Israel & Rachel Campbell "SOUP" Podcast
Welcome to Season 3 of the Campbell Soup Podcast with Israel and Rachel Campbell. We are celebrating over 10,800 downloads and counting, thanks to listeners like you. We started this podcast with a simple idea: discipleship should be more than a classroom, it should be a way of life. When Jesus walked with His disciples, the lessons did not happen behind a podium but along the road, around meals, and through conversations about real life. That is exactly what we do here.
Each episode is like sitting down to a hearty bowl of soup, warm, nourishing, and full of flavor. We talk about life, love, parenting, relationships, faith, and whatever else bubbles up along the way. Some moments will make you laugh, others might make you think, but every conversation is stirred with honesty, hope, and a little humor. So pull up a chair, grab your spoon, and join us for another season of real talk, real life, and real discipleship, one spoonful at a time.
Israel & Rachel Campbell "SOUP" Podcast
CAMPBELL SOUP PODCAST- ISRAEL & RACHEL CAMPBELL "Don't lose your passport"
A midnight layover, a missing passport, and a family stuck between countries became an unexpected parable about identity. We walked through the stress, the finger-pointing, and the waiting, only to realize that what stalled us at the border mirrors what stalls many of us internally: forgetting who we are and whose we are when life shifts gears.
We unpack why identity gets hit hardest in transition—new jobs, new commitments, fresh steps of obedience—and how Scripture shows the pattern from Moses to Jesus. The enemy’s oldest tactic is still the most effective: “If you are…” We counter that with what Jesus modeled—“It is written”—and offer practical guardrails you can set before the turbulence arrives. We talk about building a circle that speaks truth when you forget, preloading promises so you can answer doubt on contact, and deciding your assignment before insecurity tries to rewrite it.
Along the way, we explore how borrowed armor limits your reach, why criticism that once crushed now glances off when you’re rooted, and how modern identity labels can become clumsy armor that looks strong but fits wrong. Your truest passport isn’t a title, tribe, or platform; it’s adoption. As children of God, we carry a name that steadies both failure and success. If you feel stuck in the corridor—unable to go back or forward—there’s a way through: ask for help, hold fast to the Word, lean on your people, and keep moving. The passport is meant for travel, not storage.
Hit play for a story-driven, Scripture-saturated conversation that’s equal parts honest and hopeful. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels “in transit,” and leave a review with one truth you’re holding onto this week.
Hey guys, welcome back to Campbell Soup Podcast. We are so happy to be back today. We have been on a long trip and we'll kind of talk about that later.
SPEAKER_01:But that's the hats.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, we well, I was gonna say this is our church event uniform. I feel like every time that there's an event at church, Israel and I are here with hats on because we haven't taken the time to really get cute. And we are setting up for one of the best nights this fall, and it's our guys' night. We've got a company coming with a big axe throwing. What is it, like a truck or something? System.
SPEAKER_01:System system truck axes. I don't know if you can put that as a system. Anytime there are axes, BO.
SPEAKER_00:It's gonna be awesome.
SPEAKER_01:Mine, mine treats.
SPEAKER_00:I am helping the guys out by putting together, it's kind of Pinteresty, but it'll be masculine. I'm doing a hot dog with chili dog, like whole setup. It's gonna be really cool. I'm not gonna add any flowers, Israel. Just lots of onions. It's gonna be so good.
SPEAKER_01:Uh I already got one text from Goody and Goody Goodlow, our resident bougie man. Mr. Foodie was like, hey, what type of are there? Is there whole wheat? Are these things? And I'm like, hey, Goody, if there's our axes that are dangerous, these hot dogs are going to be just as dangerous. So don't you dare think that it is a dodger dog, healthy kosher.
SPEAKER_00:We actually got asked one time if we had gluten-free options for our community. And I was like, Jesus, help me not snicker right now because they're just so funny.
SPEAKER_01:You didn't snicker?
SPEAKER_00:No, I'm like, you're partaking of the body of Christ, you'll be fine.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, and you know, those little things are styrofoam anyhow.
SPEAKER_00:It's not even nothing, nothing, nothing.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so yes, we just got back from a trip and it was very powerful in Romania. And so if we're a little droopy and we're wearing hats, it all has to do with events and traveling. But we're glad to be doing Campbell soup live or recording or whatever you want to call it.
SPEAKER_00:I do my best work while I'm jet lagged.
SPEAKER_01:I I have been told that I preach the best when I'm jet lagged. Uh, I just don't remember if what I said. So we'll see. But in any case, great trip back home, excited. But there was, we always have stories, there was one crazy chaotic story. And if you know us, one of the most challenging points in our marriage is when we travel. Rachel wants to go super slow, wants to enjoy the process.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm and by slow, he means get my bag before I get off the plane.
SPEAKER_01:I'm like, let's go. Let's get in line, let's not wait, and all of that stuff. But we're still happily married 28 years later, but post-travel. But anyhow, so we are getting off of a plane. Chloe and Silas were with us. Rachel and I were going from one country to another, and we get to the passport control on the last flight. It's like at midnight. The lady's not very friendly, especially when she sees my American passport. It might have had to do with my name, Israel David. I don't know. Maybe it was Campbell. Maybe she is part of a different clan and didn't like the Campbells. But anyhow, I get through and then uh Rachel's about to get through, and then we get to Silas and we say, Silas, where is your passport? And Silas cannot find his passport. We think it's in my bag, it's not in my bag. Rachel looks in her bag. We look in Silas's bag, we look in Chloe's bag, we look everywhere and it was gone.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And so the predicament we found ourselves in is that we were in between countries. It was, I think, actually one in the morning. We were the last flight coming in from England and we landed in Switzerland, but we were also on this in this weird airport where if you went out one exit, you'd be in Germany. If you went out the other exit, you'd be in France. And then the exit we were going out was Switzerland. But because we lost Silas's passport somewhere from when he boarded the airport plane to when we were entering the country, we were no longer in Great Britain, but we also had not gotten into any other country. So we they're like, you can't go backwards and you can't go forwards. Isn't that a good message? But it's all because he had actually, I immediately actually knew where it was because I know my son Silas, and we're trying to help him. He loves to be independent right now, 16-year-old. And so we're trying to help him like have these moments. So he has his passport. You're like, land the plane, tell the story. But he had his passport in the back of the airport pocket, and we weren't sitting with him. And I said, Silas, is it in the airport seat? And he said he can't. No, I wouldn't do that. But mom knew I just had this inkling. So cleaning lady found it at one in the morning, and she was the hero of the airport. Yeah. And we got to go into a new country.
SPEAKER_01:They weren't letting us in, they were calling people, walkie-talkies, all of that. We were stressed.
SPEAKER_00:We were without the adventure.
SPEAKER_01:And then whose fault is it? And then Silas, you know, say, No, I never had it. You had it. And we're like, we gave it to you. Yeah. So all of that wouldn't let us in. And so we kind of were thinking about that today, just in our podcast, that that would make a great little time, whether you're walking the dog, whether you're on the treadmill, or you are stuck in traffic, just to talk about what happens when you lose your identity. What happens when we as Christians have these moments where we forget that we are of heavenly descent, that we are citizens of the kingdom of God. And it's so easy to sometimes forget that. In fact, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 19 says, you are citizens along with all of God's holy people. And oftentimes we just kind of forget our citizenship and we stress out in this world when it comes to the news, when it comes to doctors' report, when it comes to something in our family with our kids. It's so easy to lose our spiritual passport. And we just wanted to talk about that in a way that was so practical for us, like Silas, we are stuck here. We can't go in, we can't go out, all because you left this thing that marked where and who you are and where you're from. And I think there's so many times in my life I've had moments where I've forgotten who where I'm from, where am I headed? What is my true identity? And because my current identity or the current crisis was knocking me out of that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I think about sometimes in my life when life tries to, or the enemy, or just life situations tries to tell you something different about yourself than what God says. And it's in those moments we have to know who we are. And even more importantly than who we are is whose we are. And that Jesus really did die on the cross so that we don't have to live with the same outcome on earth as we do when we don't know the Lord and we haven't been purchased by his blood. And, you know, one of my daughters had heard somebody say something derogatory about me a little while back. And it was something that maybe 10 years ago would have really thrown me for a loop if I heard that somebody said whatever they said. But you know, it's just life that will happen, right? And she she was like, Mom, I just, I'm so sorry they said it to you. And I just looked at her and I thought they were kind of questioning my relationship with the Lord and my leadership. And I said, Phoebe, I'm too far in with God to have something like that on this, something surfacey like that, affect my identity. And I think that that's the whole conversation we want to have today is God's desire for us is to get so deep, wrap deeply wrapped up in who he says we are because of what he gave us, that what people try to put on us or what people say about us doesn't even touch us because we know who we are. We're too deep in. And you know, that doesn't come through all good days, I don't think. I think that finding our identity in Christ comes through the hard moments where we dig into his word and we find the promises of God for ourselves and we go, okay, I've got to know who I am in this world that's trying to shout who I'm supposed to be.
SPEAKER_01:And almost like what you're saying is it's almost like Silas losing his passport is, and that whole situation is gonna actually cause him to be like white on rice, like the glue to that thing in the future because he experienced a moment without his identity. And now for the rest of his life, hopefully he is 16, hopefully for the rest of his life, he's like, I cannot leave my identity, or this is gonna happen again. And I think that that's what you're saying is like it doesn't just it happen by happenstance. Sometimes it happens because we really do. We lose our identity, and then that situation is so traumatic, so toxic, so whatever it is, then we're like, okay, we can't let's make a decision to never go back to that again. And I just think that that's so important. And I think everybody experiences that. It's it's even as as much as you said, I love what you said, is like, I'm I I'm over that. I don't do that again. There are other new opportunities that we still can sometimes just go back to that. And so there's some areas that we are we are memory, we have trained our muscles to memory, memorize that that okay, no, now we attack with the identity, and then there's something new, and it's amazing at 53, and there's sometimes there's these moments of insecurity. And I'm like, what is that about? Why, why would I have that now? The great thing is, like you said, Rachel, it's not gonna be like 10 years ago where it could really get me off track. I could like easily identify that. No, no, no, no, that's not who I am. This may be a moment, this may be a feeling, but who I really am in Christ is this, this, this. So good. And that's really a lifelong lesson for you and I, hasn't it?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And you know, the crazy thing about Silas that we learned was we were we just said to the immigration officer, let us just go back to the plane and ask the flight again. She's like, you can't even go back to the like five feet from where you are. You cannot even go back. So you can't go back to where you were, but when you lose your identity, you can't go forward and you can't go back. You're literally stuck because there's there's no identification of who you are and where you belong. And that's wouldn't that be the enemy's goal? It's just to paralyze us.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's so good. And we were talking about that, you know, when Silas had his passport at home, we have a we have a file that's fireproof. We've got all the passports and like this plastic sleeve. They're in a Ziploc bag because we have had water damage to passports before. That's a whole nother podcast. But it it was safe when we weren't in transit. And so what was what we were talking about is really when you're in transit, when you're in transition, that is one of the greatest times the enemy attacks our identity. And you know, of course, John 10, 10, the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. But even before then, if you think about moments that the enemy tried to kill baby Moses, was when he was a young infant, still hadn't gotten his identity, Jesus, before he, you know, uh when Herod is trying to kill the babies in Bethlehem, you know, early identity. And then even later, the great temptation of Christ, where the enemy's trying to tempt him, it is if you are the son of God. And so it's these moments of transition, the enemy really sees and is like, okay, so this new season, I'm really gonna attack your identity. This new job, man, I'm really gonna attack your identity. This new even goal or this new, hey, honey, we're gonna believe God for this. Wow, watch out. The enemy will try to attack our identity when we're in the middle of transition.
SPEAKER_00:A hundred percent. I just think that that is the time that we're always the most vulnerable, is whenever there's something new. And that can be from a new, like where you're saying, I'm not gonna live this way anymore. I'm going to put away this sin. And you've been convicted, and so you're like, I'm gonna make this market, or maybe it's tithing. You're like, I am going to trust God with my finances, and it's a big deal for you. I've never heard of anyone beginning to tithe, and all of a sudden they're just so blessed. Yes, usually there's a test on the identity of your finances. So true. Happens in every single area. My dad used to say new levels, new devils. And I love one-liners because they kind of remind us, but it's true, and it's it's a universal truth that every time that we ever try to begin to take ground, the enemy will come in right away to discourage us before we build strength in that area. And I think it's good to know that. So maybe that's you today. And you just feel like, wow, I was trying to have faith and I got clobbered. You might be barking up the right tree then because the enemy will try to rob you of your identity and hearing from God and and walking something out. It always happens, it has for us all of our life, hasn't it?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I mean, so good that like what you were saying, maybe you're barking up the right tree. The passport safe in the firebox means there's no travel. Safe in the firebox means you aren't moving, you aren't going anywhere. And so then where it can be lost is when you're moving into something new or something different or whatever. And so I think that that was great, is just if that is happening, I think there's some assurance to go, okay, if it happened to Jesus, if it happened to baby Moses and even Jesus as a baby, then maybe that's why, because I'm walking into something new, and the enemy knows if I can get them in their infancy, maybe I won't have to get them later. And so in this moment of transition, if I can discourage them, if I can get them to, you know, forget who they are in Christ, forget their identity, then I won't have to deal with them later. And so I like what you said, Rachel, is just can we just encourage you? You may be going through this for a reason, and and it's only because you're about to go into this new season. And so just be encouraged by that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and I think also on a practical level, if you know that you're going into a transition, then you can safeguard your life by really um bringing in your community of people that have faith and being like, this is a transition season. Correct. Will you remind me of who I am if I lose the plot? Will you make sure to hold me accountable that I don't change while I'm changing? And then the other thing I would say is being aware of that, then you can guard your heart and your mind with the word of God. You can start beginning to declare scripture before your identity is challenged. And so it's almost just being aware, okay, the enemy is not gonna take you out, but your identity will be challenged. And because of that, there's some safeguards that you can practically do to really help you stay strong through your transition.
SPEAKER_01:And that's really biblical because the New Testament talks about that we're not naive of the devil's schemes. And so being wise and saying, okay, I am gonna transition, knowing that there's gonna be an attack on that, going ahead of time and knowing what God says about me in this season? What does God say about me over this really can help? And you know, I can I know again at my age, there can be a moment where I'm speaking. I mean, maybe just even the great example of just being in Romania. It was all of these pastors who in my mind I'm thinking, how is somebody from Los Angeles going to relate to them? Then there were all these really kind of generals or just very seasoned pastors from Australia there. And like in my mind, like, what why are why am I speaking and why are they here listening? Can't they go do something else? And and so you have all these things, but would you know, just going back to no ahead of time? No, this was a divine assignment. I know that I am called to do this. I had a spoken words when I was barely over being over of a teenager, just like early 20s, that I'd be shot to a nation and brought back. This is part of God's prophetic word. And you know, the word of God will not return void. And so this isn't about if I'm from America, this isn't about if I understand Romanian. This is the power, and so I like what you're saying is you know ahead of time so that you can combat that. That's why it was so powerful when Jesus says, it is written. Every time the enemy is, if you are, no, it is written. And I think we need to have our it is written. But I loved your surround yourself with some people that can also say that to you.
SPEAKER_00:I remember when we were launching this church, we'd been pastoring two campuses in North Carolina for 10 years. And so senior pastoring wasn't gonna be new to us, but launching a church was, and we went to this conference all for church planters. And the man that was running it stood up and his Chris Hodges, he's amazing, and he said, I just want you to know if you launch a church in a new city, all hell's gonna break loose in your family. And you just need to know what's gonna happen. And when it does, don't be surprised because the enemy's not gonna win. And then he told the story about his family and what had happened when they launched their church, and we're like, wow, that was insane. That was so intense. So then a year later, here we are, and we get to LA and all hell broke loose against our family. Silas was a little four-year-old, and his blood was coming out of both of his ears randomly. We had no idea what was going on. Rush him to the emergency room and hit both of his eardrums just randomly burst, but it was like this scary, heavy, demonic feeling um moment. And I just the reason why we want to talk about this identity thing is because your identity will of course come under attack. If you're doing anything for the kingdom of God or you're moving forward at all, the enemy hates it when we take ground. And so this whole podcast is to encourage you that you're you're doing the right thing if you've lost your identity because you're moving. And so we just want to talk about it so you're not surprised and you know you're not the only one. It's not because you're doing bad, but it's probably because you're doing good.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. This is a podcast to encourage you, not just to tell you some stories. Every little season is gonna be difficult. But I I think I think when you go around in a circle, every single person can say, I've been there, been in a tough season, or in a tough season. Sometimes we don't know people's stories, and so just being authentic maybe will help you go, okay, this is not just me, because that's what we do, right? We see everybody's Instagram and their life is so good that then we think, oh, I'm the only one that's going through this. I'm the only one that's lonely, I'm the only one that's being attacked, I'm the only one. And so I think it's good. But in the spirit of encouragement, you know, this next thing is we didn't know where that passport was. The lady that worked at the passport counter had no idea where it was. But you know what? God knew where it was all along. And so we did, we did kind of we all prayed, oh God, please help them find it. And you know, kind of settling even Silas down because I think right about then he's starting to realize it was me. I mean, for a while, he's like, I don't even know where it was.
SPEAKER_00:But I think you know the whole time I was like, Silas, you're blameless, you're wonderful, you're the best.
SPEAKER_01:Mom loving on him a little too much, and I'm trying to teach him to be a man. Go get that thing back. But I think that what was is good is God always knows. And I think that when we are really struggling with an attack on identity and we lose our identity or any of those things, the great thing is we have a personal relationship where we can say, Holy Spirit, help me find it. And you know, we got we got lady coming back, and she was like, Ah, the lady found it. And, you know, it still took another half an hour for that transaction to take place and everything. But, you know, just knowing that God sees He Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So he sees where we were, he sees where we are, and he sees where we're going. And that's such a relief to God have lost the plot. I've I've I've taken a couple steps back. I feel like I'm paralyzed, I feel like I'm not moving forward. We have this great relationship where God can say, Come on, I know exactly where it is. You don't have to stress out, and we can move forward from this.
SPEAKER_00:So good. There have been so many times in my life, in particular, because I know my own self, where it felt like my identity was being attacked. But when I look back, I see God was allowing some things to fall off of who I thought I was supposed to be, so that he could remind me who he created me to be. And sometimes that whole losing of identity or that insecure feeling when you're in between two things, like in between seasons or in between roles or in between relationships, whatever it might be, sometimes that's the greatest place God can work too, because we can begin to pick up identities just by admiring people or by being around certain big personalities. We can alter what God's actually created us to be anointed in. And so that's the other thing, too, is like just trust God when it when you feel insecure about anything identity-wise, just go back to the basics and be with the Lord. And he'll either give you a new thing that he wants you to remember about yourself, or he'll restore what you feel has been broken. But I just want to encourage you, he's always working. If we give him the space in our life, he's always working and making us better. And that can even come through an attack on our identity.
SPEAKER_01:I love that. I just was thinking, honey, that story in Samuel where Saul tried to put his armor on David. And David just knew this. I can't move in this, I can't do what I'm supposed to be called to do. And so sometimes people put their identity on. It's just easy to assume somebody else's identity. And don't aren't you glad, Rachel, that you and I aren't the same of what we were. Maybe our identity was found in when we were first in Bible college or when we first did that. And so, as Christians, we don't believe in evolution, we don't think we came from monkeys, but we do believe in change and transformation and from glory to glory, God doing something. And so, what you touched on is sometimes God will allow stuff to break off because he's really wanting you and I to go to another level. And so we've become almost addicted to the crutch. We get addicted to maybe that personality or that that insecurity, and it's like a blanket to us, it's a security blanket. And God's like, no, this is gonna be a season of faith, and it may seem harsh, but on the other side of it, it's gonna be so much better and so much more growth and so much more leadership and so much more strength, not just for you, but then your ability to be able to reach others. Because I think in my own life, I was limited at times because of maybe some of my insecurities hadn't been broken off. Some of those things that I had allowed to be part of my identity actually kept my reach smaller. But since he has changed and renewed and done things, now my reach can be a little bit bigger.
SPEAKER_00:And I have a question for you. I was just thinking while you were talking, and I think this is a really good question that we did not talk about before this show. So you're gonna be put on the spot. Get ready. Oh, we live in such an identity-driven world. Identity politics is a big thing. Like, you know, there's all of these new rules, really, where identity matters and people group themselves together by identity and identity, right? But then what about the scripture? What about what about this part where we're supposed to lose actually our identity and be in Christ? I mean, our identity. We're talking about Silas losing his identity, but the truth of the matter is when you opened up that passport, it was Silas Campbell because he belonged to our family, he was our son. We were not gonna leave him stuck in between countries. We were not at the end of the day, I was about to, but yeah, go ahead. At the end of the day, though, yes, he's an American, but even more than an American, he's a Campbell. Yeah, I think as Christians, when we're talking about our identities being under attack and losing our identity and all of these things with identity, it'd be really we'd really miss it if we didn't talk about the whole fact that where do we find that balance in finding our identity in Christ as believers, you know, in a world that wants us to identify with so many things that aren't even about Christ. I guess that's my question. It's a big and deep one.
SPEAKER_01:A big and deep question, and I just give you maybe not as big and as deep of an answer, but I I think by just what you said, you answered it is that cannot, we cannot do that. And I I really think it's very, very weak and very shallow if that's where you're really putting your identity in. And you're right, it's it's definitely something that this world is doing, trying to get you, whether that's pronouns or getting it to be where you went to school, or whether that it's some kind of title, doctor, you know, all of these kind of things. They're trying to get you to how do you identify politically, you know, all these things. Even as Christians, I always know for a fact that John Calvin would cringe that people would call themselves Calvinist. I mean, he would be like, no, please don't call yourself after my last name. Please call yourself after Jesus and be Christ followers. And so we can even do that evangelical or you know, all of this stuff. And it's so easy to get lumped into that. And I just my I guess my deep answer to you is try to avoid it. Now, can you not in all situations when you go fill out different forms? They want titles, they want all of those things that you know, you have to fill out different things of race and stuff. But again, we are not, we are citizens of heaven, yeah, and we have to remind ourselves of that constantly. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord, and so no little group oversedes that, and no little group it gets over that. And so I think it's a constant thing in our world trying to put that on us, but in the kingdom of God, there is none of that. And the only titles are he is holy, the only titles is he is worthy, the only titles is he's the lamb of God, he's the lion of the tribe of Judah. And so to him gets all the praise and glory, and we don't get to bring our titles to heaven.
SPEAKER_00:I know we're kind of ending, but I was just gonna say whether you have failed miserably and you're listening to this podcast and you're just ashamed of your identity, or you're at the top of your game and you're just you've everything that you've ever believed for, you're living in and you feel successful. The greatest identity flex is this that all of us are children of God. And that is the thing that makes our lives worth going at it again tomorrow. And I I pray that that's what we do. Just what what you were talking about about being like, I'm not a Calvinist, I'm not an evangelical, I'm a child of God. And that is the greatest gift I've ever been given. And it makes it so that if I fail today, I don't have to tomorrow. And it makes it so that all of my successes I can lay at his feet and still have this beautiful identity. And it's all through him and not us. So that's our prayer is that you're inspired to have that your identity in Christ wherever you are.
SPEAKER_01:Amen. We declare it, we pray it over you. And please send us some comments. Let us know that that helped. Let us know where you lost your passport and also pray for the Campbells so that we do not get stuck in between countries. But we love you guys. Share this with a friend and can't wait to see you at our next Campbell Soup Podcast.
