to what you said earlier,

[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't think I was gonna enjoy it as much as I do.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love being able to connect with my Spanish students, so now I teach middle school Bible and Spanish went into in the high school.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I love being able to do that because it allows for a different layer

[SPEAKER_00]: Mr. Eric is right and so I'm the youth pastor at the church as well So a lot of kids see me and a youth group and all right guys, let's go do this all right Let's let's set up and let's set up the chairs and and let's talk about this and and we have Youth group, but then it's like all right, so this is how you conjugate the word in Spanish You know, and we go it's it's a lot of

[SPEAKER_00]: different sides of the spectrum, but I've loved it, and I think God for it, you know, and so, and then it also allows sometimes for conversation outside of Spanish, specifically in my Spanish classes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor Eric.

[SPEAKER_00]: I had a situation where I was fasting that long ago, and the kids found out about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, Pastor Eric, why do you fast?

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's allowed, okay, well, Pastor Eric, how about this?

[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor Eric, how about that?

[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, Pastor Eric, and I'm like, sometimes it's, you know, it's appropriate.

[SPEAKER_00]: We can talk about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes it's, uh, all right, guys, this is way out of left field.

[SPEAKER_00]: Let's just focus on Spanish.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I've really enjoyed it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's allowed for my students to be able to see a different side to quote unquote just ministry.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just the, uh, I feel like sometimes we, we box what influence or what

[SPEAKER_00]: and it allows this style of being several or wearing several different hats and being open and willing to have conversations, it's allowed to, it's led to different layers of ministry.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm able to connect with kids in a way that I didn't think I would be able to.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's been great.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: We had a we had a good conversation.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we know each other because I started teaching music at Midstate Christian Academy, which I used to go to in high school for a little while eight to 11th grade.

[SPEAKER_02]: I was there and me and my two younger siblings, we were all there at the same time.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I was there.

[SPEAKER_02]: The current pastor in principle, the school Russ had just gotten there when I got when I left.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: So his first year was my last year there and we ended up leaving for a number of reasons, but but yeah, so we so we met that way.

[SPEAKER_02]: And you were going to be helping out in the music class, too.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then some things got shifted around.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it sounds like there were some stuff at the beginning in the school year that was going to be a lot of shuffling happening.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, but at the end of the day, I think it was the scheduling situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm part of a class that needs me there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is the one where I swear in this class is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's when I was supposed to be helping you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so then it was like, OK.

[SPEAKER_00]: about it like how does this happen or and yeah I think first few weeks we we tried making work and we realized this isn't going to work.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah and it seems like Annie who is my current assistant in the class was sort of like a last minute higher as well like right at the end maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it was more recent but not necessarily last minute but yeah definitely more recent.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah but it just will happen that

[SPEAKER_00]: From what I know she she has a musical background.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I guess she does like it has done theater in the past Yeah, something like that school.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, she says she plays guitar.

[SPEAKER_02]: She plays guitar Yeah, she's saying yeah, which is good.

[SPEAKER_02]: I would do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: I was singing in class the other day.

[SPEAKER_02]: Oh My gosh everything's so high cuz cuz I'm put it in very school or ski right I'm trying to sing it I'm like I'm not a center so I'm like shouting out and like it's your guys turn to sing

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I taught choir last year and I found out that

[SPEAKER_00]: It's very hard to get middle schoolers to say, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, no, they're pretty good.

[SPEAKER_02]: They're pretty good singing, I think.

[SPEAKER_02]: But one thing I noticed is there's no, there's no basis.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like nobody in my class has gone through their voice change yet.

[SPEAKER_02]: So a lot of guys were just singing with the girls, which is fine.

[SPEAKER_02]: I just, I was thinking maybe we could get some bases in there.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I was like trying, I was like testing all the guys.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, can anybody sing this low?

[SPEAKER_02]: And nobody could sing.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I'm used to four part harmony, three part harmony between trio and quartets, and then four part harmony if it's a choir right, just due to my background.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so when I got put in charge of choir, I was like, I'm okay, but this is going to be easy.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've done this before.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've let groups I can do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then 100% I found out that

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I don't really, all right, at least they think their bases, but I really have bases.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, that's what I was like, everyone can anybody sing low and a couple of the guys raise their heads.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Try to sing and it's like, you cannot sing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Which is funny to me because growing up, we, um,

[SPEAKER_00]: We competed in fine arts against other Christian schools.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and we did well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like my school was known when let me face we weren't known To be the best, but we we we we were we were all yes, we were always in that conversation We were if it wasn't us it was another school.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it was us right every you know and I think it for like

[SPEAKER_00]: So, for several years, I think we took first place in the high school choir category, but at the end of the day, we wanted to be there.

[SPEAKER_00]: We were looking forward to it, we walked in to you, you know, modern linguists.

[SPEAKER_00]: We walked in, we sang, and not only that, we were travel, and we had some pretty cool, like I sang out.

[SPEAKER_00]: not me, but our group saying at the um, we're saying in one group saying in front of the Senator of Tennessee.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wow.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then in another situation, our choir got to sing in the capital, in the capital building.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was like a whole like prayer service situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: And we got to present and I was saying, and I was, I think I was holding the, the American flag.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like we did like, it was like, so, so like, my, my school was into it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I get here and a lot of kids are like, why are we here?

[SPEAKER_02]: What was it voluntary to be part of the choir?

[SPEAKER_02]: Did all the kids actually part of the choir?

[SPEAKER_00]: No, they had to be they had to be in there.

[SPEAKER_00]: I had to be in there.

[SPEAKER_02]: They were so into that school.

[SPEAKER_02]: They were more into that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so maybe we'll get there in a couple of years.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was some problems.

[SPEAKER_00]: There were like, yeah, I did have students like can we to like, not in a private way.

[SPEAKER_00]: If it was a private situation, I was just told them no.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: They were like,

[SPEAKER_02]: The song calls for a solo like any chance could I solo and I was like yeah, oh, for real We just had that conversation Friday I mentioned like work is we're gonna think some like worship songs and then the assembly in November I don't even know when it is it might not even be on the calendar yet I don't you might want to work on that Yeah, because those think Right, but the all the kids were asking like

[SPEAKER_02]: Is there a solo, and I was like, well, not really.

[SPEAKER_02]: I've been seeing together, but I was like, well, but there's just one of the songs that we're singing.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's called Million Little Miracles.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's an elevation song.

[SPEAKER_02]: OK, I haven't heard it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's not one of their popular ones at all.

[SPEAKER_02]: But it's a really nice song.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it's all about how there's so many miracles that the Lord does for us, we can't even count them.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's the thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: So there's a section where they're going, like, I can't even, I can't even count them all.

[SPEAKER_02]: And in the recording, the guy is like kind of ad libbing like different things that he would say are a little miracle.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I said, like, well, what we'll do this week, think about something in your life that you're grateful for, that you think is a miracle that God has done, even if it's just a little miracle.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because it's the song is million little miracles anyway.

[SPEAKER_02]: Even if it's just a little one, and then maybe during that section, we'll have different students come up and just sing something short about it.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's like, it's not really solo, but maybe it'll be solo-ish, you know.

[SPEAKER_02]: And we'll try it out.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's like a baby step into it because we are going to have solos in our play next.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: We'll see.

[SPEAKER_02]: But we had a really interesting conversation a couple of weeks back about the different things.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like there are certain things that you can do in the classroom and certain things that you can do in youth group.

[SPEAKER_02]: and not like some things aren't appropriate for one context of the next and I was a really interesting conversation because that is so true and especially for myself as somebody that not only works in a lot of different places in my church but also

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, I have a business and I have, like, I perform music and the church and, you know, you want to be like authentic in all of those circumstances, but there are certain things that are appropriate conversations in one place and not in the next.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so it's a really interesting for myself.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is my first time teaching at like a Christian school.

[SPEAKER_02]: saying there's some stuff that are okay like in a youth group context to my church that aren't okay in the classroom.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so I'm trying to learn that as well.

[SPEAKER_02]: I could different a little bit of a different style for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh 100% yeah, this is something that I had I actually had to seek counsel for because I was running into a similar situation where

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like, especially, which I understand this, I'm not complaining about this, but we have to be very, very careful on what we say and what we do and how we present it.

[SPEAKER_00]: That sometimes, it feels like, I don't know if you feel this way, but for me, sometimes I feel like I'm not being as genuine as possible.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I'm not trying to be, I'm not trying to deceive anyone, I'm not trying to lie.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: there is lines that cannot be crossed when you're at youth group, but then there are lines that cannot be crossed when you're in school, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: And so the lines are different places.

[SPEAKER_00]: And one hundred percent and those lines may be in different places, but then what tends to happen is we have and which this is a good problem to have, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: But we're having kids from school or youth group and from youth group go to school,

[SPEAKER_00]: And so then they're questioning, hey, how come you did this?

[SPEAKER_00]: Or how come you said this here?

[SPEAKER_00]: But you're not doing this here.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I actually had to see council as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because I was like, look, this is my second year or I'm going into my second year being a youth pastor and being a teacher.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as much as, because for my college, I ran youth rallies, I sang and led groups and dealt with practice.

[SPEAKER_00]: Those were all college students.

[SPEAKER_00]: adults.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like you can't just keep the same mentality when it comes to children because right either children won't understand or you'll scare them.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah you're right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I remember I taught a lesson last year and there was a part like there was nothing wrong with

[SPEAKER_00]: the message of the lesson, however that's not all the kid got.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I opened up about some pretty, or I gave some illustrations that somewhere personal and somewhere not somewhere like other stories that I've heard.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I, next thing I knew I was having a meeting with, you know, my leaders, and it was like, whoa, why are you saying this?

[SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, what do you mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it was brought to my attention that like, look, for a college student or other adults that you said, you tell the illustration and church and their challenge, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're convicted.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yes, we need to do something.

[SPEAKER_00]: We need to, you know, be on the tack, do whatever, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: But when you tell students, like, now the kid has nightmare.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's like, oh my goodness, I wasn't, no, I, and so, right, we ended up solving that situation and I apologize, you know, because that wasn't the intent of the person, right, right, right, but like kids pick up on things that maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: adults would pick on but pick up differently.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, so I saw a lot of counsel.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, how do I do this?

[SPEAKER_00]: How do I when do I talk about it?

[SPEAKER_00]: How do I present it?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so,

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's, it's been, um, I don't want to say a struggle.

[SPEAKER_00]: Challenge for sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: There you go.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: As well as challenge for sure on learning what is appropriate and what is at the end of the day uplifting and identifying to those young people.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the last thing I want to do is confusing anyone.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so sometimes you can afford to not have such a wow factor in your stories or in your lessons, right, for them to make sure they can.

[SPEAKER_00]: handle the information you're feeding them.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: So funny story about that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I, the way that I came across this job is I went to a wedding that Russell was officiating and old friend of mine.

[SPEAKER_02]: I didn't even know he was going to Meriden Hills.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: I tried to get him to come to my church.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think we used to be sort of like the Indie Fundy like 15 years ago.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: 20 years ago.

[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now like a little bit more progressive than that, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, but my friend came from somewhere that's very, very conservative.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think he ended up landing at Merit and Hills because it's like level-headed, but still like, you know, you guys still have to dress up.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's a little more comfortable frame, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: So he so he lands there and then he meets this girl they get married and Ross does the wedding.

[SPEAKER_02]: This was this summer.

[SPEAKER_02]: Ross comes up to me.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's like, hey, would you be interested in, like, teaching music for us?

[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like, this is so random.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, this, like, I haven't talked to you in years.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, yeah, all this stuff.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we, you know, we think about it.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm like, oh, I don't even, like, that's so weird.

[SPEAKER_02]: And you know, I don't like, you know, I don't like,

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm in a different place, you know what I mean now, than I feel like I respect what he's doing and respect their church and stuff, but like, I'm not necessarily in the same place on some things and, you know, I'm all like inked up and like all this stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, no, no, I like some of the other teachers like, yeah, I was, I was like, oh, okay.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I was like, you know, I have like a neck tattoo, like I had to have like a little face tattoo in there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, for me, it's like, what's on your ear?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I've never seen that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, at least ask much of it, but I think it's really cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, uh, I appreciate it because of the the music side of it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, yeah, my ears all music.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, I think that's that's really cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: But me personally, I wouldn't do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I guess.

[SPEAKER_02]: But what I saw you was like, I was like, oh, why are you asking me like, this is weird.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like I was never expected.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Feel right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: So we meet, um, we meet up for the job to talk about it.

[SPEAKER_02]: And he says, I guess, and I, you know, I don't, maybe he had just done it, but the way he made it sound is like, since I've been at school, he's been like following me on Facebook and sees like all the stuff that I've done over the past like 10 years since I've been at this school, you know?

[SPEAKER_02]: Wow.

[SPEAKER_02]: 10 plus years now because I graduated in 14 which means I left the school in 13 and now it's almost 26 so yeah, I'm old I don't know yeah, but like so like 13 years plus he's in following me on Facebook listening to my music the first thing I think about is I came out with a song

[SPEAKER_02]: this year, uh, it was actually we made it in October.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think we released it in January, and it is like dark.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like it's a dark song.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, by the kind of, like, if people ask, like, what kind of music do you make?

[SPEAKER_02]: I make emo music.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so like, that's, it's a broad category.

[SPEAKER_02]: But it's a just song that I said, it's like dark.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, and I was like,

[SPEAKER_02]: So he knew of that and I was like you know like the music that I make like I don't consider myself like a Christian artist like I'm like Like I'm really into Jesus and like into like singing about him and stuff, but I'm not like you know I don't make like contemporary Christian music or whatever is that you you know might listen to and he's like

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's fine and I was like, yeah, I'm like kind of like I make like emo music and he's like we have a conversation about it And he's like, yeah, and I I told him he had listened to song and I told him about this song and where it came from and He was like, that's great, but like probably not appropriate for middle school Yeah I get that That's why I'm talking to you about it That's why I'm surprised

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think, you know, and I mean, obviously, he anticipated that I could make that distinction because he asked me if I would come in to each, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: So he knew that that was going to happen, but at the same time, it was the same exact conversation where we were like, you know, there's some stuff I think like this song where I'm talking about like having like depressive thoughts and thinking through those.

[SPEAKER_02]: Those are really important things to talk about, but like not in a middle school classroom necessarily, unless maybe one on one with a student, that's going through that, but not from like this stage in the middle of music class.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right, I mean, like, no, I agree.

[SPEAKER_02]: But I think that's an important lesson to learn for ministry in general, and especially ministry with younger people, too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Time in place.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, time in place is really important.

[SPEAKER_00]: Very, very important, Naya.

[SPEAKER_00]: I reference it's been pretty cool because I would have some kids so my Bible class is pretty interestingly set up it's not it's not it's not necessarily a chapel and it's not necessarily a straight-up just academic all about information class right it's somewhere in the middle but it

[SPEAKER_00]: I have these kids who do go to youth group and do go to school, so last year we switched it up a little bit this year on what their homework is a little bit, but I'm last year I'll either homework or essays and just like talk to me about whatever, well then sometimes I would get hands raised and hey, past that I can

[SPEAKER_00]: not that the lessons from this week were applicable or we didn't like anything.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like can we talk a little bit more about what was sent on Wednesday?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: You talk a little bit more about YouTube and I'm like, oh, shoot.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like right ahead.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Don't come home.

[SPEAKER_03]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: What's then out of sparked interest in other kids?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we add like more kids coming to youth group.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I loved it man.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was it was great.

[SPEAKER_00]: I still love it, you know, and it's going well.

[SPEAKER_00]: We like I said, we switched it up a little bit just to style of how We do homework and different things going on this year, but that was that was pretty neat to see last year.

[SPEAKER_00]: How

[SPEAKER_00]: time in place, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't say certain things or if I did, and sometimes it didn't mean to, right, in the school setting, but I would open up about it in youth group, right, and the ones that were in a youth group that really resonated, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And they were, they were like, like, I didn't want to do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, it was this season.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's one of my soccer players, and I love this kid, but I don't know where he's, he was just like, Patrick, I just want to say thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, thank you for being our coach, thank you for being youth pastor, thank you for being my teacher.

[SPEAKER_00]: We wouldn't be here without you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, that's awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: As I'm something him into the game, I was like, we're in the world.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the opposing team's coach heard that and was even like,

[SPEAKER_00]: Dang, dude, that's awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'll tell him I said, I don't care if we win or lose this game.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like, yeah, you're good now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm good, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I praise God for it because it's all him at the end of the day.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm grateful for the time he has given me with these kids.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: How many kids usually have another youth group?

[SPEAKER_00]: So we very, quite a bit, this summer we got hit hard, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like last year everyone was just so tired.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so this summer we got hit hard.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think the lowest we saw was like three in a youth group meeting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Which was funny because we were grilling like burgers and hot dogs.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so for three kids and three workers, three or four workers, we had like all of these burgers and hotdogs for him.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we re-fell them, we use them again, but it was definitely like funny.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I think on average, we run about 15 to 20.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then,

[SPEAKER_00]: when on special events and stuff we've had up to like 30 plus.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, God's been really good at school.

[SPEAKER_00]: And something I appreciate, we're not always the way the church is set up and our leadership.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're not always...

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't always base it off of numbers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously numbers tell you where the church is at where your group is at.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, we're talking about teenagers at the end of the day.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not even teenagers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Most of them are 6, 7, 8th grade, that the level 10, I think one dude is 10 right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So 10, 11, 12 year olds.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then a few upper class men that are 13 to 16 year olds.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so it varies quite a bit.

[SPEAKER_00]: 15 or 20 and then different events and stuff we do will be 20 plus.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's cool.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I have a small group right now.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think though my church is a little smaller than than Merden Hoses.

[SPEAKER_02]: How much is are you guys on a Sunday usually?

[SPEAKER_00]: I've had 200 to 100.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so I'm more like 60, 70.

[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yeah, Sunday.

[SPEAKER_02]: So it's a world like a little smaller than you guys, but our youth group is interesting because we actually don't have a ton of teenagers in the congregation on Sunday right now.

[SPEAKER_02]: We just picked up a family who has been coming to our youth group for a long time because they're their previous church didn't have one.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I get that all the time, like kids that don't have a youth group.

[SPEAKER_02]: I've had a lot of kids that, like, I only have their tangers.

[SPEAKER_02]: Their parents don't come to church.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's like a common thing for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, but this, this season right now, we have one family who has, they have, they have three, but two of them, one of them just turned 18 this year.

[SPEAKER_02]: The other one's like 20, but he came up in the youth group.

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, but their youngest is still, I think she's 14.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think she just turned 14.

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, and then I have another family that's three boys in their all middle school.

[SPEAKER_02]: Uh, one of them, sorry, one of them is in ninth grade this year.

[SPEAKER_02]: He just, and he, and he transitioned from home school to public school for high school, which is, which is crazy.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so he's making that transition right now.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think I think it's going to be good for him, uh, long-term actually, but I, but it is a different, um, really different thing, you know,

[SPEAKER_00]: we have one common student slash player we do yeah that's pretty cool um yes one of my soccer players goes to your youth group with just church and youth group both perfect yeah her family is the one I was referencing where her it's her and three three older brothers yeah

[SPEAKER_02]: Her oldest brother is now like out of the house.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's in Texas.

[SPEAKER_00]: He just got married actually as well last year, right last year I think they were I remember them telling me coach.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna make it to whatever game Right or something because there's a wedding where her soul is a wedding.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, okay Yeah, yeah, so they so and then the but all of them I've known since the were teenagers So he was in my group Because at but at the time they were going to a different place on Sundays and

[SPEAKER_02]: They some just some stuff their the church context.

[SPEAKER_02]: They were coming from was just not in a healthy you know what I think I remember Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, so they might have even come to Marin Hills for a service or two I may be but I don't I don't think so.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they're pretty they're a very casual Super casual Yeah, very like Homey people yeah, they are like they really are do they bring you like plants and so yeah

[SPEAKER_02]: because they all work at the farm.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, yes, they all work at a farm.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it was just funny because my wife loves all of that.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so they've given me moms and fruit and vegetables and stuff, which they've been bringing like reject vegetables for the past five or six weeks.

[SPEAKER_02]: Which is awesome, because I mean everybody loves like I grab some stuff, I'm like fried eggplant.

[SPEAKER_02]: And it's great and like the farm is gonna throw it away.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so I might just be like a little bruised or something like that Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's like I know what I'm talking about.

[SPEAKER_00]: I ever lead

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm allergic to a lot of fruits and vegetables.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, no.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's a lot of time I don't care.

[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of time I just do it, like I'll just eat whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as far as fruits go, my vegetables, I don't really... That's fair.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't really... Don't mess with vegetables.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a big, I'm a protein guy, so... Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Give me... And my family's Hispanic, so protein with some rice and beans.

[SPEAKER_02]: And then you're going to...

[SPEAKER_02]: It's all you need to do.

[SPEAKER_02]: More than happy.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: I love that.

[SPEAKER_02]: So what are your gatherings look like when you guys get together?

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Is it Wednesday?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we usually meet on Wednesday nights.

[SPEAKER_00]: All of them are from start at 6.30 and they go until 8.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so depending on what we're at, where we are like our church building, we don't have a lot of outdoor space.

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't have a playground.

[SPEAKER_00]: We don't do, you know, we don't have a gym.

[SPEAKER_02]: You do so much expansion has happened since I was there too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And very, like, perform, because I pray for us, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because we're we're looking into getting another building.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: But obviously, those processes are never quick.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I think we're looking at like two years.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, she's listening.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think.

[SPEAKER_00]: three, three years, if three years, realistically, two years, like really, really fast and yeah, miracles happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: But so yeah, I pray for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: But so why is the Lord the, the previous youth pastor kind of had it set up to, they were able to get in contact with the school that's behind hours.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And almost

[SPEAKER_00]: rent out their gym throughout the winter season.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, nice.

[SPEAKER_00]: When are months?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, but they don't try to just praise God.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's so cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, on Wednesday, it's like we were able to do it last year and I just did it again this year, I filled out the contract and

[SPEAKER_00]: did a sign-of-the-contract, and so on Wednesday nights when unless they're using it, we get to go into their gym and we'll play kickball, dodgeball, you know, just, I play shipwreck with them.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you've ever heard that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know that.

[SPEAKER_00]: They love that game.

[SPEAKER_00]: You just stand in the middle and call out different.

[SPEAKER_00]: sides of the court and they just first last one there's out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so you can imagine just 15 middle schoolers running frankly from right at the gym to the end of the middle tagging them

[SPEAKER_00]: No, no, so that one, I call it go fish.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think up here they call it shark attack, shark attack.

[SPEAKER_00]: OK.

[SPEAKER_00]: Here they call it shark and menos.

[SPEAKER_00]: OK. No, but this one, you run specifically to certain places.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's based off of a ship.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you have stern, bow, poor.

[SPEAKER_00]: OK, yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's the harbor, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so you yell that out and they go different places.

[SPEAKER_00]: Got it.

[SPEAKER_00]: One of them is hit the deck.

[SPEAKER_00]: So everyone's got to drop.

[SPEAKER_00]: right and what's really fun is it's while they're doing it while they're running all over place you switch it up add two or three places yeah and then you say hit the deck and then you just hear the the screeching you know skin from these kids like sliding on the ground because they're trying to try not to get out right right so everyone kind of cranges and you're like oh

[SPEAKER_00]: And then they're like, past Eric come out only, yeah, no, we saw it, you know, I could smell it actually, yeah, you are out and so, so I got they love that and then we usually, so 630 is drop off, but between 630 and 645 it's like free time, so the gym has hoops, so they can bring in their basketball, I have balls that they can use, but if they want to bring in a specific volleyball basketball, they can go shoot, hoop, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then after that, I'll come back in and we'll set the established game, which will be Chef Bragg, Shark Menons, whatever the situation is.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then once that is over, we'll do a snack.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I tell them all, let's say, look, this is not a meal, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: This is a snack, okay?

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pass that here, can I get thirds?

[SPEAKER_00]: Third.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, dudes, what, and I tease him a little bit about that, and so I'm like calm down, you know, let's make sure everyone gets something, right, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just so hungry.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, okay, we'll go home and eat.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, really.

[SPEAKER_02]: You're only here for like an hour.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, we do.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so once we have that, once we do snack, I'll do announcements right after that.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, guys.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, next activity, whatever, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: don't forget about this, don't forget about that, and then I'll go into the lesson.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so the lessons usually 15 minutes or less, I find series, and I make sure they're appropriate for my kids and stuff, and we go through devotional series and stuff like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But then something that we started doing towards the middle of last year, then I've really enjoyed

[SPEAKER_00]: was after the lesson, my leaders and I will divide up and we'll take, we'll divide the kids up and we'll ask them.

[SPEAKER_00]: What did you get?

[SPEAKER_00]: What do you think about this?

[SPEAKER_00]: What do you think about that?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it allows for students one to make a more intimate connection, but also it removes, because a lot of times students are thinking and students are, they do

[SPEAKER_00]: understand, but they're scared to raise their hand.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're embarrassed to say something around it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or, you know, they're embarrassed of being that Christian.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, there you go.

[SPEAKER_00]: They got something to say, you know, right, right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so because of that, we divide them up, usually my wife will take those cool girls.

[SPEAKER_00]: another leader will take high school girls, if there aren't any, and then I'll take either one of those girls' boys, and then another leader will take the other group of boys, but if the group is small enough, we'll just do guys and girls, so I'll take all the guys, girls will take all the girls, and just ask them questions, and try to get them in their act.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so once we have, once we're done with that, we pray it out, kids can go back into playing, doing whatever, finishing the rest of the food, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I'll go outside and call them based off of their who's parents are there to be picked up and go home.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's usually what our wins and nights look like.

[SPEAKER_02]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_02]: That sounds like a good time.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've been blessed and I've really, I really do enjoy it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I got to take one of the six great girls she was there really early and I had a volleyball.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the week before older girls were playing with my ball, she was kind of just looking.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so that week, I said, hey, like do you wanna play some volleyball?

[SPEAKER_00]: And just bump or whatever, you know?

[SPEAKER_00]: And she was like, why don't we know how?

[SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, would you like me to show you?

[SPEAKER_00]: And she was like, oh, okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so we set up for Youth Group Workwear.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, took the chairs out, took a table out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then we went in and said, look, I'm just going to toss it to you.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is how you hold your hands.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, let's hit and she was like, all right, and she's like, I've never done this before.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: She actually ended up really enjoying it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_00]: I kept checking with her.

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you good?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, do you want to do this?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know, I want to do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then even towards the end of it, she was like,

[SPEAKER_00]: My wife right now, she's one of the coaches that I'm all about team, so she said maybe I can go I can be on Miss Violet's fatherball team next year and I was like hey, you know like maybe let's go, you know, that's great And so that was pretty cool to see, you know, just allow

[SPEAKER_00]: You've been opening opportunities up like that for some deep for conversations.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, students and then you're just like, your heart hurts, form.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, guys, been good.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've really enjoyed it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: My biggest focus with youth group is, and I like it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Believe me, like I'm a pastor, like I want people to learn about the Bible and meet Jesus and grow in their relationship, whatever, but for me, the primary focus of youth group is just being a safe space where the kids can feel that they're being paid attention to and loved.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like that's the big thing that I want youth group to be.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like yeah, we're going to talk about Jesus, but for me, the focus is more like being Jesus in that moment for the kids and

[SPEAKER_02]: Um, creating that safe space and that here to listen and all that stuff.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so yeah, stories like that are exactly what you're looking for.

[SPEAKER_02]: I feel like in any youth group.

[SPEAKER_02]: Well, I'm presenting out the kids in that for that hour and a half, like you're getting my attention.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're safe adults.

[SPEAKER_02]: The adults here.

[SPEAKER_02]: We're all safe for here for you and we're here for you.

[SPEAKER_02]: This is your time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I understand.

[SPEAKER_00]: I tell them, look, I am not just because it's past a haircut, whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not some super Christian.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Please don't I said, look, please don't think all that's past there.

[SPEAKER_00]: He can do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: He can do that whatever.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, right.

[SPEAKER_00]: I said, guys, I have a lot of people praying for me and guess what?

[SPEAKER_00]: You have a lot of people praying for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Over the things we might go through are different just because I'm going to do it in your child.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: However,

[SPEAKER_00]: That hasn't made me better.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, right, we're all in the same boat.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're on the, something I, I didn't in the internship once and the pastor, this was kind of his go to phrase that I really agree with.

[SPEAKER_00]: But the ground is level at the cross.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I told him, I said look, the ground is level at the cross.

[SPEAKER_00]: No one is better than anyone, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so if I can just encourage you and point you back to Christ or help you realize how you can reflect Christ better in your life.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe we're on the right path and if I can encourage you and love you along the path as well Like I'll do it as much as possible.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I got one boy.

[SPEAKER_00]: I take him home after every youth group and yeah And that's allowed us to have several conversations my wife and I we didn't home You know, definitely and I do that for some of my sports teams as well and every time the parents are like thank you Thank you, thank you, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: That's almost in luck if I can I will

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and in my job here, I see it as to encourage love and edify and point them back to Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I love it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Gasman and good.

[SPEAKER_00]: I really enjoyed it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: So you're spending like much, much more time with young people than most adults out there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, he doesn't.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was, that was something that I had to come to terms with because at first, it was presented on paper, right?

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a lot different than living it, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a, so I knew what I was signing up for.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I wasn't deceived in any way.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: But once you're living it, once you're doing it, it's like, oh snap.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: You got to step up to the plate, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because you're wearing a lot of different hats and these kids, like, once you mess up, potentially, on how bad you mess up, you're done, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I understand.

[SPEAKER_00]: To be responsibility.

[SPEAKER_00]: One hundred percent.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I had to come to terms with that, because I see my kids, I agree with you.

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, the youth pastor growing up for my youth pastor, I would see him,

[SPEAKER_00]: less than 15 hours a week.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And now I'm spending like 50 hours.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: Because you're their teacher and their pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if there's any and I'm their coach as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good play.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so so I'm teacher.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm coach and I'm pastor.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's funny.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's funny when I'm sending emails because then after remind me, I said, okay, which, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you, which one have you,

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I have a coach area, you know, that's funny and so I have a similar thing to what I'm writing emails from my different different email accounts for each business right right so I can have a turn to email I've got a personal email.

[SPEAKER_00]: I got the store the stores email the studios email right like which signature am I putting right right now I agree and so but I Did I love it got to been so good.

[SPEAKER_00]: It took some getting used to right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because I

[SPEAKER_00]: Because I'm a certain way, my personality is a certain way.

[SPEAKER_00]: But now I'm doing with kids that are either really like me or not like me at all.

[SPEAKER_00]: So there are two high school girls right now who they're sweet hearts.

[SPEAKER_00]: I love them and they mean well.

[SPEAKER_00]: But they're like very, very extra and I have to tell them like,

[SPEAKER_00]: Now we're now like, please, like, and they're so funny.

[SPEAKER_00]: And again, they, uh, I know they look up to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: They told me.

[SPEAKER_00]: And like, one of them later told me yesterday because spirit weeks coming up.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pastor, if we had a, uh, dress as a teacher day, I'd dress as you.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, okay, she's like, yeah, there's like there's a few things I've known for my beard or the fact that I like just recently I've been showing my curls a lot more.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I noticed that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they're like, so she said, yeah, I'd have I'd have a fake beard.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'd have my curls out.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: She also has curls and then another thing I'm known for.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll have my, I'll get a pair of sunglasses and put them backwards on my head.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: And everyone will know I'm just as you.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I was like... That's funny.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know, if you want to do that, you know?

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm a little jealous because I'm getting ready for no shave November.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I cut like a lot of my beard off.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like I cut like four inches off my beard yesterday.

[SPEAKER_00]: No.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm looking at you with yours and I'm like, oh man.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a miss it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, that's funny though.

[SPEAKER_00]: It'll come back.

[SPEAKER_00]: schedule for Tuesday.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and same thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm I'm trimming a lot of my hair up top, but then also my beard Yeah, trim a lot because same thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm at the point to where I like if I it's going to get wild like it gets it grows the older I get the faster it grows and so I'm going to and it grows up to like my eyes

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm a that is one thing I will be saving are at least trimming up is the The chin the chin the cheek the cheeks.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, we'll see how out of control it gets his now Teaching now, so that's a big difference for me.

[SPEAKER_02]: I had to go out and buy clothes for this job because so did I my My church is very casual like I would I preach in Sunday.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm a preaching jeans and I'll have like an unbutton to color and shirt on Yeah, just cuz that's like stylistically, but I mean we could teach

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you could wear jeans and cheese shirt for my church and you could preach in that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: So, so I didn't have like, you know, tuck in like none of my, none of my shirts could even be buttoned.

[SPEAKER_02]: You know what I mean?

[SPEAKER_02]: Like they're all like too small.

[SPEAKER_02]: But because I don't button them ever, I don't ever need to buy more, you know.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, so yeah, so I'd go out and like buy clothes, but now I'm like, oh, yeah, I have to like look professionalish.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, so a lot of times I I style my hair back.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because of that reason.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but then people like my students were like That way past there.

[SPEAKER_00]: You have yeah, I'm clearly here like yeah, yeah, yeah, when you get curly hair I say when I was born.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah, always that it And so then they're like well you should do Like you should wear your kind of hair.

[SPEAKER_00]: So because like on Fridays we are quote unquote casual because we get to wear it Yeah, I didn't get that memo.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh

[SPEAKER_00]: Do you teach them?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you do.

[SPEAKER_02]: I do.

[SPEAKER_02]: But like I talked to, I had a meeting with Ross on a Friday a couple of weeks ago and I was like, you're in jeans, bro.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: What do you do?

[SPEAKER_02]: I thought you'd know we were allowed to do this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I am allowed to do it.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I'm just sticking with the...

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it's probably fine.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's fine.

[SPEAKER_02]: The way that I have interpreted Ross's leadership as a principal of the school is that he sets it up and then he lets you take it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Or what happens is he's like, he hears how it is and then he's like, you know, you go do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, something I really appreciated about him is honestly like there has it when there needs to be restructuring.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: We do that.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he's very much like he's pretty hands off.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like you, you, you, you take it, brother.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like how do I do it?

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's allowed me to grow tremendously, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because I came from pretty,

[SPEAKER_00]: this is what we do period situation like background.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so now it's like, okay, that's not necessarily wrong, but you're no longer in that type of environment.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_00]: So you have to be willing to adapt and change.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's allowed me to establish between me and my wife.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like,

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, this is something we do care about well, this isn't something we don't we care about so let's let's let's do what they drop it right or let's let's change and do and and so we've really really enjoyed it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I like it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I feel like it has allowed me to mature and grow as a leader as a person as a Christian.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and like I said when there's things that were That were made clear like no, this isn't something that we're gonna

[SPEAKER_00]: You know, change, that's the sound, but when that isn't the case, and it's like, yeah, just because you've been doing something, doesn't mean it'll work here, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: We change that, you know, and so, and I really appreciated the,

[SPEAKER_00]: freedom.

[SPEAKER_00]: He has given us in that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, but yeah, man, I think he'd be okay if you were jeans on Friday.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, but, and on Fridays, that's when I do the curly hair, because I'm right.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not kidding the first day I didn't.

[SPEAKER_00]: I got a standing location in my pocket.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's awesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just, no, wait, apologize, not a standing

[SPEAKER_00]: Round two applause for my hair.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I see.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I was like guys are so funny because I feel like this isn't look bad It's not high school right high school makes that's different.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's high school is yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I was like One time I wear headband like

[SPEAKER_00]: To get it out of my face because we had soccer.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, past dinner.

[SPEAKER_00]: That looks so good.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, all right, dude.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're like four geniuses on like I appreciate you, but let's let's move on It's like That's so cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: So my kids are pretty they're pretty funny.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do not like them, but yeah, I feel blessed

[SPEAKER_02]: So we're going to kind of bring it to a close, but one question for you to bring it as close because, you know, my listeners are obviously all over the map on like, you know, ages most, it's mostly adults that are listening to the show and mostly adults are going to church and one thing that I found, I'm sure I'm sure you found this too.

[SPEAKER_02]: is that adults go to church, not super great to interact with teenagers, in a general sense, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm really passionate about multi-generational integration and churches.

[SPEAKER_02]: So I don't think it's healthy for a church to be this all the same age people.

[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I don't think it's healthy if you go to church and only hang out with people that are your age.

[SPEAKER_02]: Like I think it's important to make that up.

[SPEAKER_02]: And I think it's important as adults go in a church to model

[SPEAKER_02]: what faith looks like for the teenagers, which requires interacting with teenagers.

[SPEAKER_02]: So speak to that for a moment just as somebody who works with teenagers all the time.

[SPEAKER_02]: If you're an adult and you're going to church, how is it that you approach and model what it is to be to live the life of Christ's an adult for the teens in your congregation?

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think two things I can think of right off the bat is number one, don't judge a book by its cover.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I think I'm gonna speak pretty generally, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: We label teenagers and we have preconceived notions of teenagers, why?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because we were teenagers, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And we knew what we did.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just because we knew what we did, doesn't mean that these kids are gonna do the same thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oftentimes more than that, we are correct, so that there's a reason why we do it, but that's not every time.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I have been in the two years actively that I'm serving, I have been

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, he's not what I thought he was in an in a positive way in a positive way and not only that they're willing and so number one don't judge don't judge right away, you know, before you can actually talk to a kid, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: But too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Give him a chance, give him some responsibility.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have one boy who I've challenged quite a bit and I've had some pretty real and honest conversations with him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And every time he says, you know what, Pastor Eric, thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: He understands, like I don't.

[SPEAKER_00]: I talk to him in a more adult style, he's a high school boy, so he can handle that.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I talk to him in a more adult style, however,

[SPEAKER_00]: I tell him, I said, look, you don't know everything.

[SPEAKER_03]: Sure.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not just that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we are both learning, however, what I do know and that's kind of how I challenge him out for that, what I do know and then talk to him about that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And every time he says, you know what, Pastor, thank you for being honest with me, for being real, but also not

[SPEAKER_00]: be littling or talking to me like a child and I'm telling and he's like, I know I am I know right still live at home with my mom You know sure and every time I'm like look you respect your mother right you love your mother Don't don't be don't be just cuz dude's bigger than I am right and so I'm like don't just cuz you're big don't be thinking you're grown Right that don't mean nothing You love your mother you respect your mother you respect authority in your life

[SPEAKER_00]: And then I level with him, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So if we judge our teenagers way too quickly, based off of us, we end up hurting them the same way we were.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was things that were done that I've experienced either because of me or because of how it was set up when I was growing up.

[SPEAKER_00]: don't do the same thing, don't, just because you were hurt, doesn't mean you should hurt someone else.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's been made very, very clear to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Look, don't be caring any hurt or bitterness because somebody should perform that will come out.

[SPEAKER_00]: And not only are you presenting that and preaching that to your kids, but your kids will also take

[SPEAKER_00]: used to influence others to reflect Christ, and if we're bringing in her and trauma and preconceived notions towards teenagers the same way they were brought towards us, we're not reflecting Christ, we're reflecting the trauma in other people's hearts.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: The hurt in other people's hearts.

[SPEAKER_00]: So at the end of the day, those two things, I think, lastly, number three, if you will, go talk to a teenager.

[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And like you said, you got to go talk to him.

[SPEAKER_00]: You got to go connect with them.

[SPEAKER_00]: No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if all they're getting is that you are this,

[SPEAKER_00]: adult who things they're all that right they're not going to give up two cents yeah of a rip right to listen to you yeah just because of your title right but you you you you you sit down with the teenager and say hey I love you not just that god loves you right and we're here for you next time you speak that teenagers that teenagers hide's gonna be different

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, they might actually listen to you.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_02]: I just think a lot of adults are afraid to talk to teens in general.

[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's okay, just.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think, especially because we're taught, especially, like, this definitely, how I was taught, and to a certain extent, I agree.

[SPEAKER_00]: But to not feel emotion or to not be vulnerable.

[SPEAKER_00]: kids only see characters in life.

[SPEAKER_00]: They only see whether it's through social media, through streaming, and all these applications, they only see a specific character that they get good at calling out and seeing the hypocrites, the two face, the people who are not transparent, they're good at that.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they want authenticity, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, if you can reflect Christ while being authentic, that's the best ingredients to be able to help another person.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's good.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's really good.

[SPEAKER_02]: I love that man.

[SPEAKER_02]: This has been a good conversation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, man.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've really enjoyed it.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thanks for having the time, man.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's a weird.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's it When you think about it, youth ministry is a weird thing.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's not a lot of things like I mean, maybe like school teacher gets close to it, but yeah, but when you're specifically doing it to like, you know, we want to show you the love of Christ.

[SPEAKER_02]: You want to help you grow in your walk with Jesus.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's not really like another job out there that's doing something similar to that and so we really are like this this thing called like you mystery is like a strange thing to do, but it's so necessary so needed.

[SPEAKER_00]: 100% and if I could add one more thing, don't think you're all that because of the youth ministry.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like if you're because that's very that's a very scary place to be because then eventually you start a cult.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: You start an army, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well then it's not about Jesus anymore.

[SPEAKER_00]: 100% about you.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean I think we've all if you've been in church for long enough, you've encountered somebody somewhere.

[SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[SPEAKER_02]: You can tell

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's more of a mental image, maybe.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's more of a, I don't know, just be very careful.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's my prayer, another prayer request that I've adopted from my life is a broken and humble.

[SPEAKER_00]: God, it keep me broken and humble.

[SPEAKER_00]: Remove Eric, they don't, they don't need me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, they need you, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: So it keep me broken and humble.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's good.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's good.

[SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you think you like John the Baptist saying the same thing, right?

[SPEAKER_02]: He must increase.

[SPEAKER_02]: I must decrease as he sort of looting his ministry.

[SPEAKER_02]: I always think a lot about first Corinthians right at the beginning.

[SPEAKER_02]: There's the section where Paul talks about, you know, you can you can build a house.

[SPEAKER_02]: with materials that were burned away, like straw, um, you can build that house, but when you build a house on the foundation of Christ, it lasts forever into eternity.

[SPEAKER_02]: And so, um, and he's specifically talking to church leaders there.

[SPEAKER_02]: He's like, you can, there's a way to do church leadership.

[SPEAKER_02]: That's only temporarily minded where it's about you and you're building with materials from, you know, earthly materials, right, but there's a way to build a ministry where if we keep it about Jesus, who's eternal, right, says have an earthly pathway, but my words will never pass away if that's what's the foundation of our ministry.

[SPEAKER_02]: Now we've got an internal impact.

[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's time for us.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's about him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And directing these students, these kids, these teenagers to him.

[SPEAKER_02]: It's good man.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen to that.

[SPEAKER_02]: Hardie Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Amen.

[SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you so much for making the time to do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for having me.