Ep. 115 | Highly Effective Callings | ft. Matt Pennington, Mary Beth Everett & Brandon Kahnk

In today's episode, Astin Kahnk is joined by Pastor Matt Pennington, Mary Beth Everett and Brandon Kahnk for a conversation about calling and a discussion about week 2 of our sermon series "Called to This." Listen in as they discuss feeling the burden for your calling from God and what to do while you are waiting for doors to open. You won't want to miss the conversation about staying faithful to your calling in seasons of burnout. Let's dive in!

If you have any questions about this podcast, or about The Orchard Community Church, we would love to hear from you! Visit our website at theorchardcc.org and fill out our contact form, or send us a message on Facebook (@IAmTheOrchard) or Instagram (@theorchard.cc). Until next time!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

I never really thought about a burden would lead to my calling. So the fact of what my burden is lines up with what I'm doing was very reassuring to me.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

To steal some of my favorite words of John Teal, one of our favorite pastors, he said that a lot of times our setbacks are actually a setup. That was exactly what was happening because all these different jobs I was in, even though I wasn't necessarily pursuing those for a long time, all of them gave me the experience that I needed that I could utilize.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Here's Nehemiah, he's the king's cupbearer. He's living in a foreign land. Like you see how so many times God is working in ways that we don't even see or understand. Right. But when you put your yes on the table, yeah. And in his timing, you look back and you're like, oh, I get it.

SPEAKER_05 0:45

Welcome to Let's Talk About That, the podcast where we deep dive into Sunday's message and explore your questions. I'm your host, Aston Kank, and I'm excited to share this journey with you. Whether you're a longtime member of the Orchard or a first-time visitor, Let's Talk About That is your space to explore, reflect, and connect. Join us as we navigate the intricacies of faith, spirituality, and daily life, seeking to understand how the wisdom shared on Sundays can be applied to our modern challenges. So grab a cup of coffee, find a comfortable space, and let's dive in together. This is Let's Talk About That, where the conversation about Sunday's message never stops. Well, welcome back to Let's Talk About That, episode 115. And I am very excited about this conversation because I have some cool people sitting around the table with me today. So I'll let them quickly introduce themselves and then we'll get started.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Is one of them cooler than the others?

SPEAKER_05 1:45

One of them might be top tier cool, but we'll we'll let the the other one the coolest one at the table.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Okay. So all right, Matt, introduce yourself then. No, let's hear it. Okay. All right. I am Brandon Kank, also known as Aston Kenk's husband. So you're automatically qualified, coolest person at the table.

SPEAKER_05 2:05

Hands down.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

I guess. Still got to earn it though. Yeah. We have marriage counseling after this. All right, next cool. Mayor Beth, you. Well, I want to hear about Brandon. Okay, okay, okay. I just met Brandon like You did. What? 25 minutes ago. Well, I don't think we got time for the life story, but uh what tell us a little bit about yourself. Or mostly Aston's husband, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Okay, brief life story. Grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. Met Aston there. She's got some extended family in Omaha. So you know about a runza? I know about what? Arunza? Runza. Runza.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Runza. Sorry. Yeah, we get Runza. We went to Nebraska a couple years ago. Okay. Turkey hunting.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

I thought it was called Runza, whatever, but. That's really funny. We got introduced to that. Definitely say runza or you will get made fun of an Omaha. I'm not sure I'm going back. So yeah, uh, Alison and I moved down here to Florida, what, summer 22? That was to Pace and then to Lake City about six months ago. So that is very expedited life story. But um, yeah, started up my own handyman business. That was six months ago. So that'll probably come up in this chat talking about callings and stuff. So yeah, it's all I got for right now. All right. Dig it.

SPEAKER_04 3:11

Hey. That's very bad. It's Mary Beth. That's what I would get from Harry Beth. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

All right. And I'm Matt. I've been here before. Live location pastor for anyone who might be new. So good to be here.

SPEAKER_05 3:23

Yeah, glad to have you guys and excited for this conversation. So oh, we also have uh the Chip Parker in the room. Chip, you want to say hello?

unknown 3:30

Hey.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

The man that missed the legend.

SPEAKER_05 3:33

Because I mean, seeing this is his office, he gets to chime in on these conversations. But yeah, so excited about this conversation. So we've been in our new sermon series, called to this. It's been fire. It's been exciting to hear about Nehemiah and the burden in his heart and how, yeah, just seeing that process of feeling the burden, praying, fasting, and then kind of seeing that took him four months to get to that open door that God had opened for him. So I kind of want to lean into calling today. All of us, you know, Matt, you're 30, mid-30s, we're all, you know, looking lower. Excuse me, excuse me, low to mid-30s. The the other end of the table, upper mid-30s. But we've been all, you know, we've all done life. We all have kids. And so we're all kind of walking in what this calling is. But I would love to talk about today. Some of us, like Marybeth and I, had jobs before ministry. Brandon, you've just started a new business. So kind of want to have the discussion around today our calling. When did we feel God calling us into where we're at now and kind of what that process looked like?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

You want anybody particular to start? Yep.

SPEAKER_05 4:38

Want you.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

I have a question for you guys, actually. So I think we have a unique opportunity. Uh and I speak for myself, Chip, Eddie, Robert, of this idea of calling is kind of familiar in the ministry world. You know, like I've always heard about people, oh, I was called to ministry. You know, like that's a very familiar language in the context of working at a church or being employed by the church in an official capacity. I am curious for the others of you around the table, because I've also prepped the messages and we talk about it. So like we live in this world of constantly thinking about how do you communicate it and all that kind of stuff. But I think sometimes we take for granted even the language that we're familiar with is maybe foreign to some of the people that sit in our chairs. And so I'm curious for you guys, even on the hearing end of the conversation, just in general, how has this series maybe struck you or resonated with you? Has it been like, oh, I never thought about my job or my life as a calling? You know, I just think about my life in terms of career and things that I like, things that I enjoy. So I'm just curious, has it struck you guys in any particular way? This idea of calling?

SPEAKER_05 5:46

Yeah. I would say for me, what's really resonated with me a lot is reminding me that not even ministry, but just my role in the house as a mom has been, will always be my greatest calling, besides being a daughter of Christ. Like that's my greatest calling. And just remind like, you know, I think it was said multiple times, it's not necessarily what you do, it's who you're around, who you're influencing, who you're raising. And that really just resonated with me. And I feel like for a lot of the, especially the stay-at-home moms who that's their life 24-7. I was in a season, you know, like that. And it's, you know, it's hard. You don't full-time job. Yes, seriously, you don't get to just clock in and clock out. I mean, it's 24-7, 365 all the time. And so I've reminding me that that's always gonna be my greatest calling and making sure that I view that when I'm around my kids. Obviously, yes, you know, we're sinful. We're gonna lose our temper on our kids every now and then, but just keeping that in the forefront of my mind of like, all right, God, what do you want me to teach my kids today through my relationship with you? And in keeping that in the forefront of my mind, even in those really, really trying moments.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

And sometimes it can just be helpful to like regain your perspective. Like I know this, but you it gets lost or buried in certain C's ass, especially newborn. I know you guys have a newborn line.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

We're kind of about to be in that again.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

We're simultaneously emerging out of and about to enter into newborn. But yeah, I think it's good just to kind of regain that perspective sometimes. So anybody?

SPEAKER_01 7:14

I would say mine's kind of along the similar lines. One of the things that really stuck out to me about Chip's message was when he said that the plumber's role is just as important as the pastors. And I think so many times we as Christians we feel like we get led into this false narrative of if you're not in ministry, you're not really fulfilling God's calling for your life. And it's just it's such a lie because God's uniquely positioned us exactly where we're at for that role. And even though he might be leading us to something else, eventually, it's you know, the plumber's role is just as important as the pastors. And so just yeah, just being reminded that that narrative of, you know, the secular divide is just totally false. And that, yeah, whether you're a mom or in the trades or a pastor, if you're if you're walking in God's will, there's nothing that's going to be less important than another role. It's it's all worship, it's all God's calling for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

And it influences how you do those things. Yeah. Absolutely. Like that's the biggest thing, maybe Beth.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

I all I said was yeah. Yes. Name it.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

I feel like those like when I was in college, you had a discussion board. Yeah. And that reply, you had to reply to XML and everyone. It's like, I agree with everything that's useful.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

I love your points, one, two, and three. Yeah. No, I would say though, it the last two weeks have been reassuring for me. Not that I really was doubting where I am. I definitely feel like I am where I need to be. But it was reassuring hearing all of that again about like the burden and just like the things that I was burdened with is l lines up with where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

No, I totally agree with you on that. Yeah. I mean, I was just curious because I mean, like I said, calling is something that I've always heard in in my role, you know, as pastor, whatever. In fact, a lot of that, if you ever enter into the ministry, you've been to have those conversations. One of the first questions that you get asked is, okay, well, tell me about your call to ministry or whatever. You know, and and so I think that's something that I've always resonated with. But, you know, I'm just curious for our people, is that something that is familiar or is it something that's like, oh my goodness, I've never even considered this before? Yeah, I just went into this trade or I worked this job because that's kind of what my my parents led me into or encouraged me to do, or I went to college, got this degree, so I just started working in this field or whatever, which is which is fine, but I don't know if it's always been like, hey, God has called me or He has a calling for me. I haven't figured out that yet. So just curious.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

I will say I can remember feeling like just being somebody out in the congregation, sitting listening to the messages years and years ago. Anytime there was conversation around calling or what you're called to, I can remember feeling uncomfortable and uneasy and like scared kind of. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 10:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Like scared of scared of what that might look like. And I don't know, I can remember like sitting in the uncomfortableness and not really liking it.

SPEAKER_05 10:15

Yeah. Almost like you knew God was doing something but wasn't sure. Scared of what that might look like. Yeah. When you were talking, it made me think of, you know, calling. I don't remember when the first time I heard that phrase, but a lot of the time, you know, when you think about calling, I think some people do also kind of look at like what is their skill set? You know, are you a good people person? Are you good at communication? What is it? And I think that yes, those things are important, but I also know that like if God is calling you in something and maybe that's not even on your skill set, he's gonna equip you for that. And so I think for someone in the congregation, that could be a little nerve-wracking. It's like, oh my gosh, I feel burdened to, you know, maybe it's, I don't know, be a missionary in Africa, but it's like I'm terrified of planes, you know, or whatever it is. It's like God's gonna equip you for that. But just like what Nehemiah did referencing the sermon, he sat there and he waited in that. He sat in the uncomfortable. I think that was one of the bullet points that maybe Chip had a couple of weeks ago of like you're called it's not gonna be comfortable all the time. It's gonna be scary. You're gonna have to count the cost when you do those kinds of things, but yeah, you're gonna see fruit on the other side of that.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Yeah. You may have to leave something that is very comfortable. Correct.

SPEAKER_05 11:23

Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that, man. Let's let's keep going. So, yeah, so thinking about calling, I kind of want to hear not necessarily your testimony, but maybe where you were and how did you get to where you are now? So obviously, you know, Brandon, you are in the trades. Mary, Beth, and I, we were in education. Matt, kind of just want to hear our stories of kind of how God has transformed, you know, where we were to where we are now.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

So I'll tell you, I shared this in Live Oak in week one a little bit, but very clearly for me, I tell people all the time, I met Jesus when I was 17. I grew up in the church, but I met the Jesus that I learned about life when I was 17. And so from that point forward, my life was changed, but I didn't have any inkling of like what this looks like career-wise or the future. All I knew was I met Jesus, and if he said jump, I'm gonna jump. If he says wait, I'm gonna wait because that's who he is as Lord. And so I was a freshman in college. I was going to church because I was raised in the church. I understood the importance of church, but really it was I met Jesus. And so I I wanted to, like, I wanted to soak up his work. I wanted to sit under teaching, I wanted to be around people, all of those kinds of things. And it was a Sunday night service. It was exactly like you would imagine a Sunday night service to be. I was probably the youngest person there by 20 years. I was sitting all by myself in the middle pew, probably six rows deep. It happened to be an ordination service for a guy. I don't know who he is. I didn't even know it was ordination service. I just showed up because it's Sunday night service, and as clear as I'm talking to you guys, it got to the point in the service where the guy comes up to give his message, you know, as part of that ceremony for lack of a better term. And his feet hit the state, like the steps to go up on the stage. The minute his feet hit the steps, it was as if God said, That's what you need to be doing. Wow. And at the time, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, I was playing baseball, I was taking all these like sciences and labs and all that kind of stuff. It was just this, all right. You know, and I think yesterday when we talked in the message that prayer prepares us to walk through the door that God opens, that was the moment that God made clear to me this calling. But, you know, two years of just following Jesus had prepared me to, I didn't have to think twice. No, I didn't know what it looked like. Yeah. It there was this reaction of like, I think you got the wrong number, you know, not me. I'm the guy. But there was such a clear, this is what I want you to do because I had met Jesus. There was zero hesitation, so to speak, because if Jesus says do it, then you do it. Who am I to say no? Yeah. And so that's a very shortened version, but it it was very clear to me. And so I was in college and I was 19 years old when all that happened. So very cool.

SPEAKER_05 13:58

Okay, so after that, so you obviously changed your trajectory for schooling. And did you stay at the same college or do you go to a different one?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Uh we probably don't have enough time to tell you how it got orchestrated everything. So just so happens, right? We say around here, just so happens, never just happens. Yeah. It was the end of my freshman year. You when you play baseball, I was in junior college. Your sophomore year is like your recruiting year. And so it was kind of like exit meetings, and the coaches had scheduled a meeting. Okay, you're gonna be a sophomore next year, you know. Is there any particular schools you want to go to? Do all these kinds of things so that we can make contact with coaches and begin the recruiting process. And so it just so happens God calls me into ministry on a Sunday, and it was like a Monday or a Tuesday. I being scheduled. And I walked in and my coaches knew I was gonna be a doctor or whatever. I walked into the meeting and I told my coaches who were not churched, who this was a foreign concept. And I sat down, we began the meeting, and I told my coach, Well, God's calling me to ministry. And he literally said, Okay, what does that mean? And so I kind of just explained and he said, Okay, but what about baseball? And the crazy part of the story is I said to him, Well, I know Liberty has a baseball program. Okay. I had never been to Liberty, I didn't know anything about Liberty. I had heard some guys on the team talking about Liberty because a guy who used to play there went there. Okay. I knew it was a Christian school, and I knew they had a baseball team, and I said that, and the words out of his mouth were that would be a perfect fit. I know the coaches at Liberty. Holy cow. And so, long story short, is God paved the way through baseball scholarship, through like financially, yeah. He called me to ministry, and then he financially paved a way literally through baseball for me to go and get an education that would correspond with this calling. That's so cool. Yeah. Crazy story.

SPEAKER_05 15:48

Yeah. No, but but it's cool to see again when we put our yes on the table, it's like it's all we have to do is bit the initial like yes, and like God will pave everything else. And it may be crazy, and it's like, all right, God, I have no idea how this is gonna work out. But when you're in his, you know, doing what he has willed for your life, it's like it just yeah, works out perfectly.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

And I don't want to hog the conversation, but I will say the reason I asked about you guys sitting and hearing this is because like from a preparation and communication standpoint, there are certain messages in series that it's almost like they write themselves. Like it's just it's so clear. Yeah. And I think for me, these first two messages are like so clear because you see all these components in Nehemiah's life, and it's like I have lived all of this. Yeah, you've walked through all. And so, you know, I don't know. I just I've really enjoyed the communication side of this. And so I hope it's been beneficial for the people hearing it, you know, to say, like, man, this you may not experience this yet. Yeah, but I promise you, if you just put your yes on the table and you just follow Jesus, like he will take all of these components. He will use your burdens to provide clarity, he will pave away those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_05 16:53

Yeah, I know. We've had a couple people come up and talk to Eddie was saying after the sermon on Sundays of like, man, this is exactly what I needed to hear. And I was talking with a young mom to, I guess the first Sunday the sermon series was preached, and she was saying, she was sitting in the seat wrestling with, do I take my kids out of school? Do I homeschool them? What is that gonna look like? And she said she heard something, I guess one Sunday one of the pastors said, and it it confirmed her calling of like, yes, I'm called to homeschool my kids. And then this was the next sermon series, and she said, it was just so just refreshing here. Man, I know this is what God had called me to. I felt that stirring in my heart and didn't know, but it was like all you have to do is just say yes and put it on the table, which is the scariest step. And then God's got it all figured out, and she's like, This is the best thing for our family. So I feel like it's definitely a much needed and timely message for our whole congregation because, you know, just all the things. So I yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Let me interject one more thing, and I think part of this that's really important for people to understand, and we talked about this in Live Oak uh in week one, is God will never call you to something before he calls you to himself. And I think that's a huge component to this, is because it was because I met Jesus when I was 17 that I was positioned to even understand what he was calling me to do and to say yes to that. Yeah, you know, and so I want to say that to somebody because you may be like floundering in a way of like, man, I don't know what God wants me to do. And as lovingly as I can say is the first piece of the puzzle is to examine, okay, but do I really know Jesus? Yeah, because if not, God will never call you to something because it's through Jesus in which this calling is made known. And so just maybe as a point of clarification, but also a help for somebody. Absolutely. And that's not like shame on you. That's an encouragement to say, man, I'm just telling you, the first and greatest call in your life is the call to know Jesus.

SPEAKER_05 18:50

Absolutely. Yeah. All right, maybe Beth, what about you? You used to be a teacher. So how did that transpire? Like, was teaching always your trajectory? I want to hear all the things.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

So not really. Okay. I never so when I was a kid, I wanted to be either a doctor or a lawyer. Really? Okay. Not for like honorable. Okay. It sounded good. No, it sounded like a good career. I knew they made good money, and it just sounded cool. Yeah. And you're like a kid. But when I got to the age of actually like needing to make those decisions, and I was like, I do not want to be in college for that long at all. So my sister was going through nursing school at the time. So I thought, well, maybe I'll be a nurse. You know, lots of people are nurses. And I was kind of having a conversation with somebody not too long ago that it seems like when we were that age, like now there's so many different jobs that people can have. When we were that age, I don't feel like there were no job choice. Or we just didn't know about it. So I started in high school like medical track. I took like medical skills in terminology. Okay. And then the next year I took like that the first part of the class that you could take, where by the time you graduated, you were like a CNA. Okay. Just because that's what my sister did. Yeah. She was already a CNA. She was in nursing school. I got about a month and a half into that year-long class, and I was like, no bueno. Not for me. I'm learning way too much. This is not for me. Not for me. So sometime in that year, I decided that I would go the education route. My dad was a lifelong educator. And so I knew that it would be a good, honorable, stable career. And so I did that, liked it. I felt like I was a good teacher. I was an effective teacher. Highly effective, actually. Get a girl. Get a girl. If you're in the teacher world and hit the applause button.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Yeah. Do you know which one that is? No.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

Which is a big deal. You know, if you're in the teacher world and go through your what are they called? Evaluations. Yes. Highly effective. You know that term. So you know, I was I was good at it and I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed the creative side of it. I really enjoyed working with kids. I did that for 10 years before, well, I guess nine years before I started working for the church part-time. And then I finished out my tenth year before I resigned and started working for the church full time. But I actually was thinking whenever Aston texted me yesterday, was like, hello, didn't we have the podcast? You all wanted to be on the podcast. I was thinking about how that's first I was like, eh. Not really. But I thought that it was interesting the timing because I had just recently been thinking, like almost tracking back to what led me to where I'm at now. Yeah. Because this is working for a church was not something that was ever on my radar at all.

SPEAKER_04 21:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

And it actually comes from being obedient to something super small that the Holy Spirit Was telling me to do. Yeah. And it was I would I just remember I don't remember what book I was reading, but I was really in prayer. And I wish I could remember the title of the book. It doesn't really matter. It was about listening to the Holy Spirit. Okay. I love it. Anyhow, and so I was really working on paying attention closely to hearing the Holy Spirit, feeling tiny little nudges. So I was challenging myself to even if it seems dumb and even if it seems super small, or even if it seems scary to just do it. Yeah. And so I'll always remember this. So I it actually goes back even farther than that. But so rewind about six months to a year from this moment I'm about to talk about. Either chip or Dell Pederico. I don't remember which one randomly asked me to help with a Sunday morning family worship experience. Okay. Similar to like a FX jingle jam type of thing, but like smaller scale, it was just a fifth Sunday, normal Sunday type thing. And I remember thinking it was very strange because I really wasn't serving in kids. I think I was maybe serving in the nursery. Okay. I remember being like, that's weird. They know I'm a teacher, and you know, figure this out. Yeah. Well, in that, a girl I went to high school with who I had maybe seen at church a time or two, but didn't really, we weren't connected, named Kristen. Dell kind of took care of who the cast was gonna be, but charged me with like reaching out to them, making sure they had the script, making sure, you know, all that. Well, she was one of them. So I got her phone number, was texting with her. She ended up getting sick day of. Oh, geez. And didn't even couldn't even do it. And we really, I don't even think, had like a face-to-face meeting about it. It was just simply through text. Well, now it's like I said, six months to a year later. And still, I mean, we might, you know, because we texted a couple times and we would like wave at each other now at church, but still no. She don't want to be awkward, yeah. Yay, awkward, like, hey, we texted for like a couple weeks, but anyhow, so there was this one particular Sunday that I was sitting right behind her. And that same Sunday evening, I was starting a book study with a group of women. And the entire service, when I tell you all of worship, the whole sermon, I walked out of there not knowing what was preached that day. The entire sermon was, you need to invite her tonight.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

You need to invite her tonight. And I was like, uh uh. No, she's gonna think I'm weird, like we don't know each other like that. And it starts today, she doesn't even have the book. Like, yeah, I'm given all these excuses, all these excuses. But I knew that I knew that I knew that this was God telling me that I needed to do that, but I still didn't want to do it at all. And so I knew so much and wanted to keep myself accountable so much that I actually told my husband whenever we left church because I knew he was gonna ask me about it later. Yeah. I didn't want to not because I I knew if I didn't say anything to anybody, then I would have that out and I could just let it pass and you know, move on with life. Anyhow, I text her. It took me like an hour to draft the text message because I was like, please don't think I'm weird. Anyhow, I only had her phone number because of this other thing that never even really fleshed out. And so I finally texted her and she said yes. She said that she was gonna come, you know, she didn't have the book yet, that she was gonna come that night. Anyhow, come to find out that actually answered a prayer that she had been praying for. So she was praying for a community of women. She didn't have that, she didn't have a Christian community of friends. Yeah. Um, and she had been praying for that. So it it answered, me saying yes to that answered her prayer. But because we actually became very good friends after that, I started serving with her. Okay. She was already serving with I think she was already serving with first impressions at a time. I'm not really sure. But anyhow, I started serving with her, was serving with her pretty much every Sunday. That's how I got to know Chip and then all them really. Very cool. And so from that, I feel like that kind of is what led to where I'm at now. Okay. So had I I'm not saying I never would have ended up here, but I can trace it back to being obedient to that one small thing of inviting her.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

That's awesome. And isn't that like so often that's how these things happen?

SPEAKER_04 26:51

Yeah, you know, it's organically, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

We I think sometimes we misconceive the idea of like we pray, okay, God, show me, show me, show me. And we think he's gonna drop the blueprints in our lap. Yeah. Like we were gonna get the whole plan. And it it in my experience, it's so rare for that to happen. Yeah. Even for my story, you know, I trace it back that I was at church on a Sunday night. The only reason I was there, not the only reason, one of the primary reasons I was there is because I was raised in the church. Like this had been years in the making, and I knew my first Sunday away from home, like I needed to find a church. You know, and so just being obedient in in a way that I'd even know months before this, yeah, like on a Sunday night service, you know, I I laugh and like we're in the church world, and so there's you can strategize and plan and do all these things, and and I just laugh of like, man, if God was gonna call somebody to ministry, it would surely be at Bolt Weekend. Yeah. Or summer or whatever. And now, like for me, it was a normal Sunday night service with 20% of the congregation in attendance. Yes, you know, and yeah, and yet it it usually happens with just putting your yes on the table and obedience and small things. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 28:01

But it's isn't it so cool? Like in your story, we're now looking back, you can trace everything. I was just telling Brandon, I was journaling the other morning, and I was able, you know, again, when we put a big yes on the table, able to trace back God's hand and every single detail and how he worked it out seamlessly. And at the time it just seemed, oh, what a great blessing that was, but how that blessing has truly like carried us through. It's just it's so cool when you can look back and be like, man, it was only God, right? Only God did it.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

In the moment you don't know where it's going. Correct. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Well, my favorite part of that story too is just how your yes was also God's answer to your friend, too. It's like so many times we we pray and we think of this like one-way street between us and God. We forget that God utilizes his people to bring about his goals for our good. And it's like, man, you saying yes to that was also God's answer to her.

SPEAKER_03 28:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

So um it's a good reminder for everyone listening. If God's calling you to do something, it's uh might help someone else's calling as well.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Absolutely. Sometimes you just gotta be the weirdo, just shoot the text.

SPEAKER_01 28:59

Be the weirdo, but don't be weird. You don't correct. Be what you think is weird. That's probably not actually weird. There you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:06

All right, Brian. I want to, yeah, I want the listeners to kind of hear, yeah, you've now we've now moved. You you're yeah, your story is so cool, but I'm not gonna give too much way, but yeah, just you know, kind of how you've seen God working and what you're walking in now, because you and I have had many conversations of how you feel, and I feel like this is what God has called you to. So yeah, share with share with everyone kind of like what that journey's been like.

SPEAKER_01 29:32

Definitely. So I would say starting way back when I was a kid, I wanted to be a SWAT police officer. So clearly things have changed a little bit to say. No, in in high school, I would say that's you know, when most people start really thinking about like, okay, what do I want to do with my life? At the time I was drumming for my church, that was something I was really engaged in. It was a lot of people had said it seemed kind of natural for me. And I was like, man, I wonder if this is something I should pursue. So I was working with my drum instructor at the time, awesome Christian dude that was going to my church. And so yeah, I was taking private lessons with him and started asking him as I got closer to senior year of high school, was like, hey, do you know of any, you know, good music colleges where I could, you know, pursue this more? And he had a couple options, and so I ended up going to North Central University, which is very well known for their music program. About a year in, it became very clear that that was not going to be a good fit for me. Love drums, still do it, and it's it's great, but it just it became very clear that pursuing that was actually taking a lot of the joy away from it. I looked at some of the other guys that were in that program and they're practicing literally four or five hours a day, like three, four hours on drums, and then another hour or two on their minor instrument, which is piano, and I was like, man, this is just sucking all the fun out of this. And so transitioned to business at that point. That point I started thinking, okay, you know, I I kind of enjoy business. We'll see what this is about. This is like a maybe a good fallback option, which you hear a lot of times when people say that. And so yeah, I started pursuing that. It was actually a music business specific degree. So it was kind of a mix of both, thinking that I could maybe kind of mold those two together, but then eventually just ended up going strictly business. At that point in time, I thought, you know, maybe I could go into marketing, something like that. That's actually where my internship was, was at Lifetime Fitness uh in their marketing department, which is a really cool opportunity. And yeah, I wanted to pursue that. But my first job outside of I'm just gonna say you must not have been good at it because I've never been to Lifetime Fitness say. Oh, man. Yeah, this is all in the Midwest. I don't care how good you are at it, you're probably not gonna catch me at that picture. But yeah, it I after that, after college, um back in Omaha, I stepped into just a junior account level role for a coffee distribution company, and I learned very quickly that um the office environment, being in a cubicle all day. I know that that's for some people. I realized very quickly it wasn't for me. And so from there, that was uh a point where I was like, man, God, what do you want me to do? Like what is you know, my my calling? What's my role for that? And so I from there, my mom had actually reached out to a friend of ours who owned a roofing company. And so I actually came on board as a sales representative, never thought of myself in like the construction industry or even necessarily sales, but uh came on as a basically roofing inspector, more of a project manager role, and really, really enjoyed that. It it got me away from being by the computer all day. I loved climbing up on roofs and and all that and actually.

SPEAKER_05 32:28

Which is something I absolutely hate. I mean, he does. I'm like, please don't tell me about the roof that you were on today. Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

No, but yeah, that was I I started to pick up things that I I really enjoyed. That was kind of a way of identifying some of those elements that I did want to continue doing. However, there was still kind of this desire of being a business owner. That was something I really had felt like God had placed on my heart. And so even though I wasn't technically a business owner, I was in a role where I could be very independent. I was technically an independent contractor, I wasn't paid as an employee, so I was kind of operating my own business just under another company in a way. But yeah, that was that was something I really enjoyed. The only downside of that in Omaha and the Midwest, if anyone's from there, you'll know that hail storms are very common. That's where a lot of roofing business came from. But unfortunately, after getting married, starting to have kids, you go from working a normal week to absolutely insane 70, 80 hours a week, like that is that is what you are doing after a hail storm. And so I just identified that that wasn't that it wasn't going to work well with um being a present father and and husband. And so then made a switch to kind of a a company that one of the previous roofing partners actually started with his son. I was a concrete repair company. And so I'd shift over to them. It was a lot more manageable, a lot more sustainable in terms of hours and all that. And I just I felt like I could be a lot more present as a husband and father. And so a lot of these changes in my jobs, it's like I felt like I was starting over every time, even though they were good roles. I felt like I was looking at some other guys in the trades, like guys that went to go be an electrical apprentice or employment apprentice. And it's like, man, how far, how much farther could I be in my role had I just like stuck to one thing? I was like, come on, God, like you didn't see this coming. That was kind of my mindset at the time. But I I'll I'll kind of fast forward just because I don't want this to draw on about all my job history, but I've had a lot of different roles in different construction companies, whether it was sales or being an installer. And so that was kind of the thing that I was getting kind of frustrated by a couple of years ago. I just felt like I was starting over, starting over, wasn't really putting down roots somewhere and come to about six months ago, uh maybe about a year. So we were in Pace, Florida. And so I was we were thinking at that time we're getting ready to move here, and I was like, man, I don't, I don't know what job I should be looking for. I just feel like I'm gonna be starting over again. At that point in time, I was still thinking a lot about okay, being a business owner, is there something I could start? But yet at the same time, I felt like I didn't have quite enough experience in one of those specific, you know, industries that I could start up a company solely devoted to that. And it was when Asin and I were at a wedding and there was a professional handyman that was there. And I that was something I had been thinking about. There were a couple other hints that had been dropped before that, but we ended up as a signed seating at this, but I'm glad you're sharing this. This is really cool.

SPEAKER_05 35:15

Yeah, it was so and just so happens doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Yeah. And so at this reception, a guy directly across from us that was that was a job. He had started up his own handyman company um a few years prior and was like, holy cow, that's awesome. I've been thinking a lot about this. So, of course, I had a ton of questions for him, and he was probably extremely annoyed with how questions I was asking about it, but um got his contact info too, and we stayed loosening contact. That that really started me kind of thinking down that, down that road. And then it was fairly shortly after, maybe like a couple weeks, I was actually on the phone with my mom. She's living back in Omaha, Nebraska, and just out of the blue, she had a handyman over to her house, and she was just elated at how many things he was able to do and just how good of a job he did. And just unprompted, she goes, you know, that's something you should really think about. She had she had no idea I'd been thinking about this, potentially looking into starting my own handyman business. And I was like, Okay, God.

SPEAKER_05 36:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

All right, I'll I'll do it.

SPEAKER_05 36:09

Yeah. Well, I think it goes back to straighten her up real quick. I had this thought. It went back to the question that was asked yesterday. Is God waiting on you or are you waiting on God? And in these moments, it was Brandon had confirmation after confirmation after confirmation. And it kind of took that moment of him being like, I think God is waiting on me. And so I just want to interject that because that popped in my head of like, that was just yeah, just seeing God confirm that he wanted you to do this multiple times.

SPEAKER_01 36:36

Yeah. And um, I I think the coolest thing looking back on it is going back to what I was saying earlier, my frustrations of constantly feeling like setback after setback of starting new jobs to steal some of my favorite words of John Teal, one of our favorite pastors or one of mine previous before this. He said that a lot of times our setbacks are actually a setup. That was exactly what was happening because all these different jobs I was in, even though I wasn't necessarily pursuing those for a long time, all of them gave me the experience that I needed that I could utilize as a handyman, where you're not just a master of one trade, you're a jack of all trades, expected to know a lot of different things. And so me stepping to this role was actually a way to turn all those what I thought were weaknesses into strengths. Yeah. So it's just super cool to see how even though someone might be frustrated with where they're at right now, don't underestimate what God's gonna use it for. Yeah. Um, and what you think might be a weakness might actually come to be a strength, knowing that God's gonna utilize that for his will. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

Yeah. 100%. I think you see that in Nehemiah. You see that in Joseph. I mean, 13 years. Yeah. Joseph went from having a dream where he's gonna be the guy that all his brothers bow down to. Thirteen years later, he's a prisoner. Yeah. And life was anything but, but we have the advantage to look back and see how God was using all of those valuable experiences. And I think the same in Nehemiah. Yeah. Here's Nehemiah, he's the king's cupbearer. He's living in a foreign land. Life is probably not all that bad as the king's cupbearer. Do a good job.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

Like you probably live at or near the palace. You have constant security. You eat the king's food, all that kind of stuff. And so I think you see all of that though, preparing him for he understood diplomacy. He understood like the politics of governing. And even yesterday in the messages, there's a point where he gets the okay because God has prepared the way. But he even understands, like, hey, let me get some letters to the governor so that they don't question or halt the work. Like he just understands the politics of it all and he knows those things. And so I think in both of those biblical stories as well as in this one, like you see how so many times God is working in ways that we don't even see or understand, right? But when you put your yes on the table, yeah, and in his timing, you look back and you're like, Oh, I get it. Yeah. You know? So Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 38:51

So yeah, so we, you know, kind of been talking about callings, but a lot of the times a calling can be birthed out of a burden. So thinking about where you are now, what would you say like the burden was for you guys to now walk in the calling that you have?

SPEAKER_00 39:06

I will say this. So obviously God called me to ministry, but it really was birthed out of a burden that when I was 17, I met Jesus. I grew up in the church. I was there every time the doors were open. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, vacation Bible school, Sunday school, like every single time. But when I met Jesus, for me, I didn't really understand it as a burden then. But whenever God called me to ministry, I realized that the burden for me is for the people that are just like I was. The people who have been in or around church their entire lives who know the stories, they know the church language and church culture and all that stuff. But when I met Jesus, it was like, oh my goodness, all the stories are true.

SPEAKER_04 39:49

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

So the Bible came to life because I realized, like, oh, this is the Jesus of calming the storm. This is the Jesus of healing the paralyzed. Yeah. I know that Jesus, and I don't have a doubt in my mind that he has the power to do this. You know, and so again, I didn't know it was a burden at the time, other than like the Bible came to life. And so even today, you know, we think about and we we spend our time trying to communicate. There is the truth of the Bible, but there are also ways that you can communicate this that hopefully people don't fall asleep the whole time. Right. And so for me, it was like when the Bible came to life, I remember being there and sometimes not paying attention or falling asleep or being like, oh my gosh, it's so boring. But when I met Jesus, I realized like, oh my goodness, like the Bible came to life. Yeah. And so, like, I want our people to know the Jesus of the Bible because when you do, it all comes to life. And you see the Bible played out in real time. Yeah. And so I think even today that that is probably the underlying burden for me. Is like if you just knew Jesus of the Bible, it would change everything. Yeah. You know, uh, we did a series last year or two years ago called Coloring Book Christmas. It was birthed out of this idea of coloring book Christianity. And I think for me that is like the epitome of my burden that for so long I grew up in the church and I viewed the Bible as like this coloring book. Oh, there's Noah's Ark and it's the cute elephant and the giraffes. And yet, if that's our picture of the Bible, we look at everyday life and we say, Oh, the Bible has no relevance for today, and I just live my life, however, to the best of my ability. Yeah. But when you know Jesus, the Bible comes to life and you realize that it's not a coloring book full of everybody lives happily ever after. Yeah. It's real. Yeah. And so I think even today, that kind of influences my preparation and how I try to communicate is like, I just want you to know the Jesus of the Bible because it will change everything. Yeah. No, I would that was a burden for me.

SPEAKER_05 41:42

Yeah. So I would say mine's extremely similar to that of like, you know, church. There were times where I was like, man, this is boring. And then I would say too, the fact once you understand that the Bible is real, that Jesus is real. It's like you want other people to get it. And, you know, more so for me, my I true believe my calling is seeing people invested in the church, actually invested, being the hands and feet of Jesus tangibly. And for me, it was this idea of I don't want people to feel like they have to serve, they get to serve. It's an honor to serve. And not to say in a hyper-spiritual way by any means, but when we are, you know, being the hands and feet of Jesus, like you want to serve people, you want them to be hospitable. There were many times when I would go to a church for the first time and walked in and walked out, and no one noticed me. And I think that's my burden is I don't want people to ever feel that they're not seen in a church. That's why I really encourage of like getting in a community, serving. I really try to talk to my first impressions teens of, you know, or it actually dates back to Ellie Stewart, my old boss, when I worked at Eliano's and had to be there at maybe by smiling because she totally gets it. But she told us, you know, we'd have to be there at that 5:30 a.m. shift. And this really stuck with me. She said, you are the first smile some of those people might see that day. And so I've taken that idea and, you know, really encouraged my first impressions team of you don't know what they're carrying. Maybe this is like a last Hail Mary for them of like, God, if you're real, I'm gonna go to this church. And the fact that you could be that answered prayer for them, I think that's my burden. It's really good. Is making sure people are seen at a church. But it also does take them getting plugged in, doing those kinds of things well. So I I my stories totally get that with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:22

How about you guys? The particular burden maybe that God's used in your life?

SPEAKER_01 43:25

So I wouldn't say that my burden led me into my current job, but I would say that I've identified how fulfilling it is to be able to help just not only help people, but not only serve others, but serve others who can't necessarily take care of things themselves. So specifically in my role, there's a lot of elderly folks where maybe they used to be able to do all the things that they're looking to hire me to do, but they they can't anymore. They've, you know, gotten older. And so it's just been really fulfilling to be able to be the guy that's getting on a ladder and you know, even if it's changing a light bulb that's 18 feet up above them. It's just been really cool and fulfilling. to essentially take that on as a kind of burden, if you will, to be able to serve those that um just can no longer serve themselves in in some ways. So that's that's probably mine in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_04 44:09

Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

Cool. So how I said earlier about how this this series has been reassuring for me is because I never really thought about burden as far as like a burden would lead to my calling or a burden having a burden for something could be shining light on what is probably my calling. So the fact of what my burden is lines up with what I'm doing was very reassuring to me. I feel like I have a burden for so burden for young families particularly that they see as as the parents that they see that their role is massive in their child spiritual formation.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

So not even for the kids even though that's a big part of it.

SPEAKER_02 44:57

It's more so like that's a byproduct of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

Yeah. And I think yeah I think that's huge. It's massive and I to realize that you play a significant role in your child spiritual formation.

SPEAKER_02 45:08

And I think I'm burdened by it because I see how many people don't get it and don't see it. That way there's a lot of people who do there is a lot of people who do but I'm burdened by it because I have seen that a lot of families treat church how you treat school.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:26

They silently contract the church to develop their correct exactly and there's so little I mean we got them for an hour. Not even an hour of that is their full attention. So you know there's so little that we can do and we do we do a lot as a church to try to aid in that letting you know what they're learning about on Sundays, sending take homes home, giving you resources, either posting links or whatever like hey check this out this is really good. But there's so much we can't do as church that only parents can do as the primary spiritual leader in their household. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:05

And I think that's why you know Chip says a lot that we want to be a Home Depot church. Yes is that you can do it. Yeah. We want to encourage you that you can do it, but we also want to equip you to do it. And so you can do it, we can help like we are a partnership but we want you guys to drive the ship because you have influence and yes so much influence.

SPEAKER_02 46:25

Yeah so much influence. And I think too another burden that I'm realizing I'm having is very similar to to Aston and Matt. I grew up if if the church was open we were there. We were there Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights like we were there. And so I have experienced and I have seen where you can know a lot about Jesus and not know Jesus. Yeah. And so I'm also burdened with showing kids who Jesus is so that they can meet Jesus for themselves. Yeah. And not just teaching them these Bible stories that are very good to know. Yeah it's great to have Bible knowledge but that Bible knowledge does you no good if you don't actually know Jesus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 47:14

Yeah. Or the fact that like these aren't just like it it's it's not just another story. Like these are this is Jesus's life. I mean it's so fun to ask Jack those questions after church of like hey what did you do this? And he was like oh we learned about the fish with the coin and all the things and like he gets it like the other day we were talking we were actually praying with him one night and we're talking about heaven. He's he has a lot of questions about heaven as we've you know had some people that have passed and have now gone to heaven and he would say well who's in heaven and he was like is David there and I was like he is is Moses and his eye is just like lit up and it was so cool.

SPEAKER_00 47:47

But again because it's I can't wait for him to ask is Judas there?

SPEAKER_05 47:50

Yeah it's true. Oh then talk to Pastor Man about that. No, but like what kind of along the same lines of what you said when I was a teacher I would tell parents at conferences all the time like this is a co-parenting relationship. Like we have to work together. I can't do it all but we can partner like the only but we can partner together to do it. But it also does take your child seeing you do that as well because we are only with them, you know, you're with them for an hour but it's so encouraging to have that burden to have you know where you have resources. Yeah we want to help you here's some things you can do at home by sending home those take home things and so you can continue the conversation way past Sunday. And you know it it's easy to read and it's just fun things for the kids to do that just yeah as you partner together.

SPEAKER_03 48:31

Yeah.

unknown 48:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:34

Well any final thoughts on calling well I yeah so I don't know if we have time for this I think one of these was kind of a a part of one of your outlined prompts but so far we've essentially exclusively talked about calling as far as our our careers, our roles. I I'd be curious to hear your guys' thoughts are there is there maybe this isn't the right way to put it but is there a universal calling or something that all of us as Christians are called to that is above and beyond a career? Or do you think a career is that's that's it? Do you think or another way of saying that is is God's call synonymous with our career?

SPEAKER_00 49:08

I would say it can be but it may not be and what I mean by that is I know some people that you know they have very successful careers but it's as if God allows the success of their career even financially to pave a way for them to almost like fund their calling if that makes sense. I think a calling can be realized in a career you know for three of us at this table at least for right now you know that calling and career probably coincide. But I think too is there's a difference sometimes in what you do and what you're called to do. And what I mean is I I wrestle with this a lot is just because I work at a church doesn't mean that I'm checking all the spiritual boxes. Because I still have to follow Jesus. And that is true you know how I how I bring what I bring to the table as a husband, as a father, you know, that I tell people all the time my kids don't give a rip that I'm a pastor. If I'm a crappy dad or my wife she doesn't care if I'm a pastor if I'm a crappy husband. You know like so so I am still following Jesus. It just so happens that right now me following Jesus coincides with with the role that I'm in. Yeah but but I have to remind myself that that this is not who I am this is just what I do even though who I am influences what I do right now. And so you know about a year and a half ago or so I had some LDS missionaries come to my house and like for me it's hey that same burden is going to influence our conversation like I want you no let's come inside and sit at my table and let's just talk.

SPEAKER_04 50:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:48

Because I want you to know that you just said I know. Like you know about Jesus in similar ways that I did obviously very different theologically but but I still like the burden is the same and I wasn't getting I wasn't on the clock so to speak to have those guys in my house but the burden is still the same because the burden is a reflection of who you are in Jesus. A long answer to say I think your calling and career can coincide. I don't think it always has to yeah but I think a lot of times your calling it's not what you do but it's fleshed out in what you do. Yeah. And I think that's why sometimes you know God can call you I think about AJ who was here you know God calls him to another church you know but that calling is really just a step of obedience in line with the greater calling that God has called you to you know as far as ministry goes or whatever. So I think sometimes your career and your job can change. You know Mary Beth mentioned I was an educator and now I work at a church but those burdens and that calling were probably being developed along and along even though the application of your career was different. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:51

Yeah reason why I asked that it it reminds me of one of my favorite moments in college when I was yeah in a random business class one of my business professors like we were I don't even remember what what spurred on this part of the conversation but someone had asked about something career related in that the middle of marketing class and I just vividly remember my professor just stopping and looking at all of us in the class and just going, you guys know that God's will for you is so much more than just a career. Right. Yeah and like that I just in that moment that blew me away because you know a lot of people when you're in high school you're in college you're hyper focused. Yeah. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do? And it's so easy to forget that first and foremost, I would say that we are called to love God and to love people. And I just like what you said, our our careers can be ways that we fulfill that, but it's certainly not everything. And so just we have any listeners that are kind of struggling with oh well God what do you want me to do? Just remember that the career isn't the full picture by any means. Love God, love people and what you do can is really just an extension of that. Yeah. And I think it changes how you do what you do.

SPEAKER_00 52:54

I think about it a lot I so appreciate the people who are in the school system. But imagine if you're not just teaching students you have a calling absolutely God's called me to this that changes how you do your job. Absolutely you know because anybody can teach standards. Yeah. You know some are more highly effective than others.

SPEAKER_05 53:11

I was highly effective just when I throw that out there.

SPEAKER_00 53:13

High five wow all right no uh I don't doubt either that but you can teach standards and even be highly effective. Yeah. But if you feel like God has called you to do this, then it goes beyond teaching standards. Yeah. And now you start to care for the souls that sit in your seats. It just changes it. You know, the same with the the guy who does service work or whatever is okay I can come in and I can, you know, build something or rearrange something or you know do some type of work and service for you. But if it's a calling then I care about you and what this does for you. You know alleviate a burden if you're you know unable to do the work for yourself or whatever. So I think the calling when it does overlap with our career is it just changes how we perform the day-to-day tasks that we're tasked with.

SPEAKER_05 53:56

Yeah. No, as you were saying, it's like that burden doesn't change. The jobs may change but it's like God's going to use you even in the jobs as long as you still have that burden and that will like man God like let your will be done not mine. And so I think that yeah that burden it just like burdens will carry you through your like careers like God will have avenues for that. Man, this was a good conversation. Thanks guys for joining us. Did want to say for our listeners bold weekend is this weekend and um all of us are sitting around the table right now with students' names on our wrists and we're just encouraging you just to pray for our students this weekend. Chip mentioned in the Lake City location I'm sure the others did as well we are believing that God's going to do something really big in the lives of these students. It may be where they hear a calling or it may just be they're just ready to be the hands and feet of Jesus. So would you just if you see a student this week encourage them. But if not while you're praying this week pray for those students pray for this weekend pray for our leaders that the Holy Spirit would move and that Jesus would be come just so real to these students this weekend. But in the meantime, we are just praying for you guys and we pray that you have a great week and we'll see you back next week. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Let's Talk About that. We hope it encouraged and challenged you as we continue to grow on this journey of faith and embrace community together. If you have more questions, thoughts or feedback, we want to hear from you. Be sure to reach out to us through our social media or visit our website to stay connected. If you found today's discussion meaningful don't forget to subscribe share and leave a review. Until next time we hope this episode inspired you and will keep Sunday's message at the front of your mind. See you next week.