Unsexy Church

Season 3 Episode 20: Graduation Sunday

• First Baptist Tampa • Season 1 • Episode 20

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 32:46

Send us Fan Mail

The Unsexy Church Podcast

New episodes drop every Wednesday Morning

ABOUT THE PODCAST

The Unsexy Church is a weekly podcast exploring the real, everyday life within our church family. Each week, join Pastor Bob (Senior Pastor) and Darren (Worship & Discipleship Pastor) as they sit down to discuss a wide variety of subjects—from deep theological questions to the practical, often "unsexy" work of following Jesus and building a healthy local church.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THRIVE?

We want to help every person make a genuine commitment to follow Jesus and then follow through with that commitment in Connecting People to a Thriving Life in Christ. These Thriving disciples should Dig In to the Bible, Grow Up in Christ, and Branch Outinto the community.

Our Mission: To Connect People to a Thriving Life in Christ. What is a thriving life in Christ? Scripture says that Jesus Christ came “that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Our mission in the city of Tampa is to make disciples who follow the pattern of the believer in Psalm 1 and desire God’s glory above all things.

NEXT STEPS

Are you looking to get connected or learn more about First Baptist Tampa? We would love to help you find your place in our community.

STAY CONNECTED

Wherever you are in life, you have a purpose. First Baptist Tampa wants to help you find your next step.

Our Student & Young Adult Ministries:

Welcome And Meet The Guest

SPEAKER_02

Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Unsexy Church Podcast. A podcast ministry of First Baptist Church, Tampa, Florida, where our mission is to help you connect to a thriving life in Christ. Good morning, gang. Morning Darren. How are we doing? Oh, did you hear that? That's a numerous amount of people that said good morning. We have four people in our illustrious podcast studio. It's a little crowded in here, a little crowded in here. We have four people, but only three mics. So you won't be able to hear much from Jordan today.

SPEAKER_01

He doesn't talk much anyway. That's true.

SPEAKER_00

But we do have a guest today. Ben, how are you doing, man? Doing doing good. A little tired this morning, but we live, laugh, and we love. So we're here. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Ben Ben Block is our next generation pastor. I don't know what that is. Oh man.

Post Trip Exhaustion And Highlights

SPEAKER_02

We are gathered here on a Monday morning, right after staff meeting, as usual. And uh just again, this was our first weekend back uh from a big trip.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, fun trip. Good trip. We're feeling the time change and everything else.

SPEAKER_02

Definitely. Um, we went to Turkey, Asia Minor, and Greece, and we visited the sites of the seven churches from Revelation and the Acropolis and Morris Hill and just the Parthenon, just some really really cool stuff.

SPEAKER_01

Patmos and Crete and Rhodes.

SPEAKER_02

We it was just an incredible journey. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Great group that went with us. And educational.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, Mandy and I were talking about that. It was like almost like the perfect mix of people. It was really a good group.

SPEAKER_01

It really was. And folks that didn't really know each other go, they knew who they were, but they didn't know each other going on the trip. And then they just spent time together and it was blended really well.

SPEAKER_02

I told I told Mandy this morning, I said it it's it's almost like camp for adults. Almost. Almost like camp for adults, man. It was a lot of fun. We had a great time, learned a lot, and uh very, very tired, but very glad to be back. We got back after being up for 22 hours on Saturday. Got back Saturday afternoon, evening. Evening, yeah. And and we had church on Sunday. It was a good day.

SPEAKER_01

Uh uh well, I don't remember it, but yes. You did a great job. Oh, thanks.

SPEAKER_02

We you you preached a Mother's Day sermon that I I thought was really, really good. It was really good. Um and uh Ben filled in last week, did a fantastic job.

SPEAKER_01

And Mark, what's in it for us?

SPEAKER_00

That was the what isn't in it? What it for what is closer to closer to the mic, Mr. Yeah, no, it was good. It was a little crazy without you guys here, but we guys we laugh when we love, so we're good.

SPEAKER_02

You guys did a great you guys did a great job. All right.

Fun Fact About 1987 Hits

SPEAKER_02

Got a I've got a fun fact for you today. This one really is fun. Okay. Nothing dark, nothing weird. Um Ben, have you been listening to the podcast lately? Nothing. There's only one correct answer here.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. All of his fun facts go really dark really quick.

SPEAKER_02

So this this is gonna be fun, I think. All right. Two songs back in 1987 in May. May of nineteen eighty seven. May of nineteen eighty seven. We'll talk about why that's important here in just a little bit. Okay. What was that like, Darren? Uh well, we're gonna tell you the two there were two songs that hit number one during May of 1987 on the pop music chart. Any idea, Bob, what they what what they could be?

SPEAKER_01

I was not a pop music guy back in 1987. My my tastes were a little harder than the pop music.

SPEAKER_02

And honestly, I wasn't I wasn't either, but I was I was familiar with both of these.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm sure I probably will be too. You'll you'll know them. Because we were getting uh we were graduating in that. Exactly. This is where this is going. Okay. Because we were both no. Thank you. Thank you. Kindergarten. Okay, two songs very popular, May of 1987. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

One was real popular like for the first week, and then the other one just took over the whole rest of the month.

SPEAKER_00

If you get this right, that's kind of crazy. I don't remember what songs were at the top during my high school years.

SPEAKER_01

So no, and and the 80s were there were so many songs in the 80s. Yeah. No, I'm not gonna, I'm not, I'm not gonna Okay.

SPEAKER_02

First one, first week of I'll give I'll tell you who it is because they're not like one hit wonder groups, or uh maybe a little bit. And again, I wasn't super familiar with pop music, so they may have been much more popular than what I re realized. Okay. Uh the first the first week, the first song was uh was performed by the cutting crew. Oh, I hate that song.

SPEAKER_03

I just died in the rooms tonight.

SPEAKER_02

I've always hated that song.

SPEAKER_03

Something you say. See, you got it, you got it.

SPEAKER_02

I know, I know, I'm cultured. All right. I don't like that song. Yeah, yeah. Okay. That that was the first week. Now, the the next song that was popular the whole rest of the month of May, not just popular, it was number one the whole rest of the month of May. Like three weeks, um, was done by a much larger group that you're gonna be very, I'm sure you'll be very familiar with. I would even say that there would be no such thing as contemporary worship music without this group. Uh that's I don't know. I mean that might be blasphemous, but but I would say that every like can when I say can like 90s were when the worship movement, you know, quote unquote started, you know, Chris Tomlin, all those guys in the 90s and beyond, you know, they they leaned and were influenced very heavily by this group. Really? Yeah. And they were on the pop charts? Pop charts. Get out. Not for lyrics, but just for the sound. Okay. Um it's a letter and a number. That's the name of the band. A letter and a number. And a number. In that order. You too? You too. Yeah. With or without you. I can live.

SPEAKER_01

Is that Joshua Tree? I don't remember. I think it yeah. I was never that's a worship group?

SPEAKER_02

No, no, no, no. They just they just relied on that sound. They weren't they were trying to replicate that. They were highly influenced by that sound. What? Now he's claimed to be a Bono's claim to be a Christian.

SPEAKER_01

I think the Edge has too, but uh yeah. Um guitar player in the group.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But I yeah, his never some of the things he said in recent past. Maybe I you know maybe what do we know? Who are we to judge? I suppose.

SPEAKER_02

So in 1987, I just died in your arms tonight. And with or without you with or without you were the number one song. 1987 was a fun year. Um, because it's the year that you and I, Bob, yes, graduated high school. To sit back. What is happening? Take it all.

SPEAKER_01

We go back to the fifties all of a sudden.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, yeah, this is the year you graduated high school. Oh no, not me. We're going down to the soda fountain and get some pop.

SPEAKER_02

We graduated high school in 1987. That's crazy. Yes. Not together. We didn't know each other. No, we did not. We were in different states, but man, that was a long

Why Graduation Recognition Matters

SPEAKER_02

time ago. We are talking about graduation today. And that's why we have our next gin pastor, Ben, in here today, because this coming Sunday, uh, we will celebrate, recognize um our our graduates. Bob, let me ask you a question. Did you did you um do you remember in your church? Do you remember like, did they have a graduation recognition celebration service?

SPEAKER_01

They did.

SPEAKER_02

They did. What what was that like?

SPEAKER_01

Um I I think we marched in with our robes, our graduation robes. I know they gave us a couple books. Yeah. One which I would never give to anybody else. Um How to Win Friends and Influence People. Well, it was close to that. Yeah. Yeah. Um but and I'm sure they put our pictures up or something on a slide or some kind of something we didn't have. Sloppy disk. It wasn't even then back then, you know. So um yeah, I don't they drew it up there. Yeah, so it was something like that. And then we, you know, they they introduced all of us and celebrated the group.

SPEAKER_02

I think you guys were like were ahead of us because uh I don't remember them doing anything. Really? I I really don't. I mean, maybe they did. I just don't.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I should, I would, I would think I would remember it, but I mean I vaguely do. I vaguely do. I guarantee I guarantee you they didn't put our picture up on this on this. We didn't have a screen, right? I do know that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. No, it would have been one of those rotating slide things. The wheel uh the wheel of the slides.

SPEAKER_02

Oh my gosh. Or an overhead projector with a what was that toy uh uh the oh gosh I could know what you're talking about. But you couldn't like you're looking through binoculars and look through binoculars, click it and it and moves the the picture. What was that called?

SPEAKER_01

Oh my uh only there was a way to figure that out. If only we could find re you know find some kind of doing something besides just moving knobs over there.

SPEAKER_02

Anyway, uh it yeah, I don't remember him doing anything um in in my for us. Uh I know we didn't get a book or anything like that, and they may have said something, but I don't remember it.

SPEAKER_00

Finally, Darren's Darren's moving the way. We're good. Yeah. We're finally out of here. We finally get rid of Darren.

SPEAKER_02

He's finally gone. Oh my gosh. Yeah. But we don't do that at our church. It's a it's kind of a it's a I don't want to say it's a production, but there's a lot of stuff that happens on grad day.

SPEAKER_01

No big deal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

A viewfinder.

SPEAKER_01

Viewfinder, viewfinder, viewmaster, viewmaster, viewmaster, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's right.

unknown

Golly.

SPEAKER_02

And you could like watch stories on them and stuff. Yeah, yeah.

How We Celebrate Graduates

SPEAKER_02

So we're gonna do uh we we could do a few things here. We do uh don't we do like a layout in our Thrive Map magazine? Uh so producer Jordan saying yes, we we do. It's like got a little bit of information in the picture of each graduate. We celebrate our high school graduates, our college graduates, our postgraduate graduates, all those, all those things. Now, we don't uh call all those people on stage, but our high school graduates, uh, we you Ben, what what do we do to recognize our high school graduates?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, we first of all we we make sure that they have uh they've sent us all of their correct information and we just like to celebrate them by just explaining to the church what school they were graduating from, uh what they accomplished during high school, whether that's like different their rank and their class. Yeah. No, I don't know. Different different like clubs. Different clubs that they were in, different sports they they were a part of, things that they did while they were in high school. Yeah. Uh and then we we kind of just share where they're going, whether that's college for some, and for others it's it's a gap year. For others, it's it's starting to work and things like that. So we we just really want to make sure it's a time to celebrate them and their achievements for what they've done.

SPEAKER_02

I was watch I was looking at some social media earlier and uh back in Missouri where I had served before. Um I just saw something. It just was funny. I can't remember that I won't say the person's name, but their their their future plans were were to join the workforce. Okay, which you know that is good job. Praise God. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

They could have been not joined the workforce.

SPEAKER_02

It's good, it's good stuff. Good for them. Yeah, yeah. We've got a lot of graduates. How many, how many graduates roughly do we have?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, total county postgrad and and and high school and college, yeah, roughly 20 20 plus.

SPEAKER_02

Man, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

It's a lot of people that signed up. So we we there's probably more out there. Probably two to five more at least out there. For sure. For sure. That are either going to sign up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So if you're listening to this, get your stuff in.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it's too late, but do it.

SPEAKER_02

Oh. Uh so Sunday morning, um, we usually will have a uh time of of prayer led by a pastor, usually led by Pastor Bob or led by Ben, Pastor Ben. And uh that that's what we'll do this year. We'll uh call the graduates up on stage. There'll be a uh slide picture of them. We'll talk about their achievements, their plans, and uh and then at the end of it, and we'll give them a a gift.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, they they get a small gift. They're not the book that I got when I graduated, right? I hope not.

SPEAKER_00

No, it's not. No. Uh I don't I don't know if the dude that uh the book that I'm giving was uh stop where you're going.

Why We Gift A Study Bible

SPEAKER_00

Maybe. Uh uh but no, we give the the high school graduates we always we've been giving them throughout the years a study Bible. Uh just to give them a a fresh new good Bible to read.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so yeah, why would I mean they probably already have a Bible. Why would we why would we give them a Bible?

SPEAKER_00

I think I think getting a receiving a Bible for big achievements is something that is really meaningful. Uh it it shows uh like a new start to something. Like we some people always want, like, okay, I just had a kid, now I want a new Bible and I want to write throughout the years of that. So it it signifies a start of something new. Um and it's just I mean, you could always use another Bible. Yeah, and it's almost like some of them they have Bibles, but they don't have study Bibles. A nice study Bible. Yeah, it it we get them pretty decent ones for for them to have and to to dive into scripture.

SPEAKER_02

It to me it it's almost like a way to um you know, for lack of a better term, you know, build an altar, right? Like let's set up some stones so we can remember. Right. Yeah, we we can when what what are some of the things like as a graduate, someone graduating from not from FBC Tampa, but our graduates, what are some things that we want them to maybe remember?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Yeah, like when I graduated high school, uh my school uh gave each of the seniors a small Bible with all of our teachers signing in it. So I still have that. That's awesome. It's a cool thing to hold on to. Yeah. Uh and then we we also give them a little book. A lot of the times it's uh something to do with going to a next chapter or starting something new or uh trying to lean into uh your walk with the Lord. Um it's a rite of passage, right?

SPEAKER_01

So we're we're celebrating their accomplishment accomplishments and where they're heading. Uh and we also want to equip them. You know, we want at this point, we've hoped that their their faith has become their own, not their parents, not their youth pastor, not their lead pastor. Their faith needs to be their own because they're they're about to go out into the world. For many of them, the first time untethered.

SPEAKER_00

A lot of them are not staying in Tampa.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Right. Many of them are going out. So we want to give them not only um equip them, but we also want to give them the tools that they're gonna need, right? So that study Bible helps with that. The book that you give is gonna give some practical steps into how to do that. Because we want them to, wherever they go, get involved in another local body of believers. Yeah. That's really as much uh an important choice of what when you're going to a college, you know, you so many students go away and then they get out of that habit or they move away. And and they and and so helping them to see the necessity of maintaining that spiritual growth, that the that that feeding.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I think too significant that we give them a a Bible, a copy of God's word, right? It just almost reminds me in some ways, not that these are kings and queens or anything, but like every every time um a king comes into power in Israel, one of the things he was supposed to do is write his own copy of the law and then read it, right? You know, uh day and night and meditate on it. It's almost like we're this the word of God is the most significant thing you know we can give you. You know, if we if you leave here from First Baptist Church and don't have not just a copy of the Word of God, but we haven't taught you the Word of God, you know, then we failed, right? We we want you to take this word, memorize it, meditate on it, take it everywhere you go, right? As a as a tool and and as life. I mean, it's it's Psalm 119 just talks about all the benefits of of of the word of God. So we we give them these things, we recognize them, and then we usually will pray over them.

What We Pray Over Graduates

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. What are some of the things that uh that we want might want to pray over your over our graduates?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, I I think obviously it's it's that they stay in the Lord, that they they've most of them, not all of them, most of them grew up in the church, their families are faithful members of FBC have been for a while, or are just jumping in and getting started with that. Uh but to make it like to remind them that it's their own. Because that you move away, you get to sleep in whenever you want, you make your own schedule, you you do all these things that you do on like you were forced to do maybe growing up, and now it's your turn to figure it out and do it yourself. Maybe it's slightly difficult to get to church, maybe you don't have a car, maybe maybe your friends or your roommate doesn't want to, so you so there there's a lot of factors that make it more difficult to make your faith your own when you move away. Yeah. Uh so just obviously just praying that over them, that the Lord remains in their heart, that he uh is on the forefront of their minds, that they don't neglect him, don't neglect his people, the gathering of his people, uh, and really just kind of lean into it more than they ever have.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Praying protection for him during this time, you know, faithfulness, steadfastness.

SPEAKER_00

That the Lord will guide their footsteps and where they're going, whether that's the right place, or they find out that when they get there it's not and they need to change. So just future decisions.

SPEAKER_02

Just for wisdom and insight, discernment, all the all those things.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and then honestly praying over the parents as well, just kind of lifting them up to the Lord is like they're not losing a child, but they're it's hard to let go. They're not gonna be at home anymore for for a few months at a time.

SPEAKER_02

So it's it's and like you said, some of these kids, it's the first time that they've been away from home really, and the first time that they've ever lived with someone who maybe doesn't share their but beliefs. So we're also praying that that they would not not just remain strong, but be able to be bold, yeah, be a witness. And be and be a witness, right? And that's tough, man. That's tough when you when you go out on on your own there.

SPEAKER_01

Praying that they would find community wherever they are, right? Godly community, other that God would bring pe other people, other believers into their lives so that they can uh not feel like they're out there on their own. Yeah, right. Because it's easy to get to those new locations and feel like, man, I'm the only one here.

SPEAKER_02

And I you know, and our churches I love our church. I mean, I I really, really do. And it's I I several several people who've moved away uh will ask me, Hey, can you help me find a church? You know, and and so we we try to do that when we can't, because sometimes it's hard. Sometimes good churches are hard to find.

SPEAKER_01

They are I mean, and it's hard to distinguish sometimes and to discern that.

SPEAKER_02

So pray pray that they they would have a faith community and be involved in a local church.

SPEAKER_00

They care enough to find a church that is good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I get asked that question frequently. Do you know anybody or do you know any churches my son's going or my daughter's going to this area? Can you recommend anything?

SPEAKER_02

Which is a great question. Yeah, right. That's that's the that's the right question. Um because like one of the most like there's there's two things. Like when a when a graduate leaves, uh there's two super important things that that that people who stay in the faith seem to do, and that's one uh get involved in an on-campus ministry. Uh and but then two, even more important, find a local church that they're involved in.

Staying Rooted In A Local Church

SPEAKER_02

Those the ones that do those things uh seem to stay. Tend to thrive. Tend to thrive very good. And the ones that don't bear gospel fruit and the ones that don't struggle mightily. Yeah, it's it's tough. Um, so that's some good advice. What are like so Ben, you're gonna

Grad Sunday Sermon From Psalm 1

SPEAKER_02

preach Sunday. Yes. I don't want you to I don't want you to give us everything, you know, but like what like if like what's the one thing maybe that you want the students to to walk away here from uh Sunday morning.

SPEAKER_00

This this Sunday, uh I'm preaching a psalm one. Just kind of reminding them that it is very important who you are around.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um that you need to be planted firmly by streams of water that you you know, not sit in the the the the place of scoffers and just really focus them in on like. Who you choose to spend your time with will have a major effect on who the Lord you decide to spend your time with him.

SPEAKER_02

That's a fantastic text, I think, for grad Sunday. And that if you've been around FBC Tampa at all, you know, you'll know that's a a super relevant, important text. That's where we get our mission statement from our mission statement. That's where we get thrive from. Um, and so that's our that's our prayer, yeah, for for our students that they would go and they would thrive in in Christ, right?

SPEAKER_01

I think it's the perfect text for for this context. For sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, because it it's it's not only for the high school graduates, it's also for the the college graduates and the postgrad graduates and then everyone else in the room. It's a it's a reminder there's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02

Application for everybody there, for sure. Yeah. What um, Bob, do you remember any of the advice that you got when you when you graduated?

Parents Letting Go Is Hard

SPEAKER_02

Do you remember anything that anyone said, your parents or a Sunday school teacher or a co-I don't know that I remember any specific ad words of advice, but I remember receiving them.

SPEAKER_01

And I and I remember my parents, um, particularly my dad, um, you know, I was moving from Florida to Texas. Yeah. Right. So I'm I'm going several states away, well, you know, 1,300 miles away. Um and you communicated through carrier pigments. Pretty close. Yeah, we yeah, it was landlines only. Yeah, no cell phones, and that costs money. It did. And you had to have a calling card and 99 cents a minute. Um, so he wanted to make sure that I was equipped to to take care of you know necessary things. So he he it's an interesting analogy. He put together a toolkit for me, right? It's a toolbox. I never had my own toolbox, you know. And so he made sure he made sure I knew how to use particular tools. Like, you know, I had I had helped him do some things and he'd show me up, but now I was gonna have to change my own oil. So, you know, the first time you handle a a uh an oil wrench that to to replace the the the oil filter, you're like, what is this thing? So so he handed me tools and then taught me how to use them to make sure I was prepared, you know, gave me a call-in card so I could be in contact. So I I don't remember any specific words of advice, but I remember him remember him being very intentional about preparing me. And that that sounds like well, you're talking about practical things, life things. And that that's true, he did. Um, but it's also that he he handed me the spiritual tools that I needed as well, right? So the the Bible that I needed, the encouragement to get involved in a in a in a ministry on campus and then uh a local church. So those those uh those tools were handed to me so that I could utilize them once I got out on my own.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right. That's wild. The reason I say that was crazy is just because I did the same your dad did that for you. I did that for my kids when they when they went off. I did the same thing. I gave them a toolbox, you know, with a toolkit, and we we talked about how to use those and what what you would use them for and all those kind of things. But I think it's important as we as you said, as we go out, as we send people out, they they need to have the equipment and the tools to to thrive. Right. And and that's what we're trying to do here at at First Baptist Church.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know about you, Darren, but the the the day that I had the most conflict emotionally was the day we dropped our boys off, right? Man, I'm gonna be able to do that first, and then of course Ben. And it was you're so proud of them, you're so happy for them, you're so excited for them. But that was literally the hardest thing I've ever done is to get in the car and leave and leave them there.

SPEAKER_02

You can ask Mandy. I just I'm not a crier. Like I don't I don't cry. Man, I bawled like a baby when we dropped Tanner off. Man, I just oh that was awful. But it was wonderful. Exactly, you know, and and I was so like you said, I was so proud, but man, I just like I was like, man, he's never gonna live in my house again. He's just probably never gonna, and that that's true, he never did. Right. Emily was a little bit different because I saw her every weekend, and so it wasn't as bad, but when she went to uh Charleston Southern for her her her grad school and her first real job. Same thing. Yeah. That sucks. That's the only word for it. Yeah, and I would just I'd just be sitting there at the table and like and just like tears just start streaming down my face, man. He said, What's wrong with you? Like, like, I just I miss Tanner, you know, or I miss I miss Emily, man. I just missed having them around.

SPEAKER_01

And so we talked about this yesterday briefly with moms, just preparing our children, right? Just it children are a stewardship from God. And yes, we're supposed to teach them how to be good students and good citizens, but ultimately God has given them to us for 16, 18 years to train them to know God, love God, serve God. And then at some point He says, Okay, give them to me. Yeah, they're mine, trust them, yeah, you know, trust me. So we equip them uh and then we give them over and we trust. And that's so hard to do. Man, it's hard.

SPEAKER_02

I just you know, I describe it as like when you know in Mandy and I's case, we were married 10 years before we had kids, and that was not that was not our plan, right? So we struggle with infertility. Um, God blesses us, and I just remember just holding, wanting to hold them so tight. But then you start with that kind of grip, but then the whole rest of the time is just slowly letting go, right? You know, and that's just and holding them finally with open hands and sending them off, man.

SPEAKER_01

So as we celebrate with the graduates this Sunday, we're also kind of commensurating with the parents, we're celebrating with them as well, but we're also understanding, man, this is a rite of passage for them exactly as well. So it's it's a big weekend as we as we celebrate all these folks and then when what's God what God has done through their lives and what he's going to do through their lives.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, one last thing, maybe. Um what so we've talked a lot about the graduates and and things like

How The Church Can Support

SPEAKER_02

that. What as a congregation, like what can we do as a congregation to to help parents let go or even help students move move on, right? Like how how can we as a congregation, as a church, obviously pray, you know, and I and I don't want to make that seem like it's nothing because it's the most important thing. And you can do that anytime, all the time, and you should. Maybe what are some other things? Because we'll have uh a time after the service where um in the dining room where you can go and visit uh the the graduates, you can see their accomplishments, you can talk to them, you know, you can love on them, encourage them. What are some things that that maybe we could do as a church to help graduates been?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. I mean, I think like you said, first and foremost, pray. Like just pray for their their their souls, pray for their their well-being, pray for the their uh efforts in school. Yeah. Um, but just letting them actually know that you are back here rooting for them. Um let them know that you're a phone call away. Let them know that uh if you have any connections in that city or that area, let them know of those things. That's real good. Um one of the biggest things for me when we when I moved away for college was n the fact that we knew people up there. And like I could go to them if I if I needed something or um needed somewhere to stay or things like that. So it it makes comfort in there. It makes a really big impact. And I honestly I want to flip it somewhat and say where we are at, where we're located right across the street from the University of Tampa, we are receiving a lot of freshmen, a lot of people moving away from home for the first time. Other people's kids that have gone through the same thing that we just talked about. Yeah, so it's it's not only the the privilege of sending people out, but it's also the privilege of receiving and being able to be that home away from home, that the church family that comes alongside of the this the new incoming freshmen. And it's it's a it's a fun, fun journey to be part of. Cool.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, connection was the word that came to my mind. So I I think we can connect families together that are going through similar things so parents can, you know, kind of glean from each other. That's one of the things I enjoyed about our trip this last time is is just the conversations that we had, Darlene and I had with other couples. Even as our kids are grown, you know, we we could commiserate with them, we could share stories with them, those kind of things. Yeah, but connecting families together in that way. And then as Ben has said, helping the students connect wherever they're going. If we have connections, help them get connected.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But also those students that are coming here, making sure they get connected and then making sure their parents know, hey, we genuinely are here. If that if your kid needs anything, just reach out. We care for them. We care, we'll take care of them. You know, for sure. Jordan here came from another country and and he's still here. From France. From not France. Jordan, how many years ago did you graduate? Because you've gotten your postgraduate degrees, right?

unknown

Seven years ago.

SPEAKER_01

So you've been you've been out of UT for seven years now?

SPEAKER_03

No, I've been out of 2021.

SPEAKER_01

2021? Okay. Right. So Jordan came and was part of our our our our our um college ministry back when we really were just getting that college ministry started, quite honestly. Yeah. Um and but he found a home here. And and and I I don't he doesn't have a microphone, so he can't speak, so I'm speaking for him, but he's not in the biggest mileage. But he found a home here because I think he found a uh a church that genuinely does care and and loves. And so we're not a perfect church, but I I I do think we are a church that connects with college students and young adults.

SPEAKER_02

And just maybe one other thing I would just say, I know we gotta wrap it up, but just thinking because you made me think about with Jordan, he's a guy who jumped in him and his girlfriend, uh Lizzie both here met in the college ministry here, both have jumped in and served the church. They didn't just go attend a church somewhere, they came and started, they started making connections and started serving in the local body. So that's super important for the city.

SPEAKER_01

And continue to be so and they're continue to serve together. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Praise God for that. That's cool,

Serving And Closing Encouragement

SPEAKER_02

man. Well, we're so glad that you joined us today for the Unsexy Church. We love your graduates. We're glad that we can be part of their lives. Make sure that you give us a five-star rating, write us a review. If you give us a review, we'll read them. If they're uh even the bad ones, all right. But don't but don't give us a bad one. All right. Just uh hope you have a great week. Pray for our graduate graduates and stay unsexy.

Head Shot

Bob Block

Host
Head Shot

Darren Selvidge

Host