The UnlearnT Podcast
The UnlearnT Podcast is designed to help you gain the courage to change your mind about things you never thought you would change your mind about. Our hope is that you will begin to move towards a life of freedom after hearing stories from individuals who have chosen to unlearn some things in their lives.
The UnlearnT Podcast
Unlearning Gen Z - Pastor Deon Byers
Pastor Deon Byers shares his decade of experience working with Generation Z, revealing what today's youth truly need from adults and how to build meaningful connections that transform lives.
• Mentorship matters – Deon’s own life was transformed by an adult who showed him a world beyond his environment
• Today's youth aren't fundamentally different from previous generations, though their challenges are unique
• Many young people feel "sacrificed on the altar of success" as parents provide material things but not time or guidance
• Building trust requires consistency and authenticity – this generation instantly recognizes and rejects insincerity
• Despite stereotypes, Gen Z hungers for truth and clarity in a world of filtered, curated realities
• Effective mentoring requires patience, relatable communication, and willingness to "thrive in the trenches"
• Remembering names and learning youth culture creates meaningful connections
• The boldness characteristic of this generation can be positively channeled when properly cultivated
• Don't be discouraged by negative media portrayals – many young people are doing remarkable things
the unlearned podcast. I am your host, ruth abigail aka ra, and this is the podcast that is helping you gain the courage to change your mind so that you can experience more freedom. And, uh, we are in a series that is talking all about unlearning generation z. Uh, if you have been paying attention lately or for the last few years, there's a lot of mixed feelings about this generation, and we want to talk about it. We want to talk about people who are passionate about the younger generation, who work with them in different capacities and who have been doing it for a while, because we always have to be concerned about the next generation. So I and I think there are things as adults that we have to learn, as leaders, that we have to unlearn about this generation, and that's what we want to do, and so I have today my brother pastor, reverend bishop Deion look, I was about to say Deion Sanders.
Speaker 1:I heard it coming out.
Speaker 2:I ain't prime time.
Speaker 1:No, we ain't got prime time, not yet, not yet. But this is Mr Deion Byers of Divine Life and Repair, the Breach Ministries in Memphis, tennessee. What's up, deion?
Speaker 2:What's going on RA? I'm excited about being on the show. I love talking about youth and young adults, especially this generation. So I'm just excited to get into it.
Speaker 1:Man, I'm excited you're here, y'all, Me and Deion we went through a very intense leadership program together. Yes, lord, and then we came out on the other side, but it was really all about how do we, how do we love this generation Well, and so, um, dion has been doing this for a long time. Dion, how long have you been working with young adults, or teens and young adults?
Speaker 2:I've been working with teenagers. I would say all my life, but I've been working with them for 10 years and 10 years.
Speaker 1:So, they say, uh, I guess 10 years, that that makes you an expert. You've put your 10,000 hours in, really.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so you you there Right.
Speaker 1:Yeah so you've been working with it 10 years and kind of give a little bit of the background, Like how did you get to be working with teenagers?
Speaker 2:Oh well, I started going through a leadership development called Repairing the Breach. I went through Repairing the Breach as a teenager myself, and so I ended up going to Bible college, came back and started working with repairing the breaches as a full-time middle school coordinator, and um got to deal with them, and I always call it thriving in the trenches when you work with young people and young adults. That's what it is it's trenches. And so, um, I started doing it and I fell in love with it. Just seeing young people, that was like myself fell in love with it.
Speaker 2:Just seeing young people that was like myself it reminded me of how somebody helped me out, so how somebody showed me a different path, showed me a different way, how I can live my life, how I can be successful, how I also can make an impact and leave a legacy. And so I want to do the same thing for the next generation.
Speaker 1:So most people listening did not make the decision to work with teenagers.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely not.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying, which is probably wise, and you know those of us that are crazy enough to say yes to that. We, we, we do it a lot of times because of an experience we had and you kind of you just kind of named that you were impacted by Repair the Breach Ministries yourself, but I would dare to say it wasn't the ministry like programmatically, I'm going to make the assumption there's probably a people right, a person, yes absolutely.
Speaker 1:Right, talk to me about that. Talk to me about your story about developing that relationship with an adult who's older than you and how that really impacted you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my pastor now. He's my pastor today, but he was um coach Wade back then. He impacted my life tremendously. I mean just doing life for me, being there, with listening, um, there were times where we would just play ball and do different things that I wanted to do and he would use that to gain trust and I began to trust him, I began to go ahead with some other things that was going on with my life and he began to show me number one Jesus. But then he also showed me how to conduct myself as a young man, how to be a leader amongst my peers and how to serve and how to be faithful, and just showed me different things all around holistically. It wasn't just one thing that he showed me, and then also just like how we went through divorce it was a group of teenagers that was my friends. We went through repairing the breach.
Speaker 2:And so he was the one that stayed on us. He was the one that challenged us to be better than what our environment said we could be. He was the one that introduced us to different corporate sins, took us out of town, showed us a world outside of the world that we were used to, and so he played a tremendous part in my life and I model a lot of what I do from what he taught me. A lot of things that he instilled in me I now put it in the next generation and so we're making a lot of impact with those kids. But he tremendously impacted my life. He's the one that kind of like hey, you can do this, you can be a leader, and pretty much gave me hope that I didn't have in myself, confidence that I didn't have in myself, and I began to see myself differently. That, okay, well, people will listen when you begin to follow and be an example to what you're talking about and what you represent.
Speaker 2:And so he played a huge part in my life and even to this day, he still plays a huge part in my life, in my development, even what I'm doing with Repairing the Breach, what I'm doing on the pastoral side and as a father, as a husband now he plays a huge role. So that relationship continues to this day.
Speaker 1:So I think I love that and I definitely have stories and there's real data on the impact that caring adults have on the lives of teenagers.
Speaker 2:Oh absolutely.
Speaker 1:That's kind of empirical and we know that that makes a difference. I think what's interesting about today is we live in a very different world than when you and I grew up. Absolutely, and I think what I hear from a lot of people our age or older is there is a, there is a assumption or perception that you know I'm just going to say it the way I kind of hear it these kids different.
Speaker 2:Oh, they all different.
Speaker 1:These kids different, and that's? I do think that's true. I think every generation is unique, but also, I don't know what do you think. Um, and that's? I do think that's true. I think every generation is unique, but also, I don't know what do you think. I also tend to think that there's a lot of similarities, right?
Speaker 1:Just in being young right, like young people are just, and when you're that age, you're just young. And I think what is something that that is important to unlearn about this generation is that, while they are different, they're not so different than we were when we were kids. Just because kids that age right 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, there's similarities throughout generations and the perception of older generation to younger generation. Some of that is just a pattern. It just always happens, so we need not be alarmed by it. What do you think about that? Like you? Would you? You know what? Would you agree with that Like?
Speaker 2:yeah, like I think. I think they're definitely different than what we was for sure.
Speaker 2:But different is similarity because it's the same environment you know, but I think to this generation, I think a lot of them have been sacrificed on the altar of success.
Speaker 2:This generation, I think a lot of them have been sacrificed on the altar of success, that they get left behind because we're trying to provide, we're trying to work so they can have things, that we stop teaching them the values and morals and principles.
Speaker 2:And so when you're dealing with teenagers or you're dealing with kids that have that mindset, a lot of them want to be loved, a lot of them want to be reached, a lot of them want to be loved, a lot of them want to be reached, a lot of them want to be heard. And I think sometimes with our generation, because they look so rough, they look so tough or they're doing so many different things that we want nothing to do with them, so we just cast them to the side and if you get it, you get it. You don't, you don't. But what I come to realize is that about spending that quality time with them and really pouring into them, being intentional and I like to say earning the right to be heard, because a time, a lot of times, we think, because we older, you just supposed to listen. Well, it don't work like that. It never worked like that.
Speaker 1:It never worked like that. Nah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:So, but you got to earn the right. Earn the right. I might be, I might, can't fix the problem right now, I just got to gain trust. Yeah, you know loving them, being there for them. Because one thing I do know a kid know when you real and when you fake, for sure. So they know when you ain't doing, when you doing it just for the money, and when you really care about them. They know the difference, just like we did when we was young.
Speaker 2:We knew the difference for those that you that care about your life, you tend to lean to them a little bit more and listen to what they're saying a little bit closer. So I definitely think is different because it's more aggressive, it's more rage and anger and rebellion with this generation, but I also think they have the same heart to want to do right. You know, what I'm saying. They just need a model. They need somebody to believe in them the same way we do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know what I'm saying. They just need a model. They need somebody to believe in them the same way we did. Yeah, I want to get. I want to get to the difference and I want to get to the rage and the rebellion and the anger. I think those are very key words. I want to get to that before we do. Um, talk to me about sacrifice on the altar of success. Unpack that a little bit more. What do you mean by that?
Speaker 2:well, just think about you. Have people that make a lot of money but they don't spend no time with their kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So the kids left to themselves and you think I can put an iPad in your hand, I put a phone in your hand, I put new clothes in your hand, and that's going to make up for the time that God designed for family. You know, god designed for a father to give instruction to his children. He designed for a mother to nurture their kids. And so a lot of times they get put on a back burner because I'm working to try to provide for you. And now they left to themselves. So now they left to. Well, do mama really love me? They don't tell me they love me, but they give me everything I want. But I never heard them say that they proud of me. I never heard them say that they want to come and watch and support me. It's always excuses why they can't be there for me. But they can be there for a job and make money.
Speaker 2:So they get sacrificed on the altar of success. And then the enemy. He's so cunning, he used that to bring in rejection and insecurities and you got kids feeling lowly about themselves. They feel like nobody loves them, nobody cares about them, so nobody don't care about me. Guess what I'm just going to buck the system. I'm just going to do what I want to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sacrifice on the altar of success. Their kids don't get the nurturing and the love that they need, but instead they get thrown money or they get thrown material things to make time go past, so you can get out of my face, so I can rest, so I can go back to provide for you.
Speaker 1:And I, I think that's, um, I think what I've, what I've seen uh, a lot of adults. One of the reasons that we say that is because we think that they don't want to listen. Right, you know, they don't want to listen to me in no way, so you know what's the like, and so it's almost like you put the blame, it's like you're pre-blaming them before they even, and just putting it on young people like, well, they really don't even want to be around. You know, they want their own thing, they want to do their own thing. We're going to let them do that because that's what they want. But most what I find and I know you see it all the time most adults don't actually talk with young people long enough to really understand them and really understand what they really want for real.
Speaker 2:They don't. And then they also don't even get themselves an opportunity to even know if they will listen to you. Yes, how would you know if you never put yourself in that situation to talk to them? Like we go to so many different high schools, we do a night tours and if you look across the border now city, it's the same problem. Kids want to be heard. They just want somebody to listen, to understand them. But I always like to say this it's one thing to listen, understand, but you got to be able to give them something. Yeah, you have nothing to give them, then you, there's nothing you can say to the generation when you're not offering to give anything. So the biggest thing is what do we have to give to impart into the next generation?
Speaker 2:and I think a lot of people look at themselves and say, well, I don't really have that name, listen to me, no way. So they leave them to themselves. But you wonder why crime is bad and all of that. And then also we know majority of it is a sin problem. Because until the, until the heart change, only Jesus can change the heart. So without Christ, I mean revenge is in the heart of every child.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's in the heart of every child. It's in the heart of every person?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. And so without Christ, I always say we screwed anyway. But I just think about how I was introduced to.
Speaker 2:Christ. It wasn't no being across the hill with the Bible, it was relational. Everything was about relationship, even Jesus. He had a relationship with people. He hung around them, he didn't condemn them. Even with the woman who committed adultery, he didn't condemn her, he, he made all her accuses leave. And so the thing is we got to begin to give these young people truth in and out of jesus first, so their heart can begin to change. But we got to be relational with them. It can't just be do this to do that. No, it's got to be I care about you, how can I help you? How can I serve you? Care about you, how can I help you? How can I serve you? What do you need? Okay, let me give you these resources, let me give you this knowledge, let me give you this wisdom. Let me make this connection.
Speaker 2:So it's got to be things that we able to give them. If we don't want to see these things, we can be mad about the issue and a problem, but we're not doing nothing to fix the problem.
Speaker 1:So let's, let's talk about a little bit of that gap. We have low scores in education. Told me, as of, oh gosh, um two, maybe two or three years ago, uh, at Melrose, the, um, which, the school in Orange Mound, uh, the graduation rate, the, the, the principal tripled it as of like, like tripled it, I think, this past year. And so and I was like I didn't realize that the graduation rate is that was at low um you know, and and that's just, and that's just one school.
Speaker 1:You got instability in the educational system which is impacting every single one of our young people. You have churches that are disconnected and are not welcoming for a lot of young people. So to your point, introduction to Christ, to um, to God, to, to, to that, to that, uh, to the kind of morals and values around the introduction to that is, the barrier is a little higher than it, than it, than it probably should be, um, potentially, but particularly like within proximity of neighborhoods, you have all these different things that really are understandable reasons for anger and rebellion and just saying, man, screw it, like nobody cares anyway. What's the point? And then you have you talk about a lot of the teenagers. All the teenagers now spent significant years through COVID.
Speaker 1:So they spent significant years in isolation and, and you know, some of the young adults did not have a typical high school experience, so you miss these very major moments in your life that you kind of wait for and look forward to. There's just a lot of that.
Speaker 1:And then the fear of the economy, and college seems impossible because of student loans and all these different things that they're watching and they're watching the older generations have to unravel that they don't really want to get into. And then, at the same time, you have YouTube and all these different influencers where it seems like success is just right around the corner. Right, all I got to do is do this and then I could have what I want. You have all these different, competing factors that are really converging, I think, into reasons that a lot of young people walk around either upset, depressed, anxious, rebellious, lost, confused and we're just naming a few issues. These are not issues that we aren't aware of. We hear them all the time in society, but most adults, most people, ignore it or complain about it and bash the generation right, bash young people.
Speaker 1:Don't know how to deal with it. Even if you're parents, right, let's be honest do you help? How would you help older adults who don't normally work with young people, to even make sense of? How do I even begin to engage, let alone build trust, with someone who has that young people who have, who are going through all of that? I don't even know where to start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, the first thing you need to start with is what gifts do you have that you can give to the next generation, because some of us have different resources, some of them have different talents, some of them have different abilities like one of the things that I love about with um apostle way he coached, way in the story that we've been talking about, that he did with us. He showed us how to be entrepreneurs. Yeah, who don't want to? To make money?
Speaker 2:You know, what I'm saying. But in making money he taught us principles. He taught us about the value of our name. You know what I'm saying. So you ain't just chasing money. Your name is everything, because you can make this money but then you can lose that client forever, and now your money just ran out. But if your name is great, everybody's going to come to you because your name is great, and so we learn different principles. So you need to begin to look okay, what's some things that I have to offer this generation that they will be interested in? Well, we know everybody interested in making money. So if you got any wisdom or resources, if you're a carpenter, a welder, get some young men, begin to point to them, begin to talk about how they can get into this field, and then begin to get them life skills. Begin to get them different principles that they can apply to their everyday life. Get them soft skills.
Speaker 2:Spend an hour out the day with them just pointing to them about life getting to know where they are, see where they're at and how can I help you now that I got you so the first thing I would like to say.
Speaker 2:Jesus said if you follow me, I'll make you fishers of men. So the first thing is you need your bait, and your bait is your talent, your gifts, your abilities, so that's that. So the first thing is you need good bait, and your bait is your talent, your gifts, your abilities. So that's the first thing. And then, once you got them, what do you have to give them? Because, let's be honest, everybody that talks to young people don't give them the good things.
Speaker 2:That's right, so it needs to be something good that you are giving them. Well, we know Jesus is always good. You know me, I'm going after the harvest, so I'm going to give them the Lord first. Because and give them the Lord first, because I believe we don't have a crime problem.
Speaker 1:We have a sin problem. If you get rid of sin, you get rid of crime because the heart has changed.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying, so it sounds easier to say it than done, but it's a lot of work, it's a lot of layers you got to unpack because kids deal with so much trauma, so many mental issues. So it might be you have an answer, but you can't get to the answer right now because you got to go through all the layers of dealing with the person or dealing with the kid, and so it's really about being patient with them. Being patient with them, not trying to make them an overnight sensation but, really giving them tools that they can be better in their life.
Speaker 2:Character development is a big thing Integrity and being integral.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Soft skills, just a simple how to shake a man's hand, how to look him in the eye, how to have confidence about yourself. I believe we have a lot of gifts, talents and abilities to give them. What I believe is we don't want to get our hands dirty in dealing with the generation, because it's a messy business when you're dealing with people and that's all ages, that ain't just kids you deal with it that's all people that's all so you got to be willing to thrive in the trenches, and so that comes with a lot of responsibility, because you got to be able to model what you give them yeah because one thing this generation hate they hate fake.
Speaker 2:Come on, man. So if you ain't real and you're giving them fate, they ain't gonna follow you no more, that's right and I wouldn't follow you across the street, yep. So the thing is, you got to be able to model whatever you're giving them. So if you can't model excellence, or you can't model what it's like to be a real man, a true man of God, you don't need to be touching nobody. You need less about a container pouring to you.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so you got to have something to give them, but you also got to have fruit that they can eat from your life. When they look at your life, they want to glean and be like I want to be like such and such. I want to be like pat. I want to be like coach wade. I want to be like ruth abigail yeah, because they see something in you that your life thrive and it's helping my life be better, because I'm next to you you know what I'm saying because you're giving them nuggets.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's, that's good. Let me let. Let me ask this what do you think is unique? So we know there are issues and we'll kind of dive back into that a little bit after where that comes from, but what do you think is unique about this generation? We talked about the difference Particularly not necessarily negative things, just, you know, positive things that that are unique. What, what about them is like?
Speaker 2:this is something that really we need to man, they're bold yeah they, they, they bold, and when they believe for something, they run through the wall for it. Yeah, and so whether, if I just look at things like you see kids going around carjacking broad daylight, all that type of stuff the boldness that they have is like and I don't know, we ain't doing that.
Speaker 2:You want that bold. So I believe the boldness that's in them. It just needs to be cultivated the right way. That's right To where we can begin to put our hands on them and use their boldness for the glory of God to make our city better, to change the next generation, so they don't have to come up and go through some of the things that this generation going through. But, man, their boldness is another level and I think again.
Speaker 2:Like I said, if it's cultivated the right way, if it's in the hands of the right people, they won't misuse it or use it for their own benefit. So you get some people that use kids for their own benefit. Yeah, it's got to be a genuine prayer of heart. And when you're working with young people because you don't want to do anything that would crush their kid and now they trust is gone forever and they won't trust another soul, because that's the thing when you break they trust, yeah, it's hard for me to trust people like you.
Speaker 2:It's hard for me to trust older people. I don't trust y'all, so you got to begin to find that unique thing that they have about them, and I see the boldness that they got.
Speaker 1:They are bold man, it is, it's almost, I don't even know the word, but they are bold. And I wonder, though, if some of that is boldness and some of that is hopelessness. And what I mean is, like, sometimes, when you're carjacking in broad daylight just not if you have a job I mean one of the things that not, not, not, um, if if you have a job, I mean one of the things that you know, a lot of people are experiencing with with this generation is just, I'm just not going to show up, like you know. I, I'm just going, you know, um, and it's like what, what? How is that? Or, honestly, we, you know you're, we have um, we're running summer programs and we, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so we've had, we've had just just just sleep through the whole program. Yeah, it's like now you realize you get paid for it but you sleep, right. I do think there is a certain level of boldness there. But also it's like I think the shadow side of that is hopelessness, in the sense of what, it doesn't matter anyway, right, I don't. So whether or not I do this, whether if it, even if it destroys my reputation or my life in some way, who cares? Because I don't really think I have one anyway, you know what I'm saying. And so what do you? I mean what? What do you? I mean what? What is what? How does hopelessness play out in this generation that?
Speaker 2:you see, that might be a little different than previous generations yeah, but I I think I think it goes back to though them not getting poured into. You know, I'm saying like the hopelessness come from home. Majority of a lot of people hopelessness come from home because if home is good and tight, you can, you can function to make it in the world. Because you know you got a support system. Yeah, they're gonna love you, encourage you, tell you when you're wrong, but do it in love. I think a lot of that just come from because they don't have nobody to love them. And then for me, I I haven't given, I have not gave up on this generation. I believe some of the greatest thing I'm gonna do is with these young people yeah, with this generation I think they have something special that no other generation had.
Speaker 2:But yeah, if we give up on them, we'll never unlock it, we'll never see it somebody got to be the one that's standing together like, hey, listen, I'm passing the torch from my generation to yours and be able to give them what they need. So I think a lot of hopelessness comes from trauma, comes from single parent household, a lot of things that God didn't design for us to go through. I think all that comes and plays a very part of that. So I believe that if we get people to really begin to see, okay, yeah, I see the hopelessness, but how do I be a hope dealer for them?
Speaker 1:How do I give them hope.
Speaker 2:I think a lot of times we focus so much on they're hopeless, they ain't doing nothing. Okay, what's the solution for it? What's the solution, like when are we going to start finding solutions to how to impact this generation? Because I truly believe that a lot of those kids that are doing what they're doing don't want to do that. They just don't have another option At least they think they don't have another option. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:And then when you get with them, you beat them over the head versus listening, understanding. Okay, how can I love and help them through this? Because everybody come with their own baggage. Everybody come from something, everybody got to pass with something. So you got to be able to be relatable, you got to be able to be understanding, but you also got to be able to inject hope, like you got to give them a safe space to be able to get out their frustrations, to get out their issues. You might have a kid that come in your house with a gun that say, hey, man, I'm getting ready to do this, man, I just need somebody to talk to. What if you don't have the right words to say, like, I just had a situation with that with a kid.
Speaker 2:And so my thing is we got to inject hope. And that hope number one it comes through Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, it don't matter what you give them. Naturally they still got the sin nature, so they're going to revert back to the nature that they know. Naturally they still got to see nature, so they're gonna revert back to the nature that they know. So until we change the nature in the heart through jesus christ and give them hope, we're gonna continue to see the same things. And that's number one. Go back to our educational system. Yeah, jesus got to get back in the school. Like it bowed for me. That principal called us to do clergy stuff, but they don't want us to be clergy. Like what are you calling us for? You don't call substitution teaching and tell them not to teach.
Speaker 2:So you know what I'm saying, so like you got to allow God back into your space and once you do that, you give the opportunity of hope to be given to everybody. Because I, just a firm believer would change my life was when I gave my life to Jesus. I was still in my neighborhood, I was still in the environment. I still seen murders, I still seen this. But I began to have a different outlook of life. Then I began to get the natural things to help me. Okay, how do I do a job resume? How do I conduct myself on the interview?
Speaker 2:I began to get the tools to begin to get the confidence to say, hey, I ain't got to live like that. I ain't got to be in the neighborhood selling dope, I ain't got to be in the neighborhood doing these things. But a lot of them don't even have the tools because we don't even want to give back to them. So giving them Jesus is the first and main part, but holistically, we got to equip them with tools for natural living to be able to say, hey, this is how you live, this is how you conduct yourself in these environments, in these rooms, and then taking them outside their environment. Sometimes we only know South Memphis, sometimes we only know Orange Mouth.
Speaker 2:Sometimes we only know North Memphis. It takes somebody to say you know what, I'm going to invest in you and I'm going to take you outside your community and show you that it's something bigger than what you see every day. And that's what happened with me. I was able to go to New York, I was able to go to Washington DC, I was able to see these things, this realm of possibility that, hey, man, I can do this. This is attainable. And I believe we make the standard so high that kids feel like they can't obtain it. But the standard should always remain high, but it should be attainable where they can reach it. And I believe if we begin to give them those tools, we'll see how these young people change tremendously.
Speaker 1:So I'll be honest, dean, I'm about to put you on the spot. I didn't even know we were going to go here, but something tells me that this would be really good. I, a church member of mine, we were just kind of chatting the other day and he was very disheartened by some things he had seen out, just, I think, on Beale Street. He said he had been on Beale Street in a minute, his wife went out and he was like oh man, I don't want to deal with none of these folk. I don't want to deal with nobody that basically ain't going in the church. And I said, hey, man, like you can't be like that man. Him though, and and and I want, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to bring some validity to that feeling, because I think, a lot of people, uh, particularly those who are believers in, in jesus, and that that's really who we're talking to at this point yep
Speaker 1:um, feel that way, particularly around this generation. It's like, man, I don't even want many, they, they, they going straight to hell, like I'm, just like that. That's is the mentality. People really believe it and there's nothing that can be done. They're doing all this stuff, but these are the same people that are in the church, is the same people that post their post scriptures on social media. These are the same folk and the same young people are. Seeing that, right, and so here's, here's my question to you. Seeing that Right, and so here's, here's my question to you as someone who believes in Jesus and who believes in young people. Some people don't think that's possible. Um, do how? How do you even get? How do you? How do you even explain, especially when we're talking about young people, a lot of whom have very disconnected from church, more so than we?
Speaker 1:were when we were kids right, and I would love for you to take a minute and coach adults who have young people in their lives who don't know anything about Christ, who don't know anything about Jesus, don't know anything about church, are disconnected to even start that conversation. How do I even engage a young person in a conversation about Christ? Now, this is assuming we've built trust, we have a relationship. This isn't, you know let me give you a track in the mall, I ain't talking about that but somebody who is like we know each other, like we have a relationship. I do not know how to cross that barrier. I don't know how to start that conversation. Help people with that.
Speaker 2:Well, for me, I think it starts with a simple question, Like it's multiple questions you can ask. It really just depends on the situation. For me, the way I do it is, I always ask them hey, man, you ever thought?
Speaker 2:about what would happen if you die Just to pique their interest to see do you even believe in heaven, do you believe in hell? And then begin to help them with some natural stories to bring spiritual points across them. So far as I might give you one, I always tell kids all the time have anybody ever taught you how to read? They're like yeah, somebody taught me how to read. Have anybody ever taught you how to write? Somebody taught you how to write. I said have anybody ever taught you how to lie? No, anybody ever taught me how to lie. I said well, how is it that you had to learn how to read, talk, write, but you didn't have to learn how?
Speaker 2:to lie how did you learn how to lie? Well, no, I guess it's just part of my nature. So now I get to talking about the difference between being born away from god and then getting born again, and why you need to be saved. Because you're born with a sinful nature. You're born already disconnected from god, but the bible talks about that. Jesus came to save. Who was your loss? All of us lost because we born into into sin and so. But Jesus didn't leave us in that state. He came and he died for us. He went to hell for us.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I just started with questions, with natural things to bring spiritual points across, and now I can give you the gospel and help you meet Jesus versus me and my religion, me and my church, me and my theology. You get to meet him, you get to hear his scriptures, you get to hear what his word says and you get to have an encounter with him. So I think it all goes back to us being able to relate to them but also know how to navigate it, because everything ain't no preaching assignment. Some things are just natural conversations and then, like I had some kids, they grew up in church but they don't want to do with God. Yeah, how you and Jesus doing.
Speaker 1:Because I know you grew up in this, how y'all doing.
Speaker 2:Man, I don't do no with that stuff. Man, why not? We'll turn you off. Let me find out where you at and locate you, and now I know how to reach you. Yeah, but I think, because a a lot of people really don't know Jesus for themselves. They don't know how to minister to young people for real.
Speaker 2:So now you're trying to go and you want to get sermons and you want to go through the book and all that. And there's nothing wrong with going through scripture, because I go through scriptures all the time but it needs to be relatable. They got to be able to understand number one, what you're talking about, and it's got to connect with them. Ain't nobody been listening to no God that they can't connect with? You know what I'm?
Speaker 1:saying so. So, so what? What is it like? I love, what is it? Why is it that you hear for so many young people that they aren't interested in God?
Speaker 2:Because they didn't seem to be a model. A lot of people have seen churches being abusive, churches doing things wrong, but like I always tell kids again, here go the natural, to the spiritual. I said have you ever seen somebody spend fake?
Speaker 1:money. Have you ever seen scammers?
Speaker 2:So are you going to stop getting money or spending money because you saw fake money. So you can't throw out all of the church because you saw a bad model. You got to find a good model and that's why it's important that when you're dealing with young people, that you're able to model it before them. That's why, for me, I love to bring young people to my house. I love to go outside of the church and hang with them.
Speaker 2:I love being in school with them because you get to see me interact and you get to see me consistently be who I say I am, without me even saying the word. And so and it gained so many respect for the kids because they're like man, you're a man of your word, because if I tell you I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it. I am saying, oh man, you know this, came up and making excuses. It's all about investing in the next generation and your word is everything. I learned that as a teenager with Paul's way your word is everything, yeah, you say you're gonna do something you gotta do with these young people.
Speaker 2:You better once you break that trust, you no longer get that back. Yeah, it's harder to get that back, much harder, and so, but in order to connect the dots, you gotta just know how to locate them. And you locate them through relationship and you locate them through questions man, I love that man.
Speaker 1:You locate them through relationship. You locate them through questions and, by the way, that's not just when we're not policing them either.
Speaker 2:No, so we're not policing no kids. That's it because you don't want to be hovering over what you're doing today. You're doing this. We don't police any kid. We love them, we show them the right way. But they gonna make their mistakes and y'all think about it. A lot of teenagers they experiment that it. A lot of them just experiment, trying to see what they like. They don't even know their identity yet, they don't know what they like, and so they experiment. And the thing I always say to that is you don't want to experiment too long because you might get entangled and you can't get out. See, some experiments mess up things. It can mess up your life.
Speaker 2:So, you don't want to experiment all the time, you need to do it the right way.
Speaker 1:But they got to know what their way they got to know what it is. They got to be shown that absolutely exactly, and then to make jesus fun.
Speaker 2:like you can't be no old stuck up bishop, and big kids don't want none that. They want to be able to do something that they can can get with, that they can relate to, that they can have fun, that they can relate to, that they can have fun with. That's one thing I loved about Coach Apostle Wade when we was young. He made Jesus fun. Yeah, and we made it fun. And so now we just do the same thing with the next generation. We have silent parties, we do games and stuff. We have so much fun that you're going to think you're at the club?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you are at the club. You're at. You're gonna think you at the club, yeah, but but you are the club. You at club crossover club, jesus, because you're gonna cross over from sin to um to life, but we have.
Speaker 2:We have fun, man. We enjoy a lot. We dance yeah, we ain't doing all the worldly stuff, but we do some line dances here and there. We do basketball, video games. We just, we just enjoy our young people. We spend time with them, we open our doors with them. We understand the stuff they come with it. You know they're gonna come with weed. Some of them might come with gun. We understand what come with it and we're willing to say hey, listen, we going after these young people. So we know we come with it. We got a standard. We're gonna implement our standard, but we're not policing them like we ain't, we ain't just. Well, we had a situation where kids were coming with weed and type of stuff. No, we ain't kicking you out, but that gotta go yeah that can't stay.
Speaker 2:But you more than welcome to stay correct, but that can't stay. Yes, so we we're gonna have a standard and we're gonna love them. And then we intentional, once we figure that out, oh, we sticking somebody. We need to get with that person again and see what they like.
Speaker 2:See what they like doing, go talk to them, and we always intentional about knowing them by name. You ain't just a number to us, man. No, we care about you. And I think that's what a lot of young people. They just feel like we're just a number, y'all don't care about us. What's my name? And a lot of kids ask you that you don't remember my name. So I'm intentional.
Speaker 1:I work hard to try to remember names and it's becoming harder, and harder for me uh-huh and that, yeah, and it me too. It's hard, especially the the more you, the longer you do it, the more names you got to know oh my goodness, but you know what I will say, though. That's actually one of the one of the first tricks of the trade, if you will. That, I was taught, is um. Whenever you meet, whenever you meet a student, the next time you see them, call them by name.
Speaker 2:Call them by name.
Speaker 1:And because they're not going to believe you remember them? Yeah, Because most people don't Even their teachers Like and so, and they are always shocked, Like you remember my? Name. Do you remember my name? And it means so much it goes, so far it goes so far, oh my goodness, it goes so far, and it just goes to show how, for how easily it is to feel forgotten come on, you know um, and and how?
Speaker 1:how? Just just you, that a name. It matters because it makes you unique. You're not like everybody else. You have a name, and so I think, even if, whatever the young people are in your life, call them by name Even people who don't work with young people maybe you only have a few that you really engage with there's a name that not just hey, come here, or come here, boy, that kind of thing. I mean we do that, you know that's, that's, that's what they're, that's what people are used to hearing, but but call them by something different, that's that's not like everybody else, and and they will they will see the value in that, because it shows that they have value to you, right.
Speaker 1:There's only one of you and I'm acknowledging that by calling out your name, and so I think, I think that's such and it's such an easy thing to do.
Speaker 2:And we. I had a situation with a kid in their very mountain and I began he would cut up all the time. So I throw chairs, try to fight staff and I began to get with him and I used to call him my buddy.
Speaker 2:I'm like you my buddy, this is my power, and so what I began to do is give him confidence that when he go in the classroom, hey, nobody mess with him. This is my buddy, because I'm cool with all y'all, but he's cool with me. So because he cool with me, y'all gotta be cool with him. And I'm gonna tell you the thing too we got to learn how to learn them because another thing, like their language is different from ours, you gotta know what stuff means. Yes, and I'll tell you slang change every two weeks, man, it's like every two weeks.
Speaker 2:I'm learning different slang vocabulary words to try to keep up with this generation. But I love it because I get to engage with them, I get to laugh with them. They get to see, okay, he ain't just this preacher that just preaching at us, he out here laughing, he joking with us and all type of stuff, right, but you got to have a boundary, because they got to know there's a cutoff line. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you know, but you got to learn them too as well. You got to learn them. I love them, you got to learn them.
Speaker 2:Because, if not, you're not going to reach it.
Speaker 1:And I think another kind of thing that I learned, and it's something I think we need to unlearn, is that that young people can't teach you something oh, come on. What, what's what's something um, what's something that you've learned from someone, a teenager, that you didn't expect to learn um, oh.
Speaker 2:I learned a lot from teenage. I didn't expect to learn let me see. No, I would say this I learned that I wasn't patient enough with them. Like you want to be, you want instant gratification and instant change, and I had to learn that they they growing from naturally immaturity and spiritual immaturity. So you got to be patient with them.
Speaker 2:And they just talk like man, you, you just so aggressive Like you, just you want everything right now, like we can't just man, go through a process of our own. I'm sitting there like thank you, like because somebody was patient with me. I had to learn. I had some hiccups in the road and they weren't beating me over the head and saying you ain't gonna be nothing, you ain't gonna do this. Come on, what you doing? Like no it was patient.
Speaker 2:It was there yeah, you know it's like, hey, listen, you did this, but hey, we gonna pick up these pieces, let's, let's walk you back through this way. And I had to learn there because at first I was like, man, ain't nobody getting this? I know what I'm getting to work because I did it and but it's, I had to learn patience. Hey, man, you can't change everybody in no one sitting, man.
Speaker 1:It takes time that's man, that's they taught you that that's, that's, that's, um. Because because you, you wouldn't think that, yeah, the young, a younger generation, would teach you patience, because they, that's something, that they are learned that is something to learn that for real they they lack it, but they teach you the very thing that you need to help them man.
Speaker 1:and. But you know what? And I love that you said that? Because young people will teach you how to work with them. They'll teach you, they will. How to teach them, they will give you the blueprint. They will give it to you.
Speaker 2:I'll give you an example my RTV kids. They own it like a hawk. They'll tell you listen, man, this ain't gonna work with us. We need you to do these things, we need you to help with these things, like when you, ministering, ask some illustration in there. When you're talking, don't just be talking to us, we'll fall asleep. But if you have some props or something, I'm like, okay, cool, well, I need to do more illustration, but it's got to be able to say, okay, I'm hearing what they're saying and this is what they need, versus I know what I'm doing. I've been doing this that's it.
Speaker 2:No, you can't do that because, just think about it, I always say every 10 years a generation change. So if you've been doing this for more than 10 years, you gotta adapt. Yeah, you got to adapt. You can't stay the same. But the only thing that stays the same is the secret sauce that's right we ain't changing the secret sauce which is jesus and what we believe in, but the way we do think, the method and how we do it. You gotta be able to adapt the message.
Speaker 1:The message stays the same. The methods change the message man, look methods. I mean, yeah, I fought 10 years but shoot you got. You really got to be up on just about every year and at this point, for real you do no, that's true you got to, you got to be on something different every year, you know, because one thing that is very, very different about this generation is their exposure oh my goodness right their exposure to all this stuff and so to your point, like you do have to, and I and I'm I am certainly I have to continue to remind myself of this and learn and and keep growing it at myself, but the way you engage has to be as almost as um what's the word I'm looking for as as quick as a real, I mean because that's
Speaker 1:what they're, that's what they're consuming over and, over and over. And if you, if you don't have, you don't learn how to communicate like that not just like to a group of kids, but even one-on-one like learn how to do that, well then it's going to like. Their brains are actually wired very differently because of the technology that they have. Absolutely, and we have to acknowledge that. And I think a lot of older people either want to, you know, kind of dismiss it and just say, well, it should be like that, or just be like well, whatever they just go like, just ignore it. You gotta adapt.
Speaker 2:You gotta adapt Because if not you're gonna lose the generation. Because they ain't gonna listen to you. Their attention span is not that long anymore and it's like three seconds. You almost gotta train it to be that now.
Speaker 1:You do, but our attention span ain't long, it ain't you?
Speaker 2:know what I'm saying. I like to say you gotta grab them and jack them real fast, yes. So in the first three or four minutes, if you ain't hitting them with some hard punches, you gonna lose them quick. You'll lose them and I'm gonna say this this is one of the things I have found about this generation they're hungry for truth. Yes, they are hungry to know about God.
Speaker 1:Talk about that.
Speaker 2:Because we go to so many different neighborhoods across the city of Memphis to unsaved kids. These kids are not in church, they're in gangs and they are hungry to find truth. They couldn't believe that people took time out their day, come to their schools to feed them, get them giveaways and talk to them about Jesus. To feed them, get them giveaways and talk to them about Jesus. And we had so many kids to have encounters with God at their school simply because they heard a simple 10 to 15-minute message. We ain't preaching all day long, but it was so quick but it was so powerful because there was some gift strictly to them and they are hungry for truth and once they get it they really want to know about it. We had kids that want to be in discipleship groups. How do I go for god? I mean, how do I grow in god? I had a kid text me the other day said I want to live this life for real.
Speaker 2:I'm tired of doing these things I really want, god, and so it's about presenting who jesus is to them and let them have their own encounter. It's one thing me telling you what to do. It's another, another thing when you encounter God for yourself, that's right.
Speaker 2:And many kids. They feel God's presence, they begin to weep. I got so many pictures and videos I can show people of kids weeping. They've never been in church, never heard about God. About to get ready to kill themselves. We had a young lady that was getting ready to commit suicide, dead knight who came and brought the pills and poured them out. Who came and brought the pills and poured them out? We had another young man at the school that you named earlier that was getting ready to go murder. A kid brought the gun to the teacher and said I don't want to do this, no more, my life just got changed. So they hungry for these things, they want God. What they want was real. See, we got to give them real. We got to teach them how to live and we got to teach them how to navigate. And we got to teach them how to navigate because, again, you said, exposure to a lot of things.
Speaker 1:You got to have more conversation earlier with kids. Now, yes, back in the day.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, like I'm talking about even in elementary, like my son seven, eight, I'm teaching him about what is a man, what is a woman. Why should I even be teaching a seven year old? But that's the time that we live, so you gotta have a conversation with them early and I I believe one part of it is the church. We shy away from those things, we don't talk about those things with this generation. We let them be and hopefully they come out of it. No, we did them with a head on.
Speaker 2:We did a series with our kid called Nation of Lies.
Speaker 2:How the enemy lied to you at a young age to get you to believe these different things. This is how you were made, this is how I am. But no, god sent you this. This is the truth, this is your reality. But we're having those conversations about homosexuality, we're having those situations about trauma and we're having those situations about mental health issues with our young people to help them understand one how God sees them and how he designed for them to be, and then help walk them out of there, because we got some kids. That's in it, and so we're not beating them over the head, but we're teaching them how they can walk out of there. And I always tell kids this I'm ready for you to struggle, then to lay down in it, because when you laid out and you didn't gave up, at least when you're struggling, you fighting, that's it.
Speaker 2:And so, as you fight, as long as you fight, I can help you, that's as long as you find I'm willing to walk with you yeah, and I remember one another thing that that a kid showed me is that I had to stop caring about my own reputation.
Speaker 2:But what if it's a young man that's bound and homosexual, that dress like female? But god called you to walk with them? Are you gonna worry about what people saying because you at lunch with this young man trying to help them and he dressed like a female, so I had I had to learn about man.
Speaker 2:It's not about me. It's about me helping this kid come out of this deception and bondage because it's bondage at the end of the day. Yeah, and a lot of people that in their lifestyle they're not in it because they want it to be yeah, a lot of them would be the deceived trick or something was done to them that told, made them go their way.
Speaker 2:Nobody woke up and just say I'm going to be this today. Now something happened to them, it was an experience. So we have to walk with them, do life with them, and we have to have real conversations earlier than normal, and we can't shy away from that as the church you.
Speaker 1:You said something um truth. You know, I think we live a lot of young people live in a very filtered world, um, and a very um a world that is, uh, what's wrong curated right for their own. Like you, you can, you have the ability to live your own reality, um, and, and you can kind of get stuck in there and that's that's. It's very easy. Somebody, somebody was telling me the other day oh, I'm gonna butcher it, but I, I, I don't remember what it's called, but basically it's these, um, it's these videos of these like, like fake uh boyfriend or girlfriend like on that just talk to you like they're your relationship with them. And you can, on youtube, you can follow these accounts and people are um, it makes it.
Speaker 1:It simulates as if we're we're dating really, I ain't never heard it when I tell you I cannot remember exactly what it's called, but she was telling me about it the other day, so she's 18. And I was just asking her about, you know, just, is this thing like this AI virtual relationship thing? She was like, it's a thing Like, and I said really, she said yes, like she's got friends who have dibbled and dabbled in that and and it's like you know. So this, this idea of Kate, like I get to curate my own reality, you lose sight of what's true.
Speaker 2:And I believe there is.
Speaker 1:There is a difference between reality and truth. Reality changes, truth doesn't, and so your reality can be what it, what I want it to be. Today, I can make that happen, and so I think one of the things that is important for adults to unlearn about this generation is that they don't want truth. They, they absolutely do. They crave it because everything that's being presented to them is based on what they want, and so who's not going to take that Right?
Speaker 1:At the end of the day, because you don't have truth, there's no grounding, there's no stability, there's no foundation, and so everything you want, all it does it's not filling you up Because you have nothing to hold, there's nothing solid for it to land on. So you get what you want. It passes through you and you just stay empty. It doesn't fill you at all and, and after a while you you begin to realize that you're empty. And so when somebody comes and gives you meat, when all you've had was was chips, they ain't really nothing. All it is is half half. The bag is air anyway, and you really ain't getting full right. But somebody comes and gives you meat and you're like dang, this is different. I like meat, I want more of that. They want truth, and so you got to be prepared to give them truth and not shy away from it. I love that. So it's real and truth is not complicated.
Speaker 1:It's simple, right. I mean, one of the things that adults, I think, have to even unlearn in general is that you have, if it's complicated, it's probably a lot. You know complication, it's like complicated If you're, if things are ultra complex, if, if, if you don't have a way of understanding it, there's something in it that's money right? Truth is clear. There's just, there's no it's it's. It's black or white, it's just what. It's black or white, it's just what it is. Um, and I'm not suggesting that everything is black and white. There's plenty of gray that we got to deal with, but there's some stuff that ain't great.
Speaker 1:Exactly it's black and white and we just need, and, and young people, I think, need to be exposed to that, to to your point. We need to expose young people to truth and not allow them to define it. This idea of relative subjectivity and relativity and all that. That's BS, man, it's crazy, it's not true, and so I think we have to debunk that and we have to point point them. I remember there was a just a few years ago, um, you know, a lot of young people uh are very jesus plus right, jesus plus crystals, jesus plus um you know, ancestors, j Jesus plus um, um, whatever, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All this other stuff, um, and so I was talking to a couple of teenagers and we were having conversations and, god bless it, one young lady who goes to church. She went to church and I've taken her to church, seen her in church, know what the church she was a part of, and she, she said yeah, I um. She said I believe in fairies. Now, this is not, this is serious. This is real right. This young lady said I said fair. She said, yeah, and I'm a fairy. I said you're a fairy? Hmm, and, and and. I had to do every. It was everything in me to keep a straight face, but, but this, but I was like all right, this is an opportunity, let's just, like you said, let's ask questions. Um, so how do you know you're a fairy?
Speaker 1:like, and, and she said you know, um, something about a bunch of plants around her house. She was like you have a bunch of plants around. So I said how do you know you're a fairy and I'm not a fairy like what. And so I just I'm just, it sounds ridiculous, but we just were fairy and I'm not a fairy Like what, and so I just I'm just, it sounds ridiculous, but we just were asking, and I'm asking questions, asking questions, and I said, can I? Um? Then I asked her this. I said where did you get it from?
Speaker 1:You know, what she told me Google.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Instagram and I said, okay. I said, now can I be honest with you, Can I? And then I said now can I be honest with you, can I? And then I said can I share with you what I think? And then I I started to share with her who Jesus is and where I get that from come and why it is reliable. I said um, so just talking about the source where are you getting this stuff from right?
Speaker 1:exactly and and and helping helping young people to understand a lot of the sources that you're getting what you call truth from unreliable haven't been tested or tried, it hasn't even been around long enough to even matter like yeah, and so you know you have to figure out where you get stuff from, and a lot of them don't know where to get it from, so it's but that they're being fed this stuff that people are making up, and so, anyway, I think that's so crucial, man, I'm so glad you brought that up.
Speaker 1:As far as truth is concerned, we've got to unlearn that they don't want that, they want it and they want it. Clear and simple terms.
Speaker 2:It doesn't need to be flashy.
Speaker 1:It's got to be attainable, right. You don't need to have no bells and whistles on it, they just want it because they get the bells and whistles on their phone. They don't need all that Exactly. Just tell them what it is. You know what?
Speaker 2:I'm saying yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know. So that is gosh. It breaks my heart to see young people believe certain things and then not know where they got it from. But it becomes a part of their philosophy and they hold on to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but just think about it, it's an agenda from hell that the enemy have used to get young people entangled early.
Speaker 2:You know you got kids that believe in crystals, ouija boards and don't even understand that the origin that come from the money you know. So it's so many different layers to it and that's why it's important that when you dealing with young people and you talking about unlearning, you got to unlearn all of the lies and deceptions that you have formed this truth in your mind and be like listen, I got to unlearn this stuff. That's it, and I need to really learn what truth is.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And you only can get truth from Jesus. He's the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so I'm telling you, I have seen so many young people that have given their hearts to Jesus, they have turned their life around, all because they found truth. Not because we did anything special, but because the thing we do, we just teach them how to cultivate a relationship with God. And now you get to do that on your own and we're going to be here to help you with questions. We're here to help you, to tell you how to live, how you conduct yourself, but ultimately it comes down to your personal relationship with God and your hunger for truth.
Speaker 2:See just like people, hunger for lies you got to be hungry for truth to find truth at the same time. But once you get it, it's a freedom that comes with it. You don't get in bondage with truth, it's a freedom. It's a peace. I can't tell you how many kids say I just feel this peace.
Speaker 2:I can't explain it and I go to the scripture, where the bible says that god will give you peace. That passes all understanding. Yes, so you just tried the scripture and you can say that it works. It's true, this is real, it happened to you. Yes, so you know the bible not a lot because it's happening to you, and so it's things like that that's. That's just priceless, that you get to see kids like man. This is true, this can happen to me. But again, it takes somebody that's willing to go in the trenches where they have to go get them. Well, we got to be willing to go in there and get them man.
Speaker 1:um right, so this has been good. Dion, as we wrap up, can you just give a word of encouragement to adults out there who are not very hopeful about this generation, who see more bad than good, don't really know how to engage, and just try to give them a little encouragement from your perspective as somebody who works with teenagers every single day, and particularly encouragement to people who are raising teenagers. It's rough, man, it's rough. So just talk to them and encourage them, and then we'll wrap up.
Speaker 2:Well, one, I would say, number one don't give up on this generation, because God has so much to do with their generation and he loves them. And I always, like I said earlier, find your gift and your talents is something that you can pour back into them and begin to just appreciate the little things that they would give from you, the conversations, them even willing to be around you for an hour or two. Begin to find the hope in that and then begin to ask God, god, what do you want to give them? And let God use you in giving something to them that can change their life forever. And then also, don't be fooled by what you see on the news.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't be fooled by what the media put out there. Memphis is still one of the best cities in the world.
Speaker 1:For sure.
Speaker 2:And I believe that it's so many good things happening with this generation. It just don't get televised. Yeah, I'll get broadcast. So it's still hope that great things are happening. It's plenty of young people that are doing phenomenal things in this city and in this world, and so just just lean your hope on that and then find out what can you do to what? What legacy will you leave behind for the next generation when they think about your name, when they think about the things that you gave them? Like I think about back in my day, you had your neighbors who would give you different things, different nuggets that stuck with you forever, and I remember mr willie would let us come and pick oranges and yeah tell us these different stories.
Speaker 2:It's things like that that might shape a kid mind that would say okay, listen, I ain't gonna go down, I'm gonna listen to what mr willie said because mr willie told me this story about him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's different things you can give. You might not be able to physically give them anything, but you might be able to have a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of wisdom, a wealth of experience and encounters that you had, mistakes that you did, that you learned from. That you can give to them. So stay in touch. And then I'm going to say this too they're fun to be around. It keeps you young. They're going to keep you laughing because they're going to say some off-the-wall stuff, but it's almost refreshing to be around them too. They come with their problems, don't get me wrong, but it's refreshing, man, just to be around them, just to laugh with them, yeah.
Speaker 2:Because it might be that one kid that was cutting up, that you see laughing and smiling and they helping. And they doing exactly what you been teaching them the last month or two. And you be thinking like man. I thought that one Ain't paying and they've been watching you because you've been real to them and they've been watching you, they've been studying you. That's one of the things I would say when I was a kid.
Speaker 1:I remember telling.
Speaker 2:Apostle Wade. I said man, you're just too perfect, I can't do that. And he said and it stuck with me and now I say it to kids. I said, no, I'm not perfect.
Speaker 2:You just would never see me mess up. But what is he saying? He's saying I'm not going to do anything. That's going to cause you to stumble to where you don't want to do nothing with God. You don't want to do nothing with my life, but I do make mistakes and I'm willing to show you my scars. I'm willing to show you the mistakes that I made. But I'm not going to make mistakes in front of you. They're going to cause you to trip to where you don't want to be doing and what I'm doing in your life.
Speaker 1:So stand, courage, stay hopeful man.
Speaker 2:love on these young people. If you got a relationship with them, if you don't got a relationship with them, find out how to get one. Go to the school, volunteer, talk about sports. Just start with stuff that y'all have commonality in that you can talk about with them and build a rapport with them and then from there begin to change their life.
Speaker 1:Man Dion thanks for coming, man. Man, I appreciate you for having me. Man, this is good man. I hope y'all gained something from Dion's wisdom, man, and from this conversation. Um, let's just, let's keep, uh, doing our due diligence to understand people that are younger than us.
Speaker 2:They need you they need you this generation needs you, um alright y'all.
Speaker 1:Well, that's it. Can I say one more thing? Go ahead, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Before we go, if there's anybody listening to this and you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I want to give you an opportunity right now, tomorrow, and I promise, just say these words Say, father, forgive me for sinning against you. I am a sinner. I'm in need of a Savior. I confess Jesus as my Lord and my Savior. Write my name in your Lamb's book of life. In Jesus' name, amen, amen, amen. I can't go without doing that. I'm sorry. You know me. I'm a preacher, y'all know that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, hey, that's good Dion. Somebody got to do it on here.
Speaker 2:Hey, somebody got to do it, somebody got to do it.
Speaker 1:All right, y'all. Well, we'll see y'all next week, but until then, oh wait, I always forget to do this. I'm so bad at this. Hey, like, share and subscribe to the unlearned podcast. We want you to be a part of this community and be a part of the unlearning process. It's going to help you grow and it's going to help you to be more free, and so that's what we're all about.
Speaker 1:Y'all were all about freedom, and that's going to take a mindset shift. Um, and so that's we want for everybody. So, make sure, if freedom, man, so if this, if this episode was of any value to you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it, let somebody else see it. Um, all right, y'all. That is it. Let's keep unlearning together so that we can experience more freedom, and until then, we'll see y'all next week. Peace. Thank you once again for listening to the Unlearned Podcast. We would love to hear your comments and your feedback about the episode. Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and to let us know what you think. We're looking forward to the next time when we are able to unlearn together to move forward towards freedom. See you then.
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