Lasting Impact
Welcome to "Lasting Impact," the podcast that dives deep into the stories and insights of extraordinary individuals who are leaving an indelible mark on the world. Here, we'll explore the transformative power of their actions and innovations in the realms of business, ministry, and community. Our guests are the change-makers, the visionaries, and the unsung heroes whose unwavering dedication and passion have not only made an impact but a lasting one. Prepare to be inspired, informed, and empowered as we explore the stories behind the lasting impact these remarkable individuals are creating.
Lasting Impact
The power of precision focus will transform your life forever.
Dave Jewett, One Degree Ministries' founder, shares his wisdom on finding your "one degree" – the unique direction where your God-given design meets eternal purpose. At 75, Dave's daily impact showcases how aligning with God's specific focus leads to lifelong energy and success.
This conversation provides insights for those seeking clarity, approaching retirement, or wanting to live more intentionally. Start your journey towards a focused and fulfilling life by discovering your one degree.
Don't you realize that I know exactly what you need to do here? Okay, and you can scramble around, and you can fuss and fume and be terrified, or you can just trust me.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Lasting Impact Podcast. I'm your host, mark Marroquin. Join me as I sit down with remarkable individuals making a meaningful difference in business and ministry. We'll explore their stories, challenges and successes, all with the goal of encouraging you to go out and make a lasting impact. If you love what you hear, don't forget to rate, review and share. Welcome to Lasting Impact, dave Jewett. Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1:It's great to be here, Mark. Thanks for inviting me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, honored to have you. This is going to be special today. For those listening that aren't familiar with you, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 1:Well, I was raised by a Christian family. My dad was an army chaplain during World War II and the Korean War. I'm one of three kids I'm the youngest and least talented of my family and we moved around a lot. I think we moved 17 times growing up. So I went to the University of Richmond. I'm a business major and I've been in corporate life for about 25 years. Then I started a ministry 20 years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's awesome. Well, man, you're definitely a man of high, high impact, and let's just dive right into your one degree.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:Because that's how I was introduced to you through, actually. I mean, I just I think throughout the years I've always heard of you in some circle or another, was sent links to a YouTube clip of yours, or even checked out your website or something. But then our church, um, you know, really fell in love with the material and wanted to adopt it in. You were spending time with our pastoral staff and then our midsize group started rolling them out. So, yeah, man, so you created a miniature. Well, how do I want to say your one degree, you're the author.
Speaker 1:You're the creator.
Speaker 2:Yes, Of your one degree. Tell us what your one degree is. Okay, sure.
Speaker 1:It's really. It talks about intense focus and direction. So of the 360 degrees we can go in life, I believe God has one degree for us. He's very specific, he's very focused himself and so I think he's given us a precision focus that he wants us to do and to live it out and, plus, that gives us a lot of energy. It helps us to keep in the game the rest of our lives as we focus in on that one degree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think like one of the clips that you send out right away is starts talking about generalists to precision instrument or something like that, and that just really stood out to me and it really makes sense when I hear you talk about probably the person who starts going through your one degree material is in a I'm assuming that is in a spot that generally they know they're created by God and they're, they have, uh, just a certain knowledge of truth, but are not but. But it is kind of general. It is kind of like maybe overall picture and not, um, like you said, intense, focused, dialed into that one degree um, speak on that a little bit, or where. How are people finding themselves? Like that, you think?
Speaker 1:sure? Well, I think, uh, we see the, the great value of general purpose, that's how to live, that's how to treat people. That's how to think and act and that, basically, that's the most important part of purpose. If we don't get that going right, I'm not so sure God's going to show us our particular purpose, because we'll tend to mess it up. There's been a lot of people trying to do good things but no character, and that ends up hurting more people than they help. So the general purpose is just how to live.
Speaker 1:That's that's where we get that from the scriptures. We get that from biblical principles. Um, and then particular purposes why God put you on the planet with your design, your uniqueness. What's that about? That's what Ephesians 2.10 talks about, where his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do works that he's prepared ahead of time. Well, guess what? The works that God's prepared for us to do, which are the most satisfying things we'll ever do, are tied to our uniqueness, and what I find is most people drift away from their uniqueness or never discover their uniqueness or really intentionally live it out, so they don't get those works done, and so life ends up being kind of a disappointment for a lot of people his work's done, and so life ends up being kind of a disappointment for a lot of people.
Speaker 2:On your students or people who sign up to like, okay, I want to go through this. I want to know who is the person that you see is normally signing up Like, okay, I'm signing up for this, I want to go through your workshop or I want to go through your material. It's a commitment and, um, who's that person that's usually saying yes to this commitment?
Speaker 1:I think ideally, and most of the time it's somebody who has what I call a holy unrest. They're the other, they're, they're cranking along through life what's good, but they're going wow, is this it? Have I missed something? Am I really living out all that I could be? So they're having some of those questions, and so I love to work with people who are asking the question how do I best steward my life for eternal purposes? Yeah, you know, I mean there's a lot of people who have made a difference in life, but it's for basically earthly purposes.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Uh, I'm more focused on helping somebody do things that are going to have eternal impact on the lives of people. So, um, I think those are the people who tend to come, and often we also see that people who have, uh, have, have a, they've, uh, they're disciplined learners like they've learned how to take information and convert it into action, and if you haven't learned how to do that, then a process like this isn't going to be that helpful. It's just going to be more information.
Speaker 2:And I love that. That is well. Well, it describes me a little bit and you know I went through this with my wife.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you sure did.
Speaker 2:A lot of it was because I'm like I started working and that was me. I'm like I started working and that was me, and like I'm disciplined in areas. But I see the workbook and I'm like man, I'm either going to overthink all of these questions or I'm not going to get through it. And so my wife and I we did it together and it was so good. But she's the definition of the disciplined and to action and whatever. They're just just like entertainment of it but you did fine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is oh dude it's so good I'm, it's, it's definitely.
Speaker 2:I was flipping through the book today before uh this afternoon, just kind of preparing for uh, our time together, the. I think we've talked a lot or we've talked before about like calling and assignment and you hear, I feel we hear more about a calling and we hear less about assignment, and what is the difference between a calling and assignment?
Speaker 1:well, I think calling is is longer term, say I've been called to help people leverage their life of the kingdom by stewarding their design. I take assignments like teaching a class at a local university or teaching some inmates about one degree.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's an assignment. Or going down to Little Rock 10 different times to see a friend who's dying of cancer that's an assignment. It's not my calling. I don't know if that helps.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's really good. What? Where in this process? Because it goes through some phases. When you're going through this material or you're discovering, where do you start seeing? Is there a light bulb that goes off for someone in a certain area? Is there a certain moment where you start seeing them come to life or some breakthroughs happening? And I know we can't obviously go through a workbook today on the little bit of time that we have, can't obviously go through a workbook today on this, on the little bit of time that we have. But what, where? Where are you talking with them? Where you start seeing something click for them like, wow, this is a breakthrough well, I think there's two different areas.
Speaker 1:Especially one is I trying to identify their drivers, the abilities that energize their heart. Yeah, um, oftentimes they have these abilities and they're just kind of disguised in a lot of their activities. They don't see the patterns of how, wow, when they are doing these kind of things, the day goes faster. They end up having more to offer the next day. And these indicators start early in life. Many times when they look back on their life, they go, wow, yeah, that's been the case all these years and all these different kinds of experiences I've had, some of those same abilities keep showing up. That made that experience really fun for me. That made that experience really fun for me. And I think, when they start to become free, to start to pursue those things more Because I don't think that they see that staying energized is necessarily their responsibility I believe it is.
Speaker 1:I believe God has given you resources to stay energized. You can ignore them or you can use them. But the other part of this is in the story, when people are looking through their story and oftentimes they haven't connected dots. So just, I think yesterday or today I was talking to somebody and they started to see, wow, I've forgotten about those things and I forgot how that affected some other things that I experienced. And when they start to see their life kind of making more sense to them, I'm really uh. I believe each person has a life message and when that starts to come together for somebody, wow. You mean I don't have to apologize to my for my life.
Speaker 1:I don't have to try to uh make up something. Uh, god knew my story in eternity past and he wants to use that story and so when that starts to come, to come together for them. Yeah, wow, uh, it's, it's very freeing and they start to see, wow, there's a lot of potential here and I don't have to make it up, it's just me yeah, I love how you said energize my heart or energize their heart, Like what do you mean by it?
Speaker 2:What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1:Well, when your heart, or whatever, whatever, whatever you want to call it inside of you, your soul, when your heart, um, is energized, what's actually happening is you're optimistic, you're positive, you're enthusiastic, You're thinking about the future, you're engaged, you feel like you're in your zone. You actually have emotional energy, extra emotional energy, when you're using these drivers. Yeah, okay, I never would have realized this until I got into my 40s.
Speaker 1:Okay, I just would have said well, you just suck it up and go do it yeah but I started to see that a whole lot of people were running out of gas, and some phenomenal people were running out of gas in their forties and even before then, sometimes because they were doing a lot of things that weren't energizing their heart. They're just kind of gutting it out. Yeah, and you just can't gut it out forever and uh. So I don't know if I don't know if that answers your question, that's great.
Speaker 2:No, I think those are good good description of like.
Speaker 2:Bringing them to life. And or you, or you find yourself and and I feel that when I'm leaving, um, uh, a ministry meeting, you know it's volunteer work, it's not my vocation, it's it's complete um, for for me and I hate that long pause, but just trying to put the words together so I'm leaving, uh, a meeting with Johnny or Lee and we're discussing brotherhood breakfast or a men's ministry event coming up and we're coordinating it and putting it together. Um, yeah, I come to life, you know, and I you know, but there's like, nope, no one's stroking me, a huge check and there's no title that's given to me. It's all hidden, it's all behind the scenes where my part plays and, yeah, it energizes my heart.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think that you can start to be looking for those things. I was talking to a senior leader right before lunch today and we talked about singles, doubles and home runs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that, you know.
Speaker 1:I spent 25 years in corporate life, saw a whole lot of singles and doubles. In other words, they're really good accomplishments. Yeah, some of them were industry first accomplishments, you know, but they weren't home runs. A home run in my definition is when God invades something I do and it produces a result that I realize wow, I didn't do that. I was more of an observer, but I was participating in it, and so I've gotten to the point where that's what I want to be focused on.
Speaker 1:I want to figure out where are those home runs and what am I doing when God hits those home runs? And I want to keep doing those kinds of things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I'll tell you what as a 75-year-old, there's hardly a day goes by now that I don't see a home run.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I love hearing that.
Speaker 1:So you think that keeps a guy like me going yeah?
Speaker 2:absolutely Well in the same. Yeah, I love that, I love coming, and then when I think of myself, I'll leave something and kind of like look back and like who was that guy in that meeting? You know, I was full of energy, just you know. I'll enter the room thinking like I'm not sure what I'm gonna have to contribute here today, but I'm here, they've asked me to be here, I'm part of this, and then I'll end up being the one who may talk the most and have the you know kind of lead, and then I'll leave like man, how did that just happen? Where did that come from?
Speaker 2:And I came to life and it was on, not by the design inside of me, by the design inside me. It just was. It was God working and like man, whatever that was. I want that. My boss used to say because we go to we would do, we do I, my boss? Obviously we're at work events together and we go to church together too. So um years ago, when I started doing like, when I, when we launched the brotherhood breakfast 10 plus years ago, and he started coming, he, he would recognize in me like again, you're, you're a different man at those events.
Speaker 1:Isn't that neat yeah.
Speaker 2:Other than our corporate events. Yeah and uh, I see you at that breakfast man. I see you at the like you're. You're a different man at those events, isn't that neat?
Speaker 2:Yeah, other than our corporate events, yeah, and I see you at that breakfast man, I see you at the like. You're a different man and you know I loved that. You know, just like men, you know not trying to be, it's just where God has placed me there. You bet All energy I come to life. I feel the gifts that I didn't think were gifts, didn't recognize that were gifts, until spending time with you, of course, were coming out of me.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I love that. You just said 75 years old and you're hitting home runs today. Are you seeing? Is this rarity? Is it you seeing less men finish strong? Is it hard to see a man finish strong these days?
Speaker 1:Well, I have traveled around a lot and I've asked thousands of men If they personally know five men over 50 who still inspire them. Wow. Over 50 who still inspire them. Wow, because they know what God's given them to do and they're doing it with passion until they die. Fortunately, I had a father who did that. He died at 93. We like to say he went out with his hair on fire. Wow Okay, and so I got a chance to actually see that happen.
Speaker 1:But what I've learned is most guys can't say that about their father okay, the good guys, but they kind of just wore out or they just didn't quite seem to ever really latch on to something you know and um, so I mean this whole thing of you, I believe God is the one that hits the home runs, yeah, and I just feel like the greatest impact of a guy's life is going to be in his later decades. It's not. It's like it starts at like the 70, 80, then the 60s. That's what. That's what research is saying.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Those are the three biggest impacts, decades of a person's life. If they're living this outright, you know I'm seeing more amazing things happen in my 70s than ever.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:And what's so interesting is it's now, it's coming to me, I'm not going out and getting it. It's coming to me, I'm not going out and getting it. Uh, it's coming to me and uh it's, it's yeah like wow, I mean that's right you know, bring it on, yeah, and and it's so natural.
Speaker 1:I'm not trying to be anybody else, yeah, uh, and, and I believe, the more you understand how god has uniquely made you and that when you come to peace with it, you embrace it. You know, an example for me is I'm quietly intense, I'm low-key, genuine, friendly. I used to think that was pretty boring, until I just I was challenged by one of the leaders here in our city. He said you don't get it, do you? Those are the very traits, dave, that give you access to leaders like me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so good Because we instinctively trust you, and so that was almost 20 years ago. I heard that, and so ever since then, I expect God to use my personality.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, that's so awesome.
Speaker 1:Not to manipulate, but just be me.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And, sure enough, that's what keeps happening. Yeah, I'm actually stunned at what happens.
Speaker 2:I love that you brought up your dad, yeah, and so I want to just hit on that because I think it's a great opportunity to hear. I love what you said about your father and that's very impactful. What was it about your dad that was so impactful to you? I'm sure you can have your own separate podcast about that.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2:What stands out to you, thinking about your father.
Speaker 1:Well, I was reading a letter that he wrote my mom back in 1945. And he wrote it when he was in the South Pacific as a chaplain during World War II and he just happens to mention oh, we've lost 100 chaplains here and 35 are wounded, and it just never really occurred to me that he was in harm's way during those years. And then he came out after the war and then Korean War broke out and he was a pastor at that time and he went back in because that's where the men were that needed Jesus.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow.
Speaker 1:And so what I, what I've learned about my dad is that he was a simple guy in a lot of ways, but he figured out who he was, who he wasn't, and he just and what God?
Speaker 1:wanted him to do and he just did it until he died. Well, I mean, he was in, he was in a retirement center, you know he's, with all these, you know 70 and 80 year olds, and he's, he's grabbing a hold of a, he's, he's getting an admiral, retired admiral, a retired judge, and they're going and doing a bible study wow uh, yeah, a bunch of the uh, the jewish, the Jewish guys in the retirement center.
Speaker 1:He just got to know he just loves these guys. He loved these guys and they were going to go over to Florida Atlantic University and take a course in Jewish studies and so he gets on a bus with them and goes over there and takes a class. And so he gets on a bus with them and goes over there and takes the class, but at his funeral all those guys were at his funeral, wow.
Speaker 1:But he just loved people. But he knew what his role was and what it wasn't. And his last church he had, I remember him telling me that he told the deacons hey guys, uh, here's five things that I am and here's five things that I'm not. If you want what I'm not, I'm not the guy yeah, but if you want what I am, I'm in yeah well, what I loved about that is, 20 years after he left that church, those deacons were still his friends.
Speaker 1:They just respected him so much. He just knew who he was and knew who he wasn't. There's a lot of guys that don't have that.
Speaker 2:They don't have that and they don't let people know either.
Speaker 1:Like I love that he let them know.
Speaker 2:So I think it's one thing to know that about yourself, but not let other people know. And I'm not talking like walking around going through a billboard but you know what you?
Speaker 2:and I talk about is what invitations you're saying yes to and what you're saying no to. So you go through your checklist because you get a lot of invites, man, and you you check it off like is it? Well, this isn't me, so I need to say no and you start letting people like that, that word gets out. You know where it gets out as I've gotten to know you better and my, my friends who, my ministry partners and and and friends you know, as we talk about you or try to forecast upcoming stuff like this would be a good fit for Dave dave. Hey, that wouldn't be a good fit for him, because we know you now and we've and and even if we didn't, we knew that you would, I mean, kind of started with telling us yeah, and the more you do things that you aren't wired for, the more you confuse people that's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so what you don't know is all the things I've said no to right okay, yeah, and so you're seeing me do more things that are my design, uh, and you're seeing a lot of the results of of my doing those things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, you know the, the guys that that came alongside me 20 years ago. They challenged me to go do this ministry full time. Yeah, and I them and um, what? What I think has been so fun is I've just kept doing those things, but they believed in it and, uh, those guys have funded, for the most part, a large percentage of what we've done. All these years now it's awesome, but they know what they're dealing with yeah and they know that I will do it, because that's what I do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and they aren't get a second guess. One of the guys the other day said we, uh, we picked a good horse 20 years ago yeah, put their money on the right guy I love that yeah, but yeah. But they saw they, they saw it and so uh, yeah, it's going to be. I work with a lot of guys who are moving into the fifties or moving into their sixties.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I and I challenged them to really get intentional about knowing um uh your lane, you know. Knowing uh what's your topic, what's your um uh. You want to be known for the home runs, not for your own ego, your purse or your or your, your reputation, but so people will know how God most uses you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, it doesn't help us to have this guy who's so good at so many things yeah, but us to have this guy who's just so good at so many things, yeah, but uh, but they're a bunch of them are singles and doubles.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're good, but uh, anyway, that's no, that's kind of like that. So you mentioned is it what if someone's retired and they're they're, they, they're in their late sixties, early seventies? Is it too late for them to go through your one degree Um?
Speaker 1:absolutely not Okay, and the beauty of that is they've got a lot of data.
Speaker 2:I love that, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:So they they've already uh made some decisions about what works, what doesn't work.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, uh, my job as a coach is to is to help them hone in on those things and then start to brainstorm with them as to, uh, how might you, how much you use that going forward? Yeah, you know. What do you care about? Yeah, who do you tend to connect with? Um uh, what do you want to produce?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:In these next decades ahead. Um you know, and when they start to latch a hold of that thing, oh my goodness, uh, they become almost like a new person.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I was told by one of our, I was told by one of the guys here in Oklahoma that, like 90% of the retired coaches are floundering Okay, here these guys have had these big responsibilities and have had a lot of influence but they don't have the position anymore. But I think they got so much to offer. One of my buddies is helping them now, uh, re-engage with the community and and figure out some of these things and kind of you know, get back on the horse.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I guess, if you think about it, cause.
Speaker 2:I've gone through this and just this and just, yeah, the more data you have about yourself and like the life history, you do get more out of of it, because it's the reflection and knowing who you are. So, gosh, this is going to be so revolutionary for the person who is in um. You know, the second half and the maybe had probably going into retirement probably could be great timing for some people of like what's about to happen, because you have an opportunity to start hitting those home runs more frequently. I would think, due to what we talk about the yellows, the reds and the greens meaning we talk about what are these home runs? What do you love? What's the damper? What's dragging you down? You get to start eliminating a lot of those reds that are like man, this thing really sucks the energy out of your life and, well, man, all those reports that were due and a lot of the stuff that kept you like, some of that's gone.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Now you're on this other side where, like, what do I do, and this could just be perfect for them to go through it. I'm thinking of my in-laws, and I just would love my in-laws to go through this right now. That would be so cool for them.
Speaker 1:Well, they've got so much to offer. Yes, you know, especially as people have really grown in their character and their faith and their wisdom and, um, uh, they just don't know where to plug it in, and that's why sometimes going through this process can give them ideas, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I could do that. I could see I could see doing that. Yeah, um, you know, we have. We had some older guys go through this and one of them said well, I really I have. Well, I have a bunch of woodworking equipment in my garage, and what that ended up doing was we challenged them to say well, you think there could be some young men in your church who would like to teach their sons how to woodwork? Well, sure enough, that became a ministry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, he had all that equipment, all the machines in his, in his garage, you start using them, inviting guys over to hey yeah here's how to. Here's how to use a lathe. Here's how to do this or that yeah yeah. So I think we take for granted the things in our life and we don't realize hey, god wants to use what we know, what we like, what we have learned about. Well, what skills we've gained to help others, you know um oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:What about on the other extreme, who are the youngest you see going through your one degree? That don't have much data.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know well, yeah, for years I've said I'm looking for the guys and gals that are thinking beyond the weekend. You know they have a little bit longer term view, a little more maybe old souls, you know, but they also are disciplined learners.
Speaker 2:Yeah, disciplined learners.
Speaker 1:So we've a couple different things We've had. We've taken some young guys like that and some of the comments some of these guys have made to me. You know, 15, 20 years later they've said, dave, going through this in my 20s put me 20 years ahead of my peers in how I make decisions. You know what I say no to, what do I say yes to? But also what we say to young people is what we're telling you is we're giving you, uh, we're giving you six file folders to organize your learnings going forward. Okay, so you have a summer job.
Speaker 1:So well, what did you learn about your, your abilities? What did you learn about your story? What did you learn about your personality? What did you learn about your interests? What did you learn about your spiritual gifts? And see, as they can start to organize their learnings, they're much more likely to use their learnings going forward, yeah, in their decision making. Yeah, if they're drafting up a resume, you can help them and they can more easily see. Well, I need to be stating my greens, not selling my yellows, but that's there, probably are. It seems like there's a lower population of those people. Yeah, but they're out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I think that there's some that you know I don't want to mention. Well, I think of Blake Zimmerman, our mutual friend of Blake, I mean.
Speaker 1:I think.
Speaker 2:Blake might have been the very first one who introduced me to you when he spoke at our breakfast up and coming young man and I think he was just newlywed at the time, maybe no, maybe no, he was a little bit. Anyway, obviously, young gun graduated college and everything, but I know that you spent time with him. He's still young, but early, early, but he's a, he's a forward thinker. Yes, he's serious about life.
Speaker 1:Well, the disciplined learner. He's a discipline, very disciplined learner and um uh, and his buddy who introduced me to him. I grew up with him there at still water and uh and he told me hey, if you think I'm sharp, you know blake's like 10 times me, you know. Well, I mean yeah, um, yeah, so the the there's. The idea is that there's people that god has prepared for us 10 months you know uh this might be an off uh offshoot, but I I learned early on that one degree was for the 3%.
Speaker 2:Okay, what do you mean by that?
Speaker 1:3% of the people in most groups are the ones that are ready to go through one degree, because it requires a disciplined learner. It requires somebody who has a holy unrest. They're they. They. They're looking for something and they aren't just looking for information.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:They're looking for some answers. Yeah, you know, and and so that was troubling to me at first. But then I asked the Lord what would you show me how to find that 3%? Yeah, well, you know, 3% of 10,000 is a lot of people.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, and sure enough, we've probably coached way more than 10,000. So you've kind of gone through. We've figured out how to find the people who are really hungry and ready to do something about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And a lot of these guys they don't need. They don't need a lot of work, they aren't in trouble, they're just needs. I call it tweaking. Yeah, you know, some guys need some overhaul, but yeah, but yeah some guys a lot of guys just need, need tweak, yeah, well, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's the great client for you, is that, like you said, they're moving, they're doing some things, they have ability, they're disciplined learners and they know there is something just off. Like what's off, what's bothering me? I'm not resting well this agitation like there's just I'm off, I'm off Well.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what that introducing them to greens, yellows and reds to me has been game changer for so many of these people, cause a lot of the people I love to coach are the ones that they're highly motivated. They're they're high commitment, they really want to make a difference, they want to, they want to really do excellent work, and but they tend to be overcommitted you know, and so they can kind of get away with that pretty much in their twenties and thirties, but they used to as they start to move into their forties.
Speaker 1:Man, they got to start to figure out some stuff, or else, uh, they're going to be, they're going to be done by the time they're fifties and uh, and I see it, all the time Okay so when they actually start to find a freedom.
Speaker 1:And this is for women too. There's a lot of women who are the same way. I mean, they're very committed, um, and they, they volunteered too much. The matter of fact, they get their, their husbands, to volunteer more than they want. Yeah, and let's go do this. Oh, yeah, okay, right. And so they've also been learning hey, it can be a holy event to say no, yeah, okay, and that's been something that's really been powerful to learn how to say no well, respectfully, but there's a lot of power in your saying no, because it helps point people toward the better yes in your life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, that's so good. I want to talk. There's a few things I want to hit on that we have to hit on. We're going to come back to you. I'm going to say them out loud, so I don't forget. I want to talk about abiding. I want to talk about God, what what you want me to trust you for. And then more on lasting impact.
Speaker 2:But going through your one degree again, I mean it's a course, so we can't kind of overall go over everything here. But you had said something that made me think of me or and I even saw it earlier today of thinking what I was. So, because of a lot of the things I've done or volunteered for, meaning that I thought I was Mr Hospitality because of starting an event and running the event and coordinating it and so much to it. But as I went through your one degree and gone through everything with you, it was there but it was not my top thing and it was so awesome, you know, because not that I'm not that I'm anti-hospitalic, because that is a gift in me Sure.
Speaker 2:But what was spitting out was like, so, like, wow, that is awesome Of what leadership and encouraging and some of the other ones that's slipping me right now, but discernment and communicator and a lot of stuff that I am in leadership roles that I play. I think the tasks were helping me get, or were part of developing me to where I am today and where.
Speaker 2:God's developing me right now. But going back to that volunteer spot of yeah, you need help with stacking tables and chairs, like getting that going. Sure, I could do that and yeah I'll, I'll be there to open the doors early for everybody, Like you bet I can volunteer, and you just start thinking of kind of like the volunteer spots and you can be thinking like that's your design and that's your gift, and you do it long enough.
Speaker 2:You're kind of start thinking that, well, that's that's. There's a really good chance that it could not be. You've just been doing that thing.
Speaker 1:That happens all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That happens all the time.
Speaker 2:They put someone in the nursery and so they just stay in the nursery forever, and now they're like leading the nursery workers and they're thinking that's their gift. Well, that person just said yes, a long time ago and they just stayed there and they're completely missing what really could be some great greens for them, or true design, or where they can come alive, but they've just committed to this.
Speaker 1:Yeah and that's that's true and, like I said, it happens to the people who are a high commitment yeah you know. So um and and, really, after you've gone through numerous cycles of the same responsibility, for most of us it gets boring it gets old, and so then you, then you have to kind of you know, gut it out more. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 2:I think, where I wanted to go with that too, as I, as I had a chance to, it's helped me to say yes and say no.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that sort of stuff and and not to be rude about it to be like, oh man, I'm, that's that, that I can help in these areas, Like that's not going to be me, Like I'm not going to run that tear. I probably won't run that uh, set up and tear down team, but I think I can be on the team that helps us recruit great people. I think I can be on a team that helps us strategize on how to efficiently run several crews, keep everybody healthy and, you know again, recruit or whatever. But I know that that wouldn't be good for me and my family to commit to some of that stuff.
Speaker 1:I mean that brings up another factor. You know we say the general purpose items trump particular purpose items. So you might have a job that you can do that perfectly fits who you are, but if it's going to cause you to violate a biblical principle, so I've oftentimes seen that. So I have this perfect job opportunity but I'm going to have to be away from home two nights a week. And my wife has already said honey, if you're gone two nights a week, bad things happen here. Well, if I take that job, it's high risk that I've missed the mark.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Because, again, general principles trump particulars and usually it means that it's a timing issue, it's a protection issue to say no, but often times we don't see it. We just kind of foam at the mouth at this great opportunity and we jump in it and we kind of find out oh boy, I wasn't thinking about that.
Speaker 2:Dave, let's dive into abiding, and I love that. It's something you speak about a lot, or when I'm around you, or when we know if we're going to ask you to speak in front of you, know, 500 men, we know we're going to hit that topic. Um, what is it and I'm not calling it your platform, of course, but like, but what is it about speaking on abiding or teaching on abiding, like, why has that become so alive inside of you?
Speaker 1:Well, in my 20s, I started asking people what the heck does that really mean? I mean, it seems kind of squishy to me, you know. But, okay, dwelling, remaining great, great. But you know, when I really reflect on that, Jesus is telling that to the disciples 24 hours before he dies. Okay, and he says hey guys, if you, if you abide in me, you will bear much fruit, or if you don't, you'll, you're not going to be doing anything for the kingdom. Yeah, I'll oftentimes say to church staffs are just church christian leaders. So, uh, what are you here for? Are you here to be really fruitful or are you here to be busy? Well, if you want to really be fruitful, you're going to have to learn what abiding is all about. Okay, matter of fact, I don't understand how we can assume that people understand what abiding is because, uh, the world kind of fights against it. All the activities of life fight against abiding you know so so I'm committed.
Speaker 1:I've committed the remaining years of my life that my two things I'm going to be communicating are going to be about abiding, and about one degree. So I'll do it. You know, even when people kind of know about it, I want to keep reminding them about it because I think it's so important. So what I've learned is not only do you produce the most meaningful things as you learn to abide, but you're starting to experience the richness it's kind of a mystical, the mystical part of our faith when Jesus is with us.
Speaker 2:Our Holy Spirit's with us.
Speaker 1:Well, it's kind of hard to. I don't see him, I mean you know yeah.
Speaker 1:But so what do I do with all that and learning how to develop this relationship with an invisible god? That requires being awareness of his presence, being surrendered to his will. Well, lord, I just want to do what you want me to do. Um, I'm seeking guidance. What should I do here? What should I do there? I'm interacting with you, I want to be talking with you, and I think one of the real problems in Christianity is people aren't good at hearing God's voice. I'm talking about in their spirit, not audible, but audibly. So abiding is the key to learning how to hear.
Speaker 1:God's voice. The more you practice abiding, the more you're going to be. His voice is going to become almost second nature to you. You're going to really be able to discern all kinds of at a whole new level when God is trying to get through to you. Okay, but it doesn't happen overnight. You know, you've learned to recognize your wife's voice, but it's after years of communicating. Okay, that's the way it is with the Lord. The more I abide, the more I, and I think there's greater joy. Yeah, you know, I wake up in the morning and I, um, uh, oftentimes, like even this morning I was. I was just saying, lord, you're right with me.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And many times they'll say Lord, I sense your hand on my shoulder, and so let's talk about the day.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Uh, and I want to go into the day with that kind of attitude and see that's where the joy is, and I think that's what. I think that's what people are drawn to absolutely because it's genuine, it's. It's not kind of a phony thing, it's just well.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you brought up joy, because I feel that sometimes when we think of abiding or spending time with God, it can come across intense and I think there are moments where it's intense, you know, and it could be.
Speaker 2:Yeah sure, sometimes I feel that when I'm thinking about abiding or hear someone talking about, it, it sounds heavy or intense, or maybe even labor light, you know, and I feel, uh, I feel burdens coming off and I feel, because of I start feeling like I'm in your presence, Lord. Then weights are being lifted up as I even think of being in his presence.
Speaker 1:Well, I think these years of abiding have made me, have convinced me, that God is giddy about me so good, okay so. I don't think most people will think that, yeah, but God, but I've experienced that, that he just delights in me in ways I can't even understand.
Speaker 2:Matter of fact, he invented giddy, okay okay, and that's right, and he's the creator of it.
Speaker 1:We who have been young parents. We've lived it, We've been giddy about our kids.
Speaker 2:You know I wrote this note down. I think I wrote this note down. I found it scribbled in my book. I was kind of thumbing through it. I told you before. I think you said to me we have, we have to be convinced that God cares deeply for us and, um, I loved that like convinced that that he has a deep, deep care, deep, deep love for us.
Speaker 2:And then I think I had some notes scribbled next to it, like even in the details, and it's probably us discussing details of our design and stuff, and that all stems from the love that he has for us.
Speaker 1:That's where abiding takes you.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay. The more you do that, the more you realize the character of God and it becomes a real conviction, not just a nice belief. And so when things fall apart, that's when knowing that god really loves me. I don't understand what's going on here, but I know he loves me yeah, that's so good and it's so stabilizing, to my personality and to into my actions. I'm not, you know, panickingicking. Yeah, okay, well, lord, just show us what we need to be doing here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's go to God. What do you want me to trust you for, or God? What should I be trusting you for? However you want to phrase, it.
Speaker 2:I know I've had Kirby, who's mentored me and loved on me for a lot of years, and I know he I think he self admits like man this is, this is from Dave spending time with me. Um, I love that. And obviously, getting mentored by the both of you which I have to pinch myself sometimes that I get mentored by you and Kirby Anderson Um, so I've obviously I've adopted that into my life and what does that mean to you? When you're like, what are you saying when you're coaching someone or ministering to someone and you're telling them you need to ask God, what am I supposed to be?
Speaker 1:trusting you for right now. Oh, my goodness, yeah, it's, it's. I've learned that the most important thing that I can do with God is to trust him. Okay, nothing delights him more than I will trust an invisible God based on what?
Speaker 1:his word says Okay, now, obedience is right after that, you know, but trusting just delights him so much. Right after that, you know, but trusting just delights him so much. So what I've learned is this has been a big game changer over the last like eight years. Maybe is that negative emotions, I've asked myself. So why do I have negative emotions and why do't have negative emotions that animals don't have? Okay, well, I believe that god gave us a capacity for negative emotions to have us come to him. That's all it is. Wow, okay, we get. We get blindsided by all the noise, okay, so?
Speaker 1:So I was speaking to a couple of large groups of people recently and I handed out a list of 35 negative emotions and I asked them to circle. Any negative emotion they've had in the last 48 hours and where I'm going with this is okay, okay, so when I have a negative emotion, whether it's someone's running late, and I get a little here I get a little irritated that someone's running late, yeah, well, I'm learning that. Okay, lord, what is it you want me to trust you for here? Because I'm kind of, I admit I'm a little, I'm getting a little irritated, and if I listen, uh, he'll speak to my heart.
Speaker 1:He'll say hey, bud, you ever run light yourself. You know this is all going to work out right. Okay, that's good. I mean he'll say things to me. That kind of you know sets me back a little bit. Oh yeah, you're right, lord, I mean, but it's again. It increases the intimacy I have with him. So what I've learned is, when I ask that question, what specifically do you want me to trust you for? I'm actually shifting my focus away from the emotion and the circumstance to his sovereignty, his omniscience and his care for me Right away.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's almost like he's now sitting next to me and I can talk to him about I'm ticked off, but it also carries for big things, like you know. I don't know if I told you that story about years ago when I I woke up one monday morning and I I realized I had missed my quarterly tax payment deadline and I didn't have enough money for it. So, uh, I write in my journal here's some concerns I have lord.
Speaker 1:I was actually kind of panicking, yeah, but um yeah but, and I said what do you want me to trust you for, here specifically? And I listened and so I get things like dave, I'm really glad you're coming to me because I am always the solution, wow, so good. Don't you realize that? I know exactly what you need to do here? And besides, I work behind the scenes, buddy, yeah, okay, and you can scramble around and you can fuss and fume and be terrified, or you can just trust me, yeah, okay. And, by the way, I'm the one that tells people to give to this ministry, not you. Yeah, it doesn't happen unless I tell them to give to this ministry. So I write down in my journal. I will trust you I will trust you, I will trust you.
Speaker 1:Close my journal and two hours later I find out that 107 000 has been in my account. I didn't know about it.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's amazing, so I cried yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, and here's what the Lord said to me. Sure, he said, dave, how ridiculous do I need to make this buddy?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not always going to be doing this.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, but I'm always waiting for you to trust me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that so good.
Speaker 1:Okay so, but what happens when I don't trust, I start, and this is how I feel like most people operate. They're trying to fix things all the time. Okay, they're scrambling around doing this and that Now they might eventually get around to praying. What? I've learned is they don't end up getting around to trusting wow, which I now call whining, yeah, so praying without trusting. I call whining, which which you know I'm, I can, I can be good at that sure okay so, but what happens when you pray without trusting?
Speaker 1:you start to take on a burden and, over time, you start to accumulate burdens and, over time, your body, the lord, has a way of reminding you hey, you're not trusting me, yeah, you're getting off track here. Uh, he can make me not sleep. He can make me joint pains, stomach pains not that every time I have those, it's because of this right oftentimes he's trying to get my attention yeah and then, if I stay there long enough and if I don't pay attention to that, I can go to discouragement.
Speaker 1:Now I'm losing hope. Well, so how many people around us are losing hope?
Speaker 2:A lot.
Speaker 1:Okay, and if you stay there, then you go to the next one, losing, losing belief. Now, when you're discouraged and you're losing hope, you might share that with a friend or your spouse, but when you go to disillusionment you stop sharing. It's too vulnerable to share to somebody.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I believe this stuff anymore.
Speaker 1:Okay, Then our brilliant solution for disillusionment is disengagement. We start backing away from people who can help us. We may show up, smile you know, social things. We're dying on the inside. We've put the walls up and if you stay much, very long in the disillusionment or disengagement season, I believe you can be convinced to do something really stupid.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And we see it happen all the time. For sure, but it starts at praying and not trusting. Yeah, and we see it happen all the time, for sure, but it starts at praying and not trusting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's really good. Or just not trusting yeah.
Speaker 1:So I'm a big believer in it and I feel like the more people understand this and they understand that I'm not a dirt ball for being on the on that lower track we talk about, but it's just, it's cause and effect. If I start out by praying and not trusting, I'm going to start going down the track. Okay, so the, the urge is trust, yes, but it's you know, I think the whole, even the whole one degree journey, I've learned is there's a lot of trusting required.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Trusting God for the design he's given you versus the design you may have wanted.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, trusting God to guide you through your design. It's a big deal to learn how to trust him more and more and uh and I think the more we do that, the more we can be free, yes and the more we can be joyful yes genuine joy, not just kind of a manufactured joy.
Speaker 1:So I'm very passionate about both those topics. Yeah, one degree and um and abiding. And you know, uh, what I've learned is, uh, if I just do those two things in life, those are the two most important things I can do in life yeah, well, I want to, and we got to wind it up.
Speaker 2:Um, just to ask about your one degree how, how large is this? What's? What's the reach right now? It's other countries, only united states, other languages. What? What's your reach right now in your one degree?
Speaker 1:yeah, right now it's in multiple languages. It's in, it's in arabic, it's in mongol, bengali, indonesian, french, spanish. We're hoping to put it into Hungarian and Slovak, you know, but it's all over Africa, it's starting to become all over Asia.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:And it's of course all over America, all over Asia. Wow, and uh, it's of course of course all over America, but uh, and it's not me taking it, as now other people taking it to those places. Oh yeah, uh, so it's really been humbling, um so encouraging that people are being blessed and helped by a simple message like this, and uh yeah, we.
Speaker 2:So I probably should have started off the podcast with rattling all your stats to you know, because it really is amazing.
Speaker 1:Last question for you Podcast is lasting impact. What does lasting impact mean to you? Well, for me, I want to have lives impacted for the good, for the kingdom purposes, somehow, someway. By the way I live, the messages I pass on, something that encourages them but actually brings about some change, and how they've thought where they get unstuck but they, they start to get on a track to to really I call it finishing. Well, uh, they, they aren't gonna, they aren't gonna peter out. They're gonna get stronger and stronger as they get older, uh, spiritually and emotionally, and uh, and they going to have a greater and greater impact.
Speaker 1:I think I've learned that the first 40 years of a person's life basically is warm-up. I didn't feel like that. My first 40 years I was very busy. As you really start to mature and learn these things and start to apply them to your life, I think you're going to have a much greater impact. It's going to be sustainable, it's going to be lasting. And I had a guy text me the other day. He said, hey, 55 years ago tonight, dave, you led me to Christ, wow. And then he sent me two pictures of his grandkids, two sets of grandkids. They're all following Jesus because of what happened 55 years ago.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So to me that's lasting impact 100%.
Speaker 2:I love that man. Thank you so much for coming on the show today. You're a very special man to me and to so many others. Um, this is Dave Jewett and he is making a lasting impact. Thank you. If you liked today's conversation and want to hear more, hit that subscribe button. Don't forget to leave a review and share your thoughts. Your feedback keeps the impact going.