Mission Men Podcast
A show about Nothing, Everything and Anything in between!
Mission Men Podcast
Mission Men: The Delicate Dance of Church Relevance and Reverence
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Ever found yourself in the middle of a compliment-off, where the challenge is to out-praise your opponent with the most ludicrous expressions of admiration? That's where we kick things off in the latest Mission Men Podcast episode, delivering a barrel of laughs straight to your ears. But it's not all fun and games; we pivot to tackle the controversy that's got everyone talking—a church's Super Bowl parody that's blurring the lines between pop culture gimmicks and sacred worship practices.
From compliment battles to serious discussions, we're wrangling with the big issues that are shaking up our faith communities. Are churches crossing the line in their attempts to stay relevant and approachable, especially when they start mirroring secular entertainment in their services? We're examining the responsibility of church leaders in this digital era and its influence on the flock they shepherd. It's a rollercoaster of reflection and introspection, punctuated with moments of levity that remind us why we're all part of this incredible journey.
Wrapping up, we extend an invitation to you, our listeners, to join the conversation. Your perspectives are the fuel that drives this podcast, and we're eager to hear your take on the evolving landscape of church and culture. So tune in, soak up the wisdom, weigh in with your thoughts, and get ready for an episode that's as enlightening as it is entertaining. No guests this time around, just us—your Mission Men—tangling with the topics that matter to us all.
Credits and Info:
Hosts: Brandon Matias, Paul Wright III and John Frease
Music: Brandon Matias
Produced by: Mission Media Group
Email: info@missionmediagroup.co
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Playground Insult Game Championship
Speaker 3ladies and oh no okay just no , all right , here we go , try it again , like the logo and then like cut to just exactly , exactly here we go ladies and gentlemen , welcome to the mission Men Podcast Brought to you by Mission Media Group , the Mission Men Podcast .
Speaker 1The podcast about nothing and everything . You know Just a little . Guys , we got a great show for you today . We just want to say thank you . We love you , we appreciate you . Thanks for watching the show . For some reason , we just appreciate you . I mean John , why do you ? Thanks for watching the show . For some reason , we just appreciate you . I mean john , why do you think people watch this show ? Okay ?
Speaker 3my life be like .
Speaker 1Oh , my life be like so , guys , we got a great show .
Speaker 4We're really excited about your today he's playing like footsie under the table . I got him with the footsie .
Speaker 1I did that . See , I got you good .
Speaker 2What Any other episode Anyway , so guys .
Speaker 1thank you , we just appreciate your comments . Thanks for watching . Thanks for sharing . We have a lot of fun doing this .
Speaker 4We actually really enjoy doing this . I love you guys , I love you , we love you too .
Speaker 1And I love you , Paul . And I think when we started this , I don't think we thought it would become what it became .
Speaker 4We never thought we would be doing this Right , right , like consistently right . I mean , it was just like a funny 12 , 13 , 14 episodes in . Yeah I know , I never thought about it .
Speaker 1Yeah , paul's , like what did I get myself into ?
Speaker 4we're doing a podcast , folks , yeah , so we're having fun .
Speaker 1So we love you guys . Thanks for tuning in . We appreciate you . So , guys , I thought it would be fun , or actually , before we get into our main topic , today we've got a little controversy that we want to dive into , not between us , but with the church in general . It'll be interesting to get you guys thoughts on what we're about to show you totally have me lost right this is such clickbait material right here .
Speaker 3What is about to happen ?
Speaker 4I know only thing you're the only one that knows this , obviously well , no , I'm talking about the church .
Speaker 1Don't blindside us so it's gonna it's gonna be a lot of fun and we'll get your reactions we'll'll talk about it , but our first segment . I think we're going to have a lot of fun with .
Speaker 4We are .
Speaker 1Yes , so this is called the Playground Insult Game . Okay , so this is how it works . We do 1v1 , and what you have to do is you have to take turns insulting each other . No , but in a playground way , like little kids would do . Okay .
Speaker 3I'm not going to insult you , Paul .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh .
Speaker 4It's going to be hard for me to do this too .
Speaker 3Brandon , let's go with each other , just kidding .
Speaker 1Without laughing . Oh , we can't laugh .
Speaker 3Yeah , you can't laugh , so I'm going to preface this , though , because I wouldn't do this against either of you .
Speaker 4I just don't want to insult you both , but I like this idea , so let's do this are you gonna have you have a a twist of this idea , kind of yes , okay , all right , what's the idea ?
Speaker 3like you can insult me if you want , but I'm going to personally say things to you that are going to catch you off guard .
Speaker 4You do that anyway .
Speaker 3Yes , which is why I will win .
Speaker 1John have you won ? And ?
Speaker 3I'm going to do it in a little kid way .
Speaker 1Okay , okay , that's fine .
Speaker 3And I'm going to interrupt you again . Okay , go ahead . No , no , you go ahead . Or what , brandon I ?
Speaker 1was going to say , or you can overly compliment to where it's funny , I guess .
Speaker 3What say ? Or you can overly compliment to where it's funny , I guess chill , what the world's that something about compliments ? Oh , all right there's a fire .
Speaker 1Okay , all right , so we'll start off . We'll take turns , so we'll do John and Paul first , so the first person to laugh loses . Then we'll move on .
Speaker 3Okay , let's do compliments .
Speaker 1That's a good idea . Compliments Okay .
Speaker 4Wait a minute .
Speaker 3Oh , you're going to lose buddy .
Speaker 1Okay , here's the rules . You can smile , okay . Okay , here's the rules you can smile okay , you can smile , but you just can't like make an audible you know kind of thing .
Speaker 5So you know the brand that lasts , that's crazy .
Speaker 1Yeah , all right , all right , go ahead , you ready . All right , john , you can serve . Go first .
Speaker 3You're just extremely nice .
Speaker 4This is tense Great pink shirt . You got Nice pink shirt .
Speaker 3When you smile , your dimples make me feel alive again .
Speaker 1That was really nice .
Speaker 2Why did I lose ?
Speaker 5on my own .
Speaker 3You're definitely laughing , but I'm just kidding . It's your face .
Speaker 2Paul is losing it . Can we go again ? Oh yeah , absolutely .
Speaker 1Well , here we'll take turns . We'll take turns here . Okay , one . Do you want a minute ? You're good , I'm good . You're good , okay , all , all right . Do you want a minute ? You're good , I'm good you're good ?
Speaker 3okay , all right . So you want to go again ? One to zero ? Okay , one to zero , okay , best of three . Okay , there we go . Okay , that's fair , that's fair all right , here we go .
Speaker 1So the compliment battle , here we go . The mind no , it's your turn . Yeah , so , paul , you get to serve here once you're ready winning what the all right your mustache makes monkeys smile , all right .
Speaker 3Your mustache makes monkeys smile .
Speaker 1You can't do that . Oh , okay , I heard I got a call rolling . I got a call rolling . Now here's no , actually , here's the ruling . You didn't say a compliment , so you just . You said something about the compliment itself . No , you didn't give it , so I'm going to call that a no itself . So I'm going to call that a no-go . I'm going to call that a no-go . Go ahead , keep going . That was no point . No contest , john serve .
Speaker 3I think every hair on your head makes me remember my childhood in such a beautiful way Touching .
Speaker 1Deep Ball your serve .
Speaker 4Introspective . Introspective . I'm trying to think of something .
Speaker 1There must not be a lot of nice things to say about him . I be a lot of nice things to say about him ? I have a lot of nice things to say , john , you need to blow your nose , shut up .
Speaker 4When you .
Speaker 3That's one I didn't even get it out .
Speaker 4I couldn't even get it out . I couldn't even get it out here's the good news .
Speaker 1So don't say it , don't ruin it , save it , save it okay . So we got one one here we go so this is the tiebreaker . Here we go alright . So , john , you're serve no you gotta sit down no theatrics , no theatrics , no theatrics . Dude , you're doing a bunch of extra stuff here .
Speaker 3Okay , I'm sorry . Okay , mr Rulebook , over here .
Speaker 4Well , I'm trying to keep the game free , here we go .
Speaker 2Come on , dude , all right , all right , all right , let's go . Paul .
Speaker 4Paul John .
Speaker 3Your glasses are something that makes me think of shine , and when I say shine , it stands for you Saturated , hot Integrity .
Speaker 2I heard something , I heard something who was that ?
Speaker 3was that you ? No , that was him , that was him that was you .
Speaker 1You made your own self laugh nice excellent oh man , that was good that was good down to the wire what a good match and he won right yeah , I , I'm gonna get I only
Speaker 4won because you laughed at the right I heard , I heard the it came out , it came out again .
Speaker 1You can smile , you can just quote , but it's the minute you make a yeah , it's popped .
Speaker 2I popped all right , so I popped .
Speaker 1I popped , all right . So all right , now we'll do , we'll give . Since Paul won , we'll give him a break and then whoever ? Wins between us , that'll be for the championship .
Speaker 2All right , okay , all right here we go .
Speaker 4Here we go .
Speaker 1And Paul . Feel free to throw in comments to kind of drive this . All right , who should go first ? Here we go . Who's serving first ? I guess I'll brandon serve . Okay , here we go , john , there's a lot of things that I love in life , but your mustache , you know . Even when there's food in it , it just there's a hole in my heart , john , and your mustache just puts a cover on it yes yes and we are one to zero , here we go . I gotta stop making myself laugh dude you almost when you make that sound .
Speaker 4That almost happened you can single-handedly lose the game just by you laughing , I thought you would win beyond the shadow of a doubt . I just knew you would win every single round .
Speaker 1I know Sorry guys . I thought Paul and I would not have a chance in this game John you serve .
Speaker 4Just wait , john , you serve .
Speaker 3Brandon Matias , there's an A in the middle .
Speaker 1Not really .
Speaker 3I can't yeah , baby . No , there's no redo . No , I can't , it's because you know what's happening . My brain keeps going to stuff that I shouldn't say and I filter , and then I laugh at what I shouldn't say but there's no a in the middle .
Speaker 1I mean , I guess the a and n the email your email brandon a matthias . Oh , oh , okay , okay I thought you just said brandon matthias okay , but did he ?
Speaker 4did he laugh , is that oh ?
Speaker 1yeah , no , you can go again , but I want , I mean , that's you want . So you , you and Paul are facing each other after this . Yeah , but I want to hear you out , all right . All right , here we go .
Speaker 3Go ahead , do we have serious music ? I can see how that really would have helped .
Speaker 4No , we don't .
Speaker 3Okay .
Speaker 1Dang .
Church Super Bowl Parody Controversy
Speaker 3Well , maybe I , guys , on this day , I would love to take you as my beautiful wife and from this day forward , it is yes , and yes , and yes , a thousand times yes , if your nose is anywhere near me at any point .
Speaker 1What does that mean ? From the hip ? What bud ? You heard me I did , but I don't understand .
Speaker 3You're so beautiful , thank you . And above all , you remind me of a baboon . What , in what way , you need to ?
Speaker 1get in the sun . That's a fair assessment .
Speaker 4But you are .
Speaker 3What , what .
Speaker 2You are Mm-hmm .
Speaker 3A man , and a good one . Thank you , you're a soldier . To the dedicated and brave-hearted . Did you fart because you blew me away , girl ?
Speaker 2are you done ? I'm not going to win . This is harder than I thought it was going to be . It's very hard .
Speaker 3So , you're saying I can make you guys laugh almost by dropping a dime at random times in life , but when it comes down to the wire , I can't . No , that's crazy .
Speaker 1No , I know it .
Speaker 3This is rigged . That game was rigged . No , y'all cheated . No , we didn't cheat . This is rigged . That game was rigged . No , y'all cheated . No , we didn't cheat , y'all had a tapping mechanism underneath the table .
Speaker 1How do we cheat by making you laugh ? Tapping mechanism . Listen , you're just not as funny as you think you are . That's really what it comes down to .
Speaker 3You hush . You guys should play against each other . All right , here we go .
Speaker 1So this is for the championship . All there you go , paul , I think you won first , so I'll give you the first serve here . Oh gosh , here we go .
Speaker 5Okay , here we go .
Speaker 3All right , paul's thinking .
Speaker 4Brandon , you're an amazing guitar player , so amazing that you'd make a choir of monkeys sing .
Speaker 3Why did you go back to monkeys ? I heard a . Why do you make me laugh ? Because you said monkeys twice . I can say monkeys as many times as I want to . I know you can , but we can't . You blew it for me , no , me , no , no , no .
Speaker 1he didn't laugh if anything it wasn't from you all right , so it's just your turn , okay .
Speaker 3Okay , that's fair , all right , unless you feel like I ruined your your ability to make him laugh . Paul , we'll keep going . Okay , keep going , brandon okay , all right , I'm .
Speaker 1I'm fine with that , I'm fine with no point . All right , here we go um paul . Where do I begin ? All right , here we go , paul . Where do I begin ?
Speaker 2Yes , yes , I don't know what's so funny about this . You started again .
Speaker 4You made me laugh .
Speaker 3Why didn't I use that earlier ? Oh my gosh , it's a simple thing . Does that count ?
Speaker 1I got to shut up it counts it counts . He made me gosh . It's a simple thing .
Speaker 2Does that ?
Speaker 1count .
Speaker 3I got to shut up .
Speaker 4I'm going to shut up . It counts , it counts .
Speaker 1He made me laugh . All right , all right . So we'll say one zip , one zip , all right , okay . So that was my serve . All right , paul , you're up .
Speaker 4All right , okay , let me think Brandon . Roses are red , violets are blue . I don't know what to say next . I can't do this . I just cracked up laughing . I cannot keep a straight face for anything .
Speaker 3I think that's the hardest part .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , that was a fun game .
Speaker 3Great idea . I'm glad we did that . That was a great idea you know what ?
Speaker 1It's funny because where I got the idea from it was like total insults , but just playful and total joking . Thank you . And excuse yourself , john . Here's the funny thing you know what professionals do . Professionals go okay , but John's like blah .
Speaker 3Just right into the mic , I swear . The license says I'm 21 , but I feel five .
Speaker 1Yeah , absolutely , absolutely .
Speaker 3What's the next thing ?
Speaker 1Yeah , so here we go , let's pull this up here , let me get this .
Speaker 4So what's our real topic of the day ?
Speaker 1So what I wanted to get your guys' thoughts and opinions on this video .
Speaker 2Oh gosh .
Speaker 1So this is a real video . It's from a church , oh boy , again , we'll blur out . I don't think there's any names or anything , so we'll keep it completely anonymous .
Speaker 3Let me just very quickly get it to the beginning , I have a feeling I know what this is , yep .
Speaker 1So so here we go , guys . So I'm gonna turn it to the sound here and let me just get to the beginning . Oh , oh , shoot .
Speaker 5Okay , here we go this church kicked a bible into their congregation . Yeah , you heard that correctly . They had a super bowl themed sermon , where they had a coin flip , a kickoff and a halftime show where they remade Miley Cyrus' song Wrecking Ball . I mean , this is straight up disrespectful . Just watch these clips .
Speaker 1Would you like to kick or receive the Bible ? I will receive . Tom wins the toss , chooses to receive the Bible . Patterson back with the kick and that is an actual Bible .
Speaker 5Oh , my God .
Speaker 3He smoked . That thing Is that a touchback .
Speaker 1So this is the halftime show .
Speaker 5What .
Speaker 2That's crazy .
Speaker 4There's something that's wrong about all of this . So what church is this ? I don't know .
Speaker 3You can't tell me , never don't tell me okay , all right , so that's something I would ask .
Speaker 1Leave those questions to me , let me call people out , um no , so tyler I'm just kidding , he's not , has nothing to do with this that's just an onboard joke .
Speaker 3He probably has no clue . I've been saying his name . He doesn't watch the show . He doesn't watch the show , that's like a meme of the show .
Speaker 4now it's like Tyler , yeah , absolutely .
Speaker 1Okay , so for those listening , what happened was a church during Super Bowl season . It was probably right around Super Bowl . They lined up a Bible , they did it like they were doing a kickoff and then the person kicked it off kicked the .
Speaker 4Bible Kicked the actual Bible .
Speaker 1Kicked an actual Bible into the congregation , and then their halftime show was a parody of Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song and where the ref is actually straddling on a wrecking ball .
Speaker 4What was he singing ? What was the song ? Wrecking Ball . They were actually singing the Wrecking Ball song . Well , it was a parody .
Speaker 1And I'll bring up some of the lyrics in a minute which are really , really questionable . This was in a church , though In a church . So all this happened in a church , so there's a couple portions to this , so let's start with the actual Bible kicking itself . What are your guys' initial thoughts and reactions on that ?
Speaker 2I have no words , that's ridiculous .
Speaker 4I just think it's ridiculous , Ridiculous .
Speaker 1All right , John what do you think ?
Speaker 3I'm at a loss for words at the disrespect against the word .
Speaker 4Hey , there you go , Put that on a t-shirt , that's a t-shirt , right there .
Speaker 3Yeah , I think it's dumb . Yeah , I can expound if you want me to . Yeah , I mean I can expound if you want me to . Yeah , I mean I'll expound , I'll let you my , my first initial reaction .
Speaker 1So , yeah , my thing on that is um go ahead brandon , oh my gosh , uh , no , the things I put up with , uh , you know , the , the book the bible itself is , is just a book with letters and written on pages , right , but it's nothing until you apply it in your life , right . Right , but I shouldn't say it's not nothing that's not the right term but it's more powerful when you're actually applying it in your life and using those words . But on the other side of that , I mean it's God's word , I mean that's what it is , and so you know it can be useless to somebody that doesn't use it for the right reasons , right , but , like I said , I mean there's also a respect that I I find this very disrespectful me personally .
Speaker 4Of course Totally , that I find this very disrespectful me personally Of course , totally , and I get trying to you know is this just an example of a church trying too hard to reach ? Oh , they're definitely trying too hard .
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah so anyways , expound on it , you go ahead .
Speaker 3This example may or may not hit , but I feel like it's . If I borrowed one of Paul's cameras and then took it out and used it in the wrong way and made like a joke out of it , like it would be disrespectful towards you , I think .
Speaker 4Right Kind of , does that kind of hit ? I'm trying to track with you .
Speaker 3I'm trying really hard .
Speaker 4Like I said , I pitched this with him . I'm trying to track with you Basically . I'm not sure if this really hits . I'm trying to track with you Basically .
Speaker 3I just think it's disrespectful personally .
Speaker 4And I don't think it gets across a message of any kind . I mean , what point were they trying to get across ? That's what I'm saying . What were they trying to do ? Was it just ? Was it supposed to be humorous ?
Speaker 1I mean , I guess it was just supposed to be relatable , maybe .
Speaker 4Relatable to whom and to ?
Speaker 1what Again ?
Speaker 4I'm just being honest , minus the Super Bowl attachment . What was the point in that ?
Speaker 1Yeah , I guess to try to be funny , I guess , I mean , I don't know , but I have a deeper question who in the congregation actually laughed at that ?
Speaker 3Or continued to go to church after it , or that .
Speaker 2That church Right .
Speaker 4Yeah , I don't know . I mean I would literally have to walk out . I would leave . Yeah , it wasn't . That's not , that's not funny to me .
Speaker 3Oh , I'd stay to watch the rest , to see what else happened , and be like that's messed up , and then I'd leave . I'd be like okay , what else are they gonna do ? This is terrible . Well , I'd . Honestly , if it was something that big and loud like that , I feel like I wouldn't have as much of a problem as like going to them and being like hey .
Speaker 4You would actually confront . I think so , you think so . I would like to say I think so , yeah .
Speaker 3Why did you guys do that ? I would start by asking them why .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 3What was the point , unless I understood what they were going for ?
Speaker 4in the sermon and there's a reason that you would understand . Well , that's what I'm saying .
Speaker 3I said , okay , I understand you were trying to do this , but why did you do it in that way ?
Speaker 4And would any answer ?
Speaker 3suffice ? No , but I would like to see where they .
Speaker 4You want to hear what they wanted to say .
Speaker 3I want to hear what they want to say and then I would be like , well , the Bible says this . And then subtly and gracefully give them like hey , shouldn't do that , like it's not my place to run their church . But as a Christian , I don't want us Christians to give non-Christians this appearance and I want to speak on the behalf of Christians who should just glorify the Lord in a pure way , not in this kind of way .
Speaker 1Want to speak on the behalf of Christians who should just glorify the Lord in a pure way , not in this kind of way . Well , I mean , it's just , I mean literally stepping on , you know , one of the foundational pillars of Christianity , which is God speaking to us , and you know , yeah , so all right , so here's a good discussion . So what ? How ? I mean , are there other instances you can think of where , like , the church is just going too far to try to be funny or relatable or whatever , like we're just constantly , you know , I guess we're pushing boundaries a little bit .
Speaker 1you know , when it comes to reaching new people . When it comes to reaching new people , and I think when you try to become too much like the culture , yeah , you might draw people in , but you're also getting further away from being Christ-like . I don't know .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah . And I think too that people who are not in Christianity want to experience Christianity and Jesus in an authentic , real way , Because if they're coming from the world , I guess maybe this is more young people . Young people want real and authentic . They don't want you if you're trying to copy what they already have in a cheaper and not as good way , right . So if you make your media , your advertisements , your way you do services , your whatever , if you're the pastor and you're like this is lit fam , I'm here to serve the world and serve my . You know , you try to talk with the lingo and you're trying to be like the world .
Speaker 4Papa John , yeah .
Speaker 3Those people are going to reject that and be like man . What is he doing ? We're authentic and realness like in , like meters , right . We read people's how authentic . They
Church Relatability vs. Biblical Integrity
Speaker 3are right . So if we see they're just trying to copy what the world does , then it's disingenuine .
Speaker 1It turns you off to that and and even like I'm just trying to figure out , kind of paul , where you're coming from . It's like I mean , but like that's not even like remotely like funny like what .
Speaker 4Like what's the point ? Or clever . I mean to see someone swing across the stage on a wrecking ball . That's not even funny .
Speaker 1Yeah . So here I want to bring that up too , because I want to actually read out these lyrics that they're singing and I want to get your guys' take on this . So give me one sec here . So they just did all right , they're reenacting .
Speaker 3Just watch it all again .
Speaker 1Well , alright , they're reenacting . Just watch it all again . So here's the video . They kick it . So here's the lyrics . I'll read it as it plays . So it came in like a wrecking ball . I never hit so hard in love . All I wanted was break your walls .
Speaker 3All you ever did was ref me so all you ever did was ref me what All you did , huh , yeah . So here's the thing is we can't really fully speculate off this because we don't have all context .
Speaker 2Right , right right .
Speaker 3However , from that clip alone , I don't see the point at all .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean because here's the interesting thing is that that song has no association with the Super Bowl at all in any way , shape or form . It wasn't done at a halftime show , it was just a hit song in whatever year . So that's what I'm trying to figure out . It's like why did they choose that ? Because it has no association with Super Bowl , at least with kicking . The Bible had to do with the Super Bowl which was happening then , but why that song ?
Speaker 3And why would you choose that song ? Okay , here's a problem . This is why I would confront the pastor .
Speaker 2Okay .
Speaker 3Oh , wrecking ball . Let's say you're a 10-year-old kid Wrecking ball . What's that ? This must be a cover . What's this a cover of Wrecking ball , miley Cyrus ? Oh , okay , cool , looks up the song . Yeah , what's the music video ? Naked , miley Cyrus swinging on a wrecking ball . Now you got this 10-year-old who literally just got introduced to pornographic material not fully , but pornographic material because of a church Risky , risky material . Risky material because of a church Right . That's the problem . If anything's not the problem , that's a problem .
Speaker 1Yeah , it's because it's trying to involve the culture , right , right , and it's trying to be relatable through the culture , but we can't be relatable through that . That's not the avenue to be relatable through . The avenue to be relatable through is hey , we have a hole in our heart and we're all trying to fill it . How do we fill it with Jesus ?
Speaker 4Okay , so let me ask you this question Because you know , I think that this is a problem that's much bigger than this one church .
Speaker 1Oh absolutely .
Speaker 4Do you think that churches in general are trying to be more relatable instead of doing it the way they're supposed to be doing it ?
Speaker 1Yeah , yeah . I mean I would definitely say yes Now . I think there's really effective ways .
Speaker 4There's effective methods of being relatable .
Speaker 1Yeah , because there's a line , right , and there's a line with any kind of thing that we encounter . There's too far , then there's okay . Here's where the line is , and obviously that's a hard line to figure out when it comes to churches , but it comes when you start compromising or when you , like John said , when it could possibly be introducing to someone something that they shouldn't be introduced to , especially as a young kid or whatever . So , yeah , john , what do you ?
Speaker 4think Well , what about that ? I'm sorry , I didn't mean to cut you off , but I always think about what about that new Christian who happened to come to that church that first day , that first time , that was their first service . What are you telling them ? What are you telling them ? What are you teaching them ? Right , that's so dangerous .
Speaker 3Yeah , and it's almost blasphemous .
Speaker 4Well , it's definitely blasphemous . I mean just that . You're right , that is blasphemous , yes , right .
Speaker 3Especially to treat the Bible like that too . That You're right . That is blasphemous . Especially to treat the Bible like that too .
Speaker 1That's blasphemous in itself , to kick it . I think you bring up an interesting point because one time I heard a pastor say something this happened in real life to a friend I know . They tried to say something funny and relatable . That was actually a quote from a movie . Then one person didn't know what it was from . So they googled it and the connotation of it was a cuss word and but it was totally pure-hearted . It was totally coming from like uh , you know , you know , oh , I've heard people say this , but I don't think this pastor realized , like where , what the actual meaning of it was , if that makes sense . And then somebody googled it , they looked it up and wait , what ? Why is ?
Speaker 3this pastor saying this phrase when it means a cuss word , you know , yeah , yeah . And it's also dangerous too , because if you're a pastor of the church like that and you're leading , you are entrusted with those people .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 3You're entrusted with new people and people who are with you , and you steer them the wrong way . Like that , it's dangerous waters to be in .
Speaker 1Yeah , Well , I mean , I think that's the tough balance is because I don't even think this pastor knew he's a little older and you know , and I think he heard .
Speaker 3Oh , he trusted his creatives . He heard the yeah he heard the His creatives , real creative .
Speaker 1Yeah , right , right .
Speaker 3And so I think yeah , right .
Speaker 1So , yeah , I think it is an interesting line that the church has to , because I think what it comes down to is they're trying too much in their own will , in their own way of trying . It's like we have to figure this out rather than relying on the fact that God's power and God's Holy Spirit is so powerful that it can move someone and it can change . It can not condemn , but convince . You know what I mean . So , and again , we want to use all the tactics that we can to help draw them in and to help fill the presence of the Lord , but but you know how far is too far , I guess .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah . And , like at our church , we had a Mother's Day event one time where we did like what a parody of Let it Go talking about mothers , right , mm-hmm .
Speaker 2Mm-hmm .
Speaker 3But that doesn't lead you to anything wrong .
Speaker 2Mm-hmm .
Speaker 3You know , and we weren't trying to show a message of jesus through a secular song . We're trying to appreciate mothers , you know right .
Speaker 4So it's a that's a totally different side of the fence , like that's cool , that's funny you know , but there's so many people that this is why where you go to church is important , true , and where this , where you're the leadership is important . Yeah right , because there are churches out there that are just not doing it right , and if you don't know any better , you can be led so far astray it's true .
Speaker 4But I do think because the pastor talks about this all the time it's important where you worship . It's really important where you worship . It's really important where you worship . It's really important to know the word for yourself , so that you don't take someone's word for it .
Speaker 2Yeah .
Speaker 4No pun intended .
Speaker 2Yeah , but still .
Speaker 4Or kick it . Yeah , I mean still or kick it . I mean it's super important that you do . It's super important that you do , but for that young . Christian or that new Christian that goes into any church ? What would you say to that person who goes to a church , who doesn't know one church from another ? How do they know what a good church is Right ?
Speaker 3So what do you tell that person ? Yeah , and you have people that are not just like new christians , but struggling with christianity christians , jesus . They're having trouble believing in any of that already and they see that and they're like this isn't serious , this isn't real .
Speaker 1Yeah , that that's what I was just about to say , john . It's like fake . It's like I I know the miley cyrus video , I know whatever it's like .
Speaker 3This is stupid at least I'm being myself and I'm honest that I don't follow Jesus , like you know that person could have that perspective like that's nuts . I know I'm not following Jesus , but I know what I'm doing . Okay , but here's the deal .
Speaker 4What if they don't know ? It's nuts , so that's another story too .
Navigating Church and Media Influence
Speaker 4That's what I'm saying . But what do you say to that person that walks into the church , that's trying to find a good church , that's trying to be led ? Properly Right right and they don't know a good church from a bad church . They don't know . They think a church is a church . Every church has to be good . Church is church . I mean church equals good in most of their eyes , right , right .
Speaker 4How do you ? What do you tell that person ? Like when they walk into that church and like , how do you ? What do you tell them ? Well , yeah , this is a bad church . They're going to say , well , why is it a bad church ? Why you go for it .
Speaker 3Yeah , you start it all . I think you need to make sure that they preach the word and glorify the Lord and the way they do that is clear what if they don't know what that means , though ? If biblical scripture is not being . They don't know the word , pretend like they don't know the word . They don't know the Bible at all .
Speaker 4They don't know the Bible at all . They're new .
Speaker 1What do you tell them ? Well , I mean , it's different because we're in that church , but they just get a bad understanding of what church is .
Speaker 4That scares me when you but like I mean , they just get a bad understanding of what church is . I mean I you know that scares me when you think about it ?
Speaker 1Oh yeah , of course , True , I mean the thought of that makes me go like that's crazy . Right , well , and you know that this is not the only church doing this .
Speaker 4Of course , this is not an anomaly .
Speaker 3This is absolutely happening . This is a common thing .
Speaker 1You actually sent me something a long time ago where I don't know if it was a pastor or somebody in ministry , where they encouraged swearing .
Speaker 4Oh , I saw that and they're relating to people and they actually said you know , the Lord is telling me to do this .
Speaker 3Yes , yeah , the Holy Spirit is leading me to swear to be relatable , to be relatable Through a dream , through a dream , through a dream .
Speaker 1Through a dream , right right , what , oh that's ?
Speaker 2right it's through a dream .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 4That's yeah , yeah . So I have to play that because that makes no sense .
Speaker 3It literally makes no sense . No scripture , no word , no foundation , no proof , yeah .
Speaker 1A dream . Well , the word is very clear on its stance and the Lord won't tell you something that contradicts another part of the word . It all works together perfectly . So if something that you hear from the Lord or whatever is contradicting the word , you messed up .
Speaker 3Speak life .
Speaker 4Yeah , but here's the part that makes me kind of nervous . A lot of the younger generation , younger Christians , use social media a lot , right , and they use it to find the church they want to go to or whatever the case is , and they hear these and sometimes crazy pastors say crazy things and they're getting this . It's like infiltrating their minds when they're looking at social media every night .
Speaker 4And they're getting this stuff . That's completely wrong . But you just kind of think about it . I mean , they're listening to this stuff and they're going , they're believing this . This is it . This is the thing .
Speaker 2Mm-hmm , mm-hmm yeah .
Speaker 4And the question that I keep having in my head , like the question said earlier how do you reach that person to tell them like , yeah , this isn't it , man , you're looking at the wrong thing . But they're looking at it as they lock into this one church or this one pastor and what he's saying and they're like holding on to every word at that point .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean , I think you just have to point them to the word and show them what church actually is and what the point of it is , and yeah , man yeah , because that's tough , because a lot of times I think our biggest battles are against Christians . I mean , honestly , who are the people that killed Jesus ? It was the religious people . It wasn't the Romans . I mean , obviously the Romans carried out the crucifixion , but it was the religious people .
Speaker 1So that was Jesus' biggest battle was with the religious people Pharisees , pharisees , pharisees . So yeah , it's an uphill battle with people where , if that's the first time they walk in , that's what they think church is . They think it's a theatrical , funny , relatable culture show , you know , and it's like that's not . I mean , yes , we're in this world , but we're not of it , right ?
Speaker 3Well , I think of it like this I had a conversation the other day with a person who was talking about a movie , and I was talking to them how about that movie was demonic and it had things in it that were demonic and they didn't see that point that I was making because , oh no , that that you thought was demonic was actually this , this and this and this , because it was like this and this and this I .
Speaker 3I was like , well , I get that that there's maybe a deeper meaning that isn't really demonic . Like , hey , this is not Satan , this is not 666 , but the spirit of it was demonic and the actual way they represented it was demonic . I'm sharing that with that person . How . That's my opinion on that movie . All I can do is tell them what the word says , like Brandon said , and tell them how . I don't think that aligns with the word .
Speaker 2Right right .
Speaker 3After that I have to let them do their thing . They'll watch that movie and if they , I say look , if you're challenging it that much , if this is such a back and forth thing between me and you , ask the Lord Reveal , does this movie flow with you or not ? The Lord will eventually . If you ask Him , they have to be willing to ask Him . If they ask , say , hey , Lord , show me the truth behind this , let the hidden things come to light . Then they'll have to figure that out for themselves . So in the meantime , while they do that , just pray over them .
Speaker 1Yeah , I guess too , paul , that's probably a good point , just praying for them and just being like Lord . Help them see , and then invite them to your church , right ?
Speaker 3right , right , and you don't want to over-invite them because yeah .
Speaker 4But in the same breath that they're looking at social media and soaking all of this in , it's really difficult , but in the same breath it's like what do you say ? Here's another thing we talk about this a lot . I talk about this , my friends , a lot . It's about you know , in terms of what you , even christians , even us what do you watch like , what do you allow yourself to watch and what you , what do you allow yourself not to watch ? Like , when it comes to television movies , people say some people say you know , I don't watch it anything over pg , but I mean , or you know , if it's , you know whatever , but pg means something totally different now than it did back when I was going . I mean , what do you ? What do you ? What do you do when you're watching , like like tv at home ? Like , do you have like guidelines you set for yourself ?
Speaker 1that's a good question , um , I think for me , you know , I don't necessarily have like a rating thing because I don't really Because some people I know they go oh , if it's , I definitely don't watch that . Yeah , for me it's definitely not a rating thing because , like you just mentioned , you know some of the ratings are .
Speaker 4They mean nothing really , yeah right .
Speaker 1You know some of the things . So I I think for me it really comes down to I I always do my research before , I always look things up and you research it I do , yeah , just to see , you know .
Speaker 1Uh , I mean because I'll literally go to like a kid's website where I'll like label out like violence , language , you know , sexual stuff and just see , like , what's in it . And then , like you know , for me and I think it's different for each person individually too , because each person has a different I should say like , maybe like tolerance to it , like where it can start being tempting at a certain point , like maybe if it's for a movie that has a lot of women that are dressed not modestly or you know , whatever . That may be a temptation , but obviously you know . Like you , just somebody said you know the eyes are the windows to the soul , right , and so what you're taking in , you know . Like you , just somebody said you know the eyes are the windows of the soul , right , and so what you're taking in , you know it can also desensitize you too you know what I mean if you keep watching it and then it's like oh yeah , I've already seen that it's not gonna bother me .
Speaker 1So I think , just being sensitive to the holy spirit , yeah , and trying to have a soft heart towards and again , john , you bring up a good point , like you know just even being willing to say , okay , god , hey , is this , is this glorifying you , or am I , am I being ? Am I putting myself in a compromising position watching this movie ?
Speaker 3right , yeah , yeah , to add to that I I agree with all that . I think it's um , it does come down to weights , but it in the same breath . That's the phrase that you use . I was gonna say you said that a few seconds ago . It's a good statement . I've been saying it more now too . Anyways , I'll hop off . Good night .
Speaker 4See you , peace , peace out .
Speaker 3So yeah , so you know weights , like I said on a recent podcast , with ice cream . If you can't handle ice cream and you overeat it every time , don ice cream if you can't handle ice cream and you overeat it every time . Don't eat ice cream , don't keep it in your house . If you can't handle violence , if you can't handle cuss words , you know , don't do it .
Speaker 3Yeah , but that's really intricate because and I'm not perfect to this , because I'll still watch stuff or listen to stuff that later I'll be like I shouldn't have done that sure that also means that I have a clear relationship with the Lord where , like , okay , at some point in that movie or show music , I probably felt a certain way that I shouldn't be listening to it , and I overrided it and later felt convicted on it which is the . Lord , Then moving forward . Work hard not to do that again .
Speaker 2Right .
Speaker 3And so may struggle with it , may not be perfect at it , but I think it also comes down to the appearance to others of you partaking in that entertainment , movie , whatever because the bible clearly does talk about . It's a sin to allow your uh to do something , to allow your brother to stumble right and avoiding the appearance of evil .
Speaker 1Right , right , yeah , avoid all appearance of evil , that's true and so um .
Speaker 3That is true yeah , good point .
Speaker 1Oh , thanks , um , I mean come every now and then what what was that
Speaker 3it's like an outer body moment , like I was , like that's dope it's like when it's been too serious for too long , john .
Speaker 4Just that's like I have random outbursts okay , say that again , though what did you say ?
Speaker 3don't know , he's not gonna remember um avoiding the appearance of evil . Yeah right okay , keep going . No , can you keep going , keep going , okay , yes , keep going , keep going I want to know .
Speaker 4I want to know to recap what you just said , okay . Yes , appearance of evil and don't allow your brother to stumble . Allowing your brother to stumble , that was your point .
Speaker 3Yeah , yeah , because you know , that's what I try and be mindful of more and more is because there's been situations and times where I've been discipling a young believer and I'll let's say I've had a time where I'll be going to some place with a certain group of people or just a person or doing a certain thing , and I'll catch myself , I'll be like I don't know if I can invite him because he's not quite at the level that I am spiritually and I don't have him to see this and then be thrown off by it and it leads him into sin , where he came from and he's trying to get out of yeah and then I'm like well then , should I even be doing that ?
Speaker 3and that comes down to what I joke about , what I say that's the hardest one for me . It's not really entertainment , it's more what I joke about everyone knows I joke . Everyone knows I say wildly out of pocket things wildly no right why you ?
Speaker 4me no filter I'm really yeah , I won't even call it out of pocket , I'll be like no pocket , no pocket , thank you , pocket , less , pocket , less um pizza pocket .
Speaker 1So with to add on to your point , one thing I love that your dad talks about is that you know , as we're leaders .
Speaker 3I'm just kidding .
Speaker 1We're leaders yes wow um , no , no . So one thing that I love that he talks about is just when . Thank you .
Speaker 3Sorry , that was actually an accident .
Speaker 1Okay , he was touching my leg again . Nothing new , totally an accident . So we're called to be leaders as Christians right .
Speaker 1We're called to lead , maybe people that are , like you said , not as far as long , or people that are just checking out Christianity , whatever . So what we do in moderation , the people that follow us are going to do in excess , so we have to keep that in mind too . It's like okay , what example we're setting , because you know that if somebody sees us doing it , then they're going to be like , oh okay , well , he's doing that , then I can do that too . But if they're not as strong or further along in their walk , that might be a real struggle for them or maybe you know , Pastor was just talking about this at this past department head meeting
Discussion on Church Leaders and Culture
Speaker 1.
Speaker 2Yeah , he was just talking about it . Yeah , yeah .
Speaker 4But it goes back to say I mean you're talking about the leaders in the church , now let's go . These are the leaders in the church . Yeah Right , causing their brother to stumble because they these are the leaders that were doing this Right right . They were on the platform kicking the Bible on a wrecking ball .
Speaker 1Yes , yeah , yeah , authorized by the church , authorized by the church , right , right , right .
Speaker 1I'm trying to take it full circle back around again to the video , right , right , but you know , you know , yeah , wow , yeah . So , guys , you know , I I think this is a first of all , I thought this was a really good discussion and I really appreciate your guys thoughts and opinions and , uh , you know , obviously too you guys watching , we would love to hear your thoughts as well . Please comment , tell us what you think , if you've had any pretty wild out of leave your comments on youtube , so we can , yeah , read them absolutely would love to see that .
Speaker 1And so , yeah , we just , uh , we thought this would be a cool discussion just to kind of see , like , you know , where the state of the church is . You know , and , uh , you know , are we crossing the line ? And obviously this is not every church , I would say it's , you know , very small percentage . But you know , you do see that a lot more where churches are kind of becoming , as they say , user friendly , which is just a a term for yeah , being more culture and yeah , that was them , with them .
Speaker 3I don't even read a friend like what did you say ? I heard this is what I heard .
Speaker 4This is what I heard .
Speaker 3Oh , no , no , no what I was saying no no , when , when I back the recap them with uh , different macs you brought up , then what ?
Speaker 4what were you trying to say for ?
Speaker 3real , oh no , no , no deal . What . So I said like before , like if I can , then we okay , yeah , all right , I have to cut .
Speaker 1It has been a good episode . John Shandala Makai did go for it .
Speaker 3Do the outro like okay , so we got the mission me . Give me a if you manage from it end and you can go out of mission and then be on the mission and the minimum this . I saw that before and I don't you officially love you I want you to come out and dim something . Uh , that's something I can't remember . Uh , we've . I feel like you would have already had a three , four so thank you .
Speaker 1Nobody listens , tyler .
