Barrett's Swaggy Life Talks
This podcast is all about my life's challenges and speaking topics. Topics include the outlook on life from someone with disabilities, and we cover spiritual matters.
Thank you for listening to my podcast I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. If you are interested in booking me for a speaking engagement please feel free to email me at barrets.swaggylife@gmail.com.
Barrett's Swaggy Life Talks
Redefining the Church's Role in Times of Crisis
Can the church truly reclaim its role as a cornerstone of community support during crises like hurricanes? Join us for an engaging conversation with our guest as we challenge the misplaced reliance on political figures and urge the church to embrace its foundational responsibilities. Together, we explore how prioritizing spiritual commitments over worldly distractions can help mend the fabric of our communities, emphasizing the pivotal role of identity in God in times of need.
Discover the transformative power of unity and inclusivity as we dive into the heart of church communities. We explore the biblical notion of diverse gifts within the body of Christ, highlighting how every member's unique talents can enrich the community. In an era dominated by social media, we reflect on the dangers of isolation and the profound impact of genuine connections on our faith journey.
Ever wondered about the podcast guest process? We're pulling back the curtain to share our behind-the-scenes experience! From preparation to authentic storytelling, our collaboration with Barrett ensures each episode is both informative and engaging. We discuss how we facilitate remote participation, allowing guests to shape the content with transparency and authenticity. It's not just about promotion—it's about inspiring listeners with real stories and insights. Plus, stay connected with us through various social media platforms and keep the conversation going.
Governor, we've done everything you've asked. Everything's going according to plan, Governor. We won county and the map pack has never been stronger. County and the map pack has never been stronger. So tell us, governor, what else can we do for you?
Speaker 1:I got it from here. Welcome back, man, to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you for being with me again, and it's been what, the second time you've been on the podcast?
Speaker 1:Second or third time, but it's good to be back. Yeah, it's good to have you back. So, for those people that don't know, we decided to do like this little series of spontaneous podcasts. This is not going to be live, but we're going to pretend like it's live and basically do everything and just talk about our normal lives and what we have opinions on what this world right now is going through. So, um, I don't know about you, but I have followed people, following politicians so much that they are trying to mimic them instead of being their own self in terms of community, meaning they don't look into blaming a politician for the way people act. And you know, I'm like with this hurricane situation. You know, I'm like with this hurricane situation. I'm like, really, the church should be moving and getting what God truly is and truly says. How do you feel about that?
Speaker 2:Well, I think you have two things you brought up there. I think the first part is, you know, people allowing politicians or leaders of any sort to dictate how they act, and I think for too long. You know, and I don't think the issue is new, I think it's just more exposed now. You know, people have always had these strong opinions and we live in this culture of it's all about me, about me. And because of that culture, I think we look at others and say, oh well, you know so-and-so does this, so people act a certain way. Well, no, what that does is putting the blame on somebody else instead of saying you know, we can take responsibility for our actions, despite what others say. So that's the first part.
Speaker 2:The second part of your thing is you talk about the hurricane response and all that, and I think what you're referring to is how, the lack of response from the government which, of course let me be clear about this that's not a good thing. You know, if they have the funds, one thing to do is that you know we do pay taxes and our taxes should go towards something like that. But the part that I was talking with you last week we talked about this is that really? The church was designed for this moment. It was designed to those that are in need to reach out. They take the front lines of this, and so I think what's happened is and, of course, in this time, let me back up for a second In this time, I think the church.
Speaker 2:I've seen the response to this hurricane and I think you're going to see the same response with the one that just hit Florida, but I think the church's response has been incredible. But I think, for so long, what has happened is is that, instead of relying on God and His provisions, we rely on man, and that is so backwards to how things were supposed to be in the first place. It was supposed to be hey, god, first, let God take care of this, let God use his church, and then the government can also have assistance as well. But I think we're so critical of what's going on right now. We have all these strong opinions and we as the church, we as Christians, need to get out of the way and just say you know what? This is a bad situation. And yes, people, man is going to fail us, but God will never fail us, so we need to rely on him and allow him to dictate how we respond and not how other people respond.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's what I said. And you know, one of my, one of my things is we need to, like you said, we need to take responsibility as a church and as people and be like what's our identity in Christ. This day focuses on role models, and it's good to have role models and stuff, but it's not good to look up to humans or any kind of thing above God, and that's what I think more and more people do these days.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no doubt you see the idolization of celebrities and we've been seeing that for years, for decades, and I think more and more people get caught up in this. You look at things like people when you ask them to spend money. If you want to see what people value, see what they spend their time and where they spend their money, All right. So for some people to go to a concert, for instance, doesn't matter. But you can think of a concert as maybe super expensive. People will have no problem spending hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars to see a once-in-a-lifetime concert or a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And the same thing comes with their time.
Speaker 2:But people also with their time. They say, oh well, I don't have time for this. Well, I can guarantee you that if they wanted to make time for it, they would, because it's a priority. And the reason why this occurs, I believe, is because we have become all about ourselves and it's a heart issue. And I think, as more and more our society is set up to say you can be and do whatever you want, but in reality that's not the case. We are not god. We think we're god by the way we live and the way we act, but the reality of it is because of our selfishness. We're seeing the decline of how people ultimately treat each other and how we view other people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and to go back to your point, I know a lot of guys like to watch sports and I'm one of those people that I love to watch football and stuff like that. And it goes back to this thing that when we die, none of this world needs stuff. This stuff is gonna come with us. So it's like why would I cheer for like a football team that I don't even know anybody on the team? It's like how people look at celebrities and they'll root for like what they call their favorite team, and I'm like they're people too. So it's almost like, yeah, you're like you scream to the top of your lungs when you're on your favorite team.
Speaker 1:But when it comes to like worshiping God, people tend to be like, yay, praise God, not to lip out, like they would watch a sports team. I mean, think of this for baseball. If baseball had like a three-game series back-to-back, then, yeah, then it would. It would be a disaster. Why? Because people would literally sit on their TV and watch baseball three nights in a row, but when it comes to worshiping God, they only want to worship God on Sundays. Mm-hmm, and I know that bothers you and me at the same time, mm-hmm, and I'll go back to what we talked about last week. A lot of people put so much pressure on you. Know pastors, I know you're a youth pastor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know pastors.
Speaker 1:I know you're a youth pastor, yeah, but I'm just saying pastors in general, because they think pastors need to do everything. I'm like really that's not how the world is and how the world works. I mean, that's why a church should be okay. I need to focus on the scripture part of things, and somebody else needs to focus on reaching out in the community and doing what they need to do. And that's one of my big things too, and I know that's one of your things, because it's People think pastors are. You know they need to do it all, when we need to think of it like a big company that has several layers to the church. And I know you moved to a bigger church where you take on responsibilities and I would like to get your thoughts on that.
Speaker 2:About the church being the church.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and not relying on one person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well first of all. First of all, I think it's a culture that we have created in churches today is that you know, since, since the pastor is the head of the church, that he needs to be leading and everything, and I agree with that. But remember, the main responsibility of a pastor is to lead his sheep, to be to be the shepherd to his, to his people that God has put in charge of him or, sorry, that he's been in charge of. So, ultimately, what happens is is that some people get this mentality of, well, we, we pay a pastor to do all these things. So what happens is is not that people don't think about it. I think it's just we get lazy. It's like, oh well, the pastor can do that.
Speaker 2:But if you look in the Acts, specifically when these churches are being established, there was people who had their different roles. And even in Paul, specifically in Romans, chapter 12, he talks about how the body of Christ has been given different gifts. And it's kind of like you know, if you receive a gift, like on your birthday or on Christmas or whatever, and you kind of put that gift to the side, it's like, well, you've been given this gift, but you've done nothing with it. So, in a way, that gift has been not only so. Basically, what I think is that gift is basically pointless because the gift is not being used for what it needs to be used for.
Speaker 2:And so my point in saying that is God gives each of us his gifts in the body of Christ and instead of using them, we're like, oh well, somebody else will take care of it, right? So some people are gifted in praying, right? Maybe somebody that you know is that has very, very powerful way to pray, and when they pray, you know for a fact they're lifting up prayers to God. Maybe some other people are really good at serving others. Maybe they're not good at being in front of people, but they're really good at serving others. The problem is that when we become so self-consumed, we don't do those gifts, and so what happens is, when we don't use those gifts, everybody else in the body of Christ has to fill in the gaps. So that's why, a lot of times, I feel like when we're not unified and using our gifts, that's when more of these things happen, and it all comes back again to how self-consumed we are. We just have a small view of who God is and what the church can do and what the church was created to do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also it leads me to this point. It's the disability community, as you and I have talked about for the last couple weeks is so difficult for us, but more so, okay, I would say it's difficult for the church and for people like us to find the true church community. And I know me and you were talking about this, like last week before we got on the podcast there's all these famous pastors. Some of them you have to look really into because they make things sound good, but Some of them you have to look really into because they make things sound good. But the big churches need to help the small churches. We need to show the true body of Christ and that's what I want to see in the future and that's one of my biggest dreams. And that's one of my biggest dreams is to, one, feel like I'm being involved in a church. And two, I want churches to be like we don't know all the answers, but we're welcoming you in and I did have a, you know, a best friend, but I'm, you know, I did have a best friend that I'm beginning to get to know real well. Well, I got it, I did a podcast for them and that's on the way.
Speaker 1:But you know he said one of the things that stuck with me is like some disability people give pastors tests and if you give somebody a test and they don't know it, then they're going to fail every single time. It's like it leads me to this quote right here that I just made up myself but if we don't rely on God for our decision making, in the long run we're going to fail every single time. If we allow God in our decisions and all that stuff, then yes, there's going to be tough roads, but God's going to give us joy in those moments. We just got to look for him and be mindful of, you know, of our state of mind, because it's been coming down to and I see this more and more and more when things are going good, people are like oh yeah, god bless me, I feel grateful and this, and that I go. But when things are going bad, people flip the script. They ask I don't know why God's putting me through this. I don't know why he's making me struggle with finances and stuff and I'm like you have to continue to pray and read the Bible. Heck, even I struggle with, you know, reading the Bible sometimes because the audio issues a lot of Bible apps have. We can talk about that in another one.
Speaker 1:But the point is, if I need community, it might be one or two people, but you can't quit giving up on finding people that you can surround yourself with, because I believe that's what the devil wants you to feel more like with social media these days. Because if you allow people to be in a I don't know like, you know, occasionally go to church and then not reach out to people and all that stuff, then yeah, you're eventually going to be on a lower state. At least I know I am. That's why I I joined many Bible study groups. You know I might not agree with all what they say, but at least that gives me a true value on like like community and people.
Speaker 1:It's called embracing the imperfect, because if you think all these churches are perfect, you're eventually gonna give up and then go back to your old ways and then, yeah, you're gonna start over again. So I am, I've been trying to want I like community and whether that my disability group, whether it be small or big, I don't know yet or my church community, or just going to church watching a sermon, any of that stuff, I would say what's better than that is studying the Bible yourself and asking God the answers, instead of asking people for answers, because all we can give you is our experiences and our experiences, sometimes all people but when really the important question, we should ask God for. I don't know what you feel about that, but that's the way I see it these days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, everything you said was good and I think you know it all goes back to you know when we are deciding to do the right thing. A lot of times, if we make a decision or do something based off emotions or in the moment, we don't make the right decision for us to seek God.
Speaker 2:And then, when it comes to community, I think it's very important for us to not get so stuck in our community that we don't invite others into our community.
Speaker 2:I think that's one of the things that we do. A lot is well, I've got my people and I'm going to stick with my people, but in reality, we should be community with more people and I think in general. One last thing I want to touch on that you brought up is you know, when it comes to people with disabilities and I've told you this before, but I think when it comes to people with disabilities, I think a lot of people just unfortunately don't know what to do. You know they're not, I don't think, intentionally trying to be mean or try to leave people out, but I think in general, you know, when people see somebody different than them, they just don't know how to react. And yes, I agree with you, they should ask, they should come up and start a conversation and get to know you, but unfortunately we don't do that. So we need to do a better job in understanding people and where they come from.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would add to that If you're a parent or somebody with a disability, tell the church what you're looking for. Just don't be like, hey, I'm going to go to this church and I'm going to see how it happens, because, like what I said earlier, tell the church what you're looking for and see how they respond, because if they don't know, how can they help you? You know, my opinion is we as a disciplined community need to work together with the churches in order to change the, not just the stigma and all the culture and stuff like that. But if we work with churches and blind churches that work with us, then that is the true body of Christ, in my opinion.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's good. I'm with you. Great encouragement for the church and those parents who are struggling to not know what they're doing or what to do, I guess, yeah or what to do.
Speaker 1:So you've been on the podcast for twice now, as you said, With somebody that would like to be on my podcast but don't know the process. Can you give them insight on what I do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so basically give me a heads up. Yes, and basically give me a heads up. So I actually work with barrett pretty regularly, uh, once a week or once a. You know, sometimes I gotta move meetings around, but but basically barrett comes up with these topics that he wants to talk about and we'll sit down, we'll talk about it, and a lot of times what happens is I help him with his research and he just sits down and does, um, he does a podcast.
Speaker 2:So I know you have some podcast equipment and like, for instance, like today I don't have any podcast equipment, but he was able to send me a link for me to be on the podcast today and so if it's anybody that wants to be on his podcast, like, uh, and he invites you. He definitely knows what he's doing and a lot of times, um, if he has an invited guest, he has definitely done research already on a topic, because me and him sit down and talk about it. And that's what came with the idea of doing these spontaneous ones, because last week we had a really good conversation and we're like you know what? We should have done a podcast today on this because it had been really good, um, so yeah, and then, of course, he is very good at speaking about these things. You know he has a desire to do more of these, and so if he ever reaches out to you, I do encourage you to hear him out and be willing to go on a podcast, just like this.
Speaker 1:I play my email at the end of every podcast. I don't do sponsorships, I don't care about the audio, it's not that bad. I will let you decide whether you want to be on the podcast or you don't want to be on the podcast. That's what makes me unique. I let you decide whether I going to be on the podcast. So when I post it, you know what's going to be said. You know what's going to be out there. Honestly, I don't see anybody doing that besides me. So that's what makes me different than everybody else.
Speaker 1:Even if you want to tell them about your business, I don't mind that, but it cannot just be about your business. You have to give me a little more. A little more than that Like why did you start this business? What was the need that you saw before you started your business? I just don't want people coming on here talking about their business. And again, I don't mind talking about businesses, but I want to know the story behind it. I just don't want to be an advertisement. I want to know behind the scenes stuff a little bit. So that's my only pet peeve with sponsorships.
Speaker 1:If you want to talk about a business, email me or talk about it. See if that's a good fit, because I have one rule, and one rule only. If I do allow a sponsorship on the podcast which is very rare I don't let the sponsorship take over the content. I can show my own content and if I have a guest, I let them decide what's on the podcast. I don't decide what's on the podcast. I let my guests decide what's on the podcast. So if you ever wanna be on my podcast, the open invitation I'm easy to find on Facebook.
Speaker 1:I'm easy to find on Facebook. I'm easy to find on Instagram. I'm even on Discord, so I got plenty of places that you can call me in. If you look on my Facebook, I got my number that you can find. Only use this in the US. Anybody outside of the country of the US or the of the country of the US, of the United States, email me and we'll we'll find ways to talk about it. Thank you, ben. We'll talk about something else next week. We gotta get together and discuss what we're gonna talk about next week, and I appreciate it, man, yeah man, absolutely Everybody.
Speaker 2:you guys have a good one.
Speaker 1:You can email me at barretsswaglyfb at gmailcom.