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This is Humbl. -where we talk about the real stuff!
Humbl.
S3 EP07 | BREAKING THROUGH | ALLEN PARR
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Antoine sits down with national speaker, YouTuber, author, ordained minister—Allen Parr! They discuss his life journey, ministry, freedom in Jesus, and Allen's new book Breaking Through!
Links:
Book: https://breakingthrough.letsequip.com/
About: https://www.allenparr.com/
Biblical Encouragement And Truth (The B.E.A.T) on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebeatagp?si=u3-1CTTO_CvP3xfD
Allen's Socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/allengparr
Facebook: facebook.com/allengparr
In Breaking Through, Allen Parr reveals the deeper issue behind those struggles—what he calls "soul chains." These are hidden strongholds that affect your mind, emotions, identity, and behavior, quietly keeping you from experiencing the freedom Christ died to give you.
Through powerful teaching, personal stories, and step-by-step guidance, Allen helps you identify what's really holding you back and shows you how to break free from it—so you can finally walk in the freedom you've been longing for.
If you're tired of feeling stuck, this book will help you:
- Identify the hidden barriers in your spiritual life
- Break free from cycles of sin, fear, and negative thinking
- Learn practical, biblical strategies for daily victory
- Heal from past wounds that still affect your present
- Embrace a clear path for peace, purpose, and spiritual victory
- Experience the true freedom of the Gospel
- Discover a balance, biblical view of spiritual warfare
What held me back, and what a lot of people are held back is believing that God can set them free and that there is a life of freedom. So I wanted to write that third part, the promise, to show if Jesus set people free in the first century, he was on earth, all these examples in the gospels, then if he's the same yesterday, today, and forever, does he not have the power to set you free too?
SPEAKER_01Well, welcome back to Humble, where we talk about the real stuff. Listen, I'm so excited that you would take the time to join me for another episode. And today is no different than any other day when I have a guest like I love this because we get to dive into people's lives, their stories, their journeys with Jesus as it relates to us getting better, us being humble, us walking in humility. Like you guys know me. Like, this is what this is for. This is humble, where we talk about the real stuff. And today is gonna be just that with my guest. And a little bit of context before I introduce my guest is literally we met in a coffee shop. And I watched him, and when you see who he is, you're gonna be like, wow, like what I watched is my guest talk to people like they were normal people, getting to know their stories and just being a regular person, literally bringing God into it. And I'm like, wow, I know what this person is, who he is, I know the influence he has. And to watch him just be the hands and feet of Jesus was inspiring. And I'm like, man, I'm gonna reach out and see if we could just have a conversation. So without further ado, I cannot wait to introduce the some and and maybe just reintroduce the some if you have some context. Mr. Alan Parr. Come on, man. What's up, bro? What's up, man? How are you doing, man? Thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_00Glad to be here. Thank you for having me, man. Excited to be here. Excited about what God's doing in and through your life. Glad our paths crossed at uh at the collective coffee. Come on, man. A few months ago. Yes. And uh, man, just looking forward to getting to know you better too, bro. So thank you, man.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, man. That means a lot. And seriously, like everything I just said, like, I was so inspired by your genuine heart. Um, and you know, I think sometimes people, we'll get into this in a second, but I think sometimes people have a perception of who people are, if they've seen them on different mediums and different platforms. And I'm like, man, you know, Alan's a regular guy who just literally wants to bring Jesus into the conversations of people in a loving and genuine way. And I was so inspired by that. And I feel like the Holy Spirit's like, man, just reach out. And I I'll be honest, at first I was a little nervous. I was like, man, I don't know. I know he's busy, he's doing stuff. And the fact that you responded, I'm like, okay, maybe, maybe the Holy Spirit wants to do something here.
SPEAKER_00Well, this was convenient because it was 12 minutes from the house. So hey, come on now. And we got a good vibe at the coffee shop. So I'm like, yeah, man, let's let's do it. Let's do it, bro.
SPEAKER_01I'm so honored by that, man. Thank you. Thank you for saying that, man. It's my honor to have you. Thank you. So, well, man, for our community that that maybe do have context to your ministry and even just to to who you are, what you've done, man. I but I would just love for those that maybe don't know, and even the ones that do, man, give us some context to you. Like, where are you from? Where did you grow up? Kind of your your upbringing and what led you to this point.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, uh, man, how much time do we got? So whole life testimony here. But uh, man, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, big Steelers fan in the house. Okay. Um, I'm in Texas country here, so you know, uh, I know there's a lot of Cowboys fans here where we live, but uh, see a Dallas hat right there. But uh yeah, so grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, uh, got saved whenever I was eight years old. Um my parents got divorced when I was six, and that had a kind of a big uh impact on my life. I'll talk a little bit more about that in just a moment. But uh got saved whenever I was eight, uh grew up in the church, uh, went off to college whenever I was 17 years old, uh, started living the life, really wasn't really living for the Lord first couple years. And then the Lord really uh brought a man of God into my life. Um I always call him out by name, Deacon Kevin Miller from a local church in Cleveland, Ohio. Come on. And he came down to our campus. At first, he was like, hey, I just want to hang out with you guys, kick it, you know, I'll take y'all out to eat. Uh I guess he knew that we were some struggling college students. And so we hung out with him. He didn't really try to press the gospel or any sort of Bible teaching on us. He just hung out with us, got to know us. And uh built that, you know, no like and trust factor. We knew him and then we liked him and then we trusted him. And so after, you know, several weeks of that, he was like, Hey, you know, would you guys like for me to come down and do a Bible study on Friday nights? And at this point, he knew what he was doing. He was like, Okay, we didn't, I didn't fed these guys, you know, hung out with him. So uh, man, we were like, Yeah, cool, he seems cool. And for someone at the time who had no interest in Bible study of any kind, um, the way he taught the Bible to us in our dorm room, um, about seven or eight of us college students, and he was teaching the parables. I'll never forget. He was teaching the parables of Jesus. And I was just like shocked and just amazed, mesmerized at like how he's breaking it down. And I was like, wow, let me start reading the Bible for myself.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00And so I started reading the Bible for myself at like 19 and hadn't put it down since. And so ended up um uh really dedicating my life to the Lord, took a vow of celibacy uh at that point. I was about 19, 20 years old, uh, and at the time um thought I was gonna be an engineer. So I was in uh studying for electrical engineering at the time, graduated, actually went to uh graduate school to be to get my master's of electrical engineering. And so at 22, graduated, went to work at Ford Motor Company in uh uh Detroit, Michigan.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00And in my mind, I'm like, well, this is my career. This is what I'm gonna do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh I ended up having an opportunity to teach the Word of God at a Bible study on Tuesday nights a couple of times, got a chance to preach a couple of times at a really, really small church uh through the providence of God. And um it became clear, I was like, man, I got a decision to make. I love teaching the Bible, but there's no money in that, right? Right, right. I mean, I've heard of ministers being broke, and here I am. I'm engineered, 22, making like $80,000 a year at Ford Motor Company, and life is good. Just got out of school, don't have any desire to go back into school. Life was cool. And the more I kind of ignored the call and the prompting that God put on my heart, the stronger it got.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00Week after week I'd be in church and the pastor be preaching, and I'd see myself up on the stage preaching. I'd be finishing his sermons, I'd be like, man, if I was up there preaching, I would say this, I would say that, I would say this. And I just couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't run away from it, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so after a year, uh the Lord was clear. It was like, this is not your calling to be in engineering. Your calling is to be in ministry.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00So I quit my job uh after two years as an engineer and ended up uh moving to Dallas, the Dallas to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. And uh I'll stop there for now. There that just gets me to that gets me to 24. Okay. Uh, but I mean, obviously, there's a lot of things that happened after that. Yeah uh ministry. I taught high school math. I was single till I was 40, met my wife, started a YouTube channel. We can get into anything you want. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot.
SPEAKER_01No, that's man. I mean, you you've already said a lot so far, but it but I think what's here's what's interesting in that, man. Like, I resonate with you wrestling with the call because of some just very practical things. Like the whole bivocational thing in ministry, it's like there was a time where that was very normal. Right. And and it was like, well, I I want to be a minister of the gospel, I want to preach God's word, and I gotta live, I gotta eat.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So like, how do I where I feel like now it's more kind of like normal if like you work for a church and that could you could be sustained by that financially. Yes. Yeah, I I I remember there was a time where that wasn't as normal as it is now.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01And so that to me, it's it's like God knew he had to make this very clear to you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But shout outs to you for being obedient to that. Like where you could have taken the other route and maybe been successful in other ways. Yes, you decided to to trust the Holy Spirit in that. So man, okay, you you said something that you kind of dropped in there, but you you said you were single until you're 40. Oh Lord. And I just for you know, I our audience is multifaceted. We have people of all ages and stages, and and man, so wherever you want to jump in with that, but you're you're in ministry, you realize, okay, God has has put a call on my life, you go to DTS, you do all these things, and yet I'm sure there was a desire in you of like, man, I'd love to be married, I'd love to have a family.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so, what was that like as you're you're trusting God in one aspect of you're ministering his word to his people, and yet you have this desire that maybe you you haven't seen fulfilled yet, but you're hoping it does.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. So uh here it is, fall of 2000. I enroll in Dallas The Logical Seminary, uh, first semester there, and I'm noticing some things, and I'm like, man, I feel like I'm the only single dude here. Wow. I mean, all of my friends were married, all the professors were married, even people younger than me. I was 24, almost 25 at the time, and there were people coming straight out of college, Bible college, and they were already married, had kids. And so I'm connecting the dots. I'm like, okay, I if I want to be a ministry, I need to be married. And if I want to be a pastor, which is what I thought I was gonna be at the time, I definitely need to be married. Seems to be what churches want or whatever. And so um I rushed into a relationship, um, uh ended up getting engaged to a girl, and we were months away from getting married. And man, everything in me was telling me that wasn't the right um uh connection, wasn't the right relationship. But the other part of me was like, well, I'm burning with lust. You know, I took his vow of celibacy. Sure. Um, I know I need to be married, to be in ministry. I'm tired of being single. I want to get this part of my life past me. And I was really close to getting married. And um, through some mentorship of a of an older man who came into my life and really helped me understand like what marriage was because I grew up in a divorced home. Once again, I was told I'd circle back to that. So I grew up without any sort of uh context for what a godly marriage would be like. Um parents getting divorced at six, and I talk about that in my book and whatnot, and just kind of things that I wrestled with there. But um, so God gave me the strength and the courage to sever that relationship. And at 25, I'm thinking, sure, okay, well, it didn't work with her, but next year I'll meet somebody else. Yeah, married at 26, 27. Yeah, no, not it's it's it's a bump in the road. Man, little did I know, you know, uh, I was single until I was, until I met my wife at 38, 39 years old, went through uh lots of relationships. I mean, revolving door, trying to, I wasn't necessarily promiscuous, but I was just trying to search for my wife.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh, and I didn't understand what a godly relationship looked like. So every time I saw one little trouble in in the relationship, yeah, I got nervous, sabotaged relationship, assumed it wasn't any good, and made my exit plan and got out. And then I get in another one, another one, another one. And so that also hindered me with ministry, too, because I applied to every church here in the Dallas area for teaching pastor positions, even youth pastor positions, and uh um I got rejected every single time. I mean, I could not get a church job anywhere full-time. Now, I got hired part-time at several churches, but that meant I had to be bivocational.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_00And that brings in the other part of my life. So I was teaching high school math for 11 years. And so uh really, I just felt like I was in a wilderness season from 2004 when I graduated from DTS to 2014 when I met my wife. It was the darkest season of my life. I dealt with jealousy, anger, depression, lust. Um, was really frustrated with God because I felt like God, I'm out here serving you. I went to seminary, gave up my life, gave up my career, and here I am, single, struggling, not making hardly any money. Like I was just angry.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh and and that lasted for 10 years of my life until I met my wife uh uh in 2014.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Man, thank you for your honesty.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It's it's refreshing because I know there's a lot of people that what I call the edited testimony, where I get it, in certain situations, it's like I'm gonna skip some details, and but it's like there's power in the honesty and the transparency and the vulnerability of you sharing that part because you and I both know people that are in that season right now, where they're trying to follow the Lord, but yet in relationships, they're missing the mark. It's not God's best for them. And yet, and while you the nuance you even had where you're like, I wasn't necessarily promiscuous, but it also wasn't God's best either. Right. Like that's a that's an I think that's an important nuance for people to hear because sometimes outwardly it can look like, oh, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm just dating around.
SPEAKER_00Right. Right.
SPEAKER_01But you were like, actually, that wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. So I just think that's important. So thank you for that honesty.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_01So you met your wife when again, you said?
SPEAKER_00Okay, so 2014 was it was a was a magical blessed year for me because um to make a long story short, I was serving part-time at a church. Okay. And um I was there for six years, loved it, loved the people, taught Bible study every Wednesday, got a chance to teach whatever I wanted on Wednesday nights. The pastor just basically deferred to me, got a chance to preach on Sundays, maybe once every couple months, got paid really well part-time. Wow, you know, it was great for six years. But I started getting a sense that my season at that church had come to an end. And it was primarily because I said, well, if I'm gonna be a pastor one day, um, I really want to put myself in a place where I see um the type and style of church that I would want to pastor one day and how and how to grow a church.
SPEAKER_02Understood.
SPEAKER_00And the church I was at, it was great, but it was small and it really wasn't growing uh too much. And so I knew if I stayed there, I really wouldn't get the the you know, the wisdom and and and experience. Which you were looking for. Yeah. Yeah. So I I left there and um didn't have any idea of where I was gonna go, didn't have another church job waiting. And uh I there was another local church here in the area that was having a singles 80s throwback party for Valentine's Day. Okay. Kind of like uh if you're single and you ain't got nowhere to go, don't go to the club and get in trouble. Yeah. Come to church at this single soiree and hang out with other Christian singles. Yeah. I didn't have anything else to do. So I went there and there was a girl greeting people at the door. And I said, wow, she is beautiful. Wow, and she had a beautiful spirit. So I started talking to her, just making conversation, making a long story short. Um, we started dating uh shortly thereafter. We dated for about a year in some change, and we ended up getting married in 2015. Come on. And it was a blessing. But something else, and it's she's been the biggest blessing of my life, but um, something else happened in 2014 as well. God really redirected my ministry because um the church I was attending at the time, the new church that I met my wife at, it was a mega church. And I didn't get any chances to teach or preach at all. I mean, it was like you ain't gonna get chances here, right? I understand. And I was frustrated. I'm like, God, I graduated from seminary in 2004. And most of the time I've been leading worship and stuff. So I'm like, I'm ready to, I'm ready to use my gift. I'm ready, I'm ready. Now I'm getting ready to be married. I got this part of my life out of it behind me. And there weren't any opportunities in front of me. So I said, you know what? I can either wait around or I can try something. And I said, you know, I'm gonna start a YouTube channel. I'm gonna start a YouTube channel and I'm gonna put some videos out there and see where it goes. Come on. And I started putting YouTube videos out there, five-minute videos, you know, the book of Revelation in five minutes, or, you know, an outline of heaven in five minutes, or, you know, the book Ecclesiastes in five minutes. I just started making videos and people started responding to them. Like, man, wow, I learned more in five minutes of your videos. Because for the first year, all of them were like five minutes. That was my that was my claim to fame. It's like I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna pack in so much wisdom in five minutes, you're gonna feel like you had a 30-minute Bible study. And that's and that's how they were. And people started responding well. And I said, okay, well, let me lean into this a little bit more.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so I released my first video on YouTube August 17th, 2015. Got married November 15th, 2015. And life has just been up from there, man. Wow. Two kids, God's blessed our ministry. We have over a million subscribers on YouTube now. Not that that's a big thing, but it's just God is blessed. Uh yeah. And the biggest thing is that He's given me direction. Yeah. Because at one point I'm like, do I want to be a pastor of a church? Do I want to be on staff? And now I look back and see why I was rejected from all those churches. Talk about it. Yes. I see why. Because if I had been on staff at a church, I don't know if I would have had the itch to start a YouTube channel. Because I would have been content just teaching a church, which is nothing wrong with it. Yeah, right. I mean, I I mean, trust me, like I, you know, no nothing. But for me, God had something for me. Right. And here I am over here begging him for something else. Like, God, get me on staff at a church. And God's like, if you only know, like, yes, I got something for you over here that's a lane. Yes. That's eventually a lot of pastors are going to be wanting to get in your lane.
SPEAKER_01You're jumping into a territory that I was feeling too of like, you're doing something that a lot of people want to do now. Yeah. But you did it way before it was kind of popular. So but yeah, please continue.
SPEAKER_00No, I mean, so so, you know, we, you know, my wife and I, we started the YouTube channel, me on camera, her helping out. And it's been 10 years and we've expanded. We have online courses, and that that's you know, that's been a blessing because it's opened the door for me to write books. I've gotten book deals because of my YouTube presence. Uh, I've gotten chances to preach and teach at churches and conferences around the country. So I'm I'm just I'm I feel like I'm now 50, right? I got married on my 40th birthday. Come on. And I feel like I'm just now hitting my stride in ministry.
SPEAKER_01I love it, man. Yeah, there's so many nuggets in what you're saying, man. Real quick, so how how long what's your wife's name?
SPEAKER_00Uh Jennifer.
SPEAKER_01Jennifer, how long you and Jennifer have been married? 10 years. 10 years. Come on. Yeah. Come on, 10 years. And you guys have kids? Two kids.
SPEAKER_00Two kids. A nine-year-old daughter and an eight, or soon to be eight-year-old son in a couple of weeks.
SPEAKER_01Okay, awesome. Awesome, man. That's beautiful, man. That is so beautiful, man. And I I'm so I'm so encouraged listening to you because you're you jumped into something that I think is important for people to hear. I think for so long, I know you've seen this, I've seen this in my time too, of like so much of ministry was and is in a lot of ways still now relegated to a church setting. And it's like if you don't do it this way, right, then it's not really ministry. Or it's like this subcategory that's not really taken seriously. Oh, that that's yeah, like the JV thing. Varsity is on staff preaching, and JV's like, oh, you got your little YouTube player. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's like, but God can use anyone anywhere. Yeah. And what I hear in your what I hear what you're saying is, you said this in your book too, which I thought was good. Those numbers, the things you're able to celebrate, the millions of subs, represent souls. Yeah. Those are people that have real stories, real names, and they need a real Jesus. And had you not been obedient to what you felt the itch in you, the Holy Spirit telling you to do, who knows where you'd be. Maybe you'd be preaching somewhere, but would it be obedient to what he uniquely wired you to do?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And honestly, man, that's how that was my context to you. I knew Alan Parr, the beat, and I'd watch your videos. I'm like, man, this dude's a theologian. He knows what he's talking about. Like, there's some things that, if I'm honest, I that challenged me. And I'm like, man, hey, he said that I don't, I don't know. But it was good. It was, it was, it was, is helping me learn and grow, especially in a time where I was kind of growing in ministry too. Uh, being a worship leader as well. Yeah. It was like, you know, sometimes it's like as a worship leader, you're you're great at the music side. But the theological side kind of suffers. You just be saying stuff. You're like, I don't really know if that's biblical, what you've just said. Right. And so, you know, people like yourself, you know, that took a step of faith in the YouTube realm years ago, honestly, that's blessed me in my ministry to learn, to grow, to, I mean, YouTube University, right? It's like you go, everybody's doing that. You go and, you know, you see something like, yeah, book of Revelation, break it down in five minutes, or hey, here's here's what this passage of scripture is actually saying versus what people think it's saying. And I think you've pioneered something, if I'm honest, Alan, that a lot of people are like, oh, am I really called? Again, like you said, the caveat is there's nothing wrong. I'm a local church pastor. There's nothing wrong with being a local church pastor and preaching God's word in that setting. And that's not the only way. And I think you pioneered something that a lot of people are doing now. So thank you for your obedience, man. Yeah. Because it's been a blessing to myself and a lot of others, man, that I'm sure that are watching and they're going, yeah, I've I've I've been blessed by his ministry too. So thank you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. It's been a pleasure. I mean, it's honestly, I mean, I I wake up most days and I only feel like I'm working.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I love creating content. I love creating scripts. I love writing books. I love writing YouTube scripts. I love speaking. I love creating sermons.
SPEAKER_01Like, yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00And that's the thing is that for so long, I was cons I was convinced that God wanted me to be a senior pastor. And what I realized was that I love teaching the Bible. I don't necessarily love some of the other things that come along with being a senior pastor, like the counseling and you know, building fund and developing staff and all the stuff that uh, you know, comes along with that, which I respect pastors are able to do that. But for me, I'm like, I want to equip, I want to disciple, I want to teach, I want to share. And God's like, Wait, you can do that. And I get to teach outside of online when people invite me to church and speak and conferences and stuff. So it's like I get the best of both worlds.
SPEAKER_01You do, man. And you're and you're pastoring just in a different way. Yeah. In a way that is scalable to more than just the brick and mortar of a church. And again, like we both said, there's nothing wrong with that. But it's just you're you're in your lane, and the Lord is honoring that, he's blessing that. Uh, I am curious. So you you start the beat and you're you're you're taking this risk, you know, you and your wife are doing it together. I think I also think it's cool that like those journeys started simultaneously.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01It's like you've got two gifts at once.
SPEAKER_00Within within a year. Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_01Like, how cool is just the Lord just the increase and he always does more than we expect, all that stuff, right? But I am curious when you started the beat, like obviously you're like, I'm gonna try it, I'm gonna do it, we'll see what happens. But what was like in your mind during that time of starting it? Was it just like I'm gonna be obedient to do this? Did you have any expectations on how it would go? Like, what was going through your mind during that time?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's funny because since I've been on YouTube, I've had the opportunity to um to both mentor and courage, but also just rub shoulders with a lot of people who wanted to be on YouTube. And a lot of them, they come in and they're like, man, okay, I want to be full-time on YouTube. I want to make money, I want to do full-time, and and you know, and and they try and then they kind of, you know, fizzle out after a while. And it's interesting because I never I never came into YouTube thinking I want to make money from this or that I want to do it full-time. Because at the time I was teaching high school math. That's a whole nother part of my life that I pretty much left out of this this the conversation. No, you're fine. You know, I was I was teaching high school math from 2006 up until 2017.
SPEAKER_01Got it.
SPEAKER_00And I was content with that, you know, um making decent money for the for the family. And uh, and I had a tutoring business on the side for math. And so between those two things, we were doing well. My wife was working. So my expectation was I'm just gonna create content and put it out there. I didn't expect to have, I mean, of course, everybody wants to grow. You want to have more YouTube subscribers, you want to get views, you get excited when you cut it, put a video out there and it's like a thousand views. Wow, you know, at the time that was a big thing for me, you know. But I never went into it like, oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, yeah, I'm gonna be balling out for YouTube. I'm making money, you know. It was just, it was never because I didn't honestly at the time I didn't know anybody who was. Because I started 2015. Yeah. So I was one of the OGs, so I didn't know anybody that was like making good money on YouTube. I mean, monetizing YouTube and stuff, not at the subscribers and level that I was.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So it wasn't that wasn't on the forefront of my mind. Right. Um, but over time, God has blessed us to where I now am able to dedicate all of my time and I don't have to split. Uh, but it's interesting. Um, that didn't happen until 2020. Because when I left teaching in 2017, I didn't leave to go into ministry full-time. I actually left to go into full-time with my math tutoring business. Okay. Yeah. Wow. Because I was like, I can make more money for the family tutoring math on the side than I can teaching during the day.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00And so I built it up, and God you really used that business to provide for our family in great ways in 2017 to 2020. But eventually, 2020, I was like, I still feel split. I still feel split. I'm managing this business, but then I I'm doing this YouTube channel. And that was when COVID hit. That's yeah, I was gonna say when COVID hit, our YouTube channel just took off because people were home, they have anything else to do. Yep. And I realized like, I got to give this all of my time.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00So I started pulling back from the the math business, and eventually um I sold it. And I was able to finally, after being it having a desire to be in full-time ministry from 2000, when I quit my job at Ford and left to go to seminary, at that moment I wanted to be in ministry full-time at 2000. I wasn't it wasn't until like 2023 where I was able to fully be in ministry, like full-time.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So a dream took over 20 years to be realized.
SPEAKER_01Man, and that is so sobering to hear because I think so I'm I'm 35, and I think a lot of like the millennials, you know, my people, but even now, Gen Z, there's like this thing of like it has to happen. Well, it's the gratification, and it has to happen now.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Like the thing that I feel, even for the Christian person, it's like the thing that God has put in me has to happen now, or it's not God. Right. And it's like, no, everything, not nothing has been wasted in your life. Right. And even in my life. It's like everything, what I get to do now, everything has led up into this point. The triumphs, the pitfalls, the everything. And what I hear you saying is like every step you made for your family to provide as a husband and as a father, like everything still led to you being able to step into this now. But what I also hear is, man, your goal wasn't to make money. Your goal wasn't to whatever pinnacle of success that the world puts on, whatever. It's like, no, you just wanted to be obedient, man. Yeah. And I think that's that's really important for the creative, the entrepreneur to hear that identifies as a believer in Jesus. It's like, that's really our anchor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01He's like, did God say to do this? And if not, then that's not it.
SPEAKER_00Right. And if he did say it, he's going to provide. Yes, sir. Because the the concern I had when I left Ford at 2000 was, okay, I'm making money as an engineer. I'm giving this up to go into ministry. Lord, what does that mean for me financially? Yeah. Because I don't know a lot of ministers who are doing well financially. Yeah, man. But God is crazy when you're obedient to the Lord and you just say yes to what you know he's calling you to do. I didn't know back in 2000 that God was going to provide for our family the way he has 20 some years later. But when you say yes to what God has for you, God's like, I can blow your mind with what I can do, you know? And so, yeah, I mean, it's not about money or anything like that, but I'm just thankful that God has allowed us to be comfortable, you know, enough for me to two things be in ministry full-time. And my wife doesn't have to work, she can be home, help out with the kids. Come on. And just be, you know, um, and she has her own ministry that she's freed up now to do.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00I'm like, Lord, if you just just just provide enough for those two things. Yes. And I'm I'm happy.
SPEAKER_01Yes. That's incredible, man. Well, again, you have you've pioneered something that I think is really I think it's important to talk about because I think there's still some nuance and even even some confusion sometimes about like ministry outside of church. And I think people like you who are doing it, you're discipling in a different way digitally, but also you said that's led to other things as well. Like it, yeah, don't don't despise small beginnings. Yeah. Uh, and trust the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And I and I hear that in the just a continuous thread in your story is like, you know, while it wasn't perfect, you still made decisions to trust the Lord. Yeah. Whatever make, you know, whatever came, you still did that. And man, I think it's important for any entrepreneur to hear that, any creative to hear that. Like, because sometimes there is that, like, I was talking with my my friend uh Kirby Kelly. Shout outs to Kirby, if you're watching. Uh, and we were just having this similar conversation of like that that tension of like, how much is like, do I, I know I gotta, I gotta put videos on, I gotta look at the metrics, I gotta da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. I gotta, you know, set up the camera, I gotta set up equipment, and I gotta actually do the content, I gotta prep the content, I gotta, you know, and then, okay, but I'm trusting that God is my provider. God is gonna give me the time, God is gonna give me the resources, God's gonna set all the things up to sustain it and just that tension, man. So I'd love just to hear from you. What is how have you stayed grounded in keeping Jesus at the forefront and not maybe getting lost in the product itself?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, we're on the humble podcast. So come on, man. It's all about it's all about being humble.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man.
SPEAKER_00I remember where God has taken me, right? I remember I know the family I came from, which is a wonderful family, mom and dad. And I remember, you know, teaching at the church with 30 people on a Wednesday night Bible study and being excited when those 30 people showed up. You know, I remember teaching high school math, you know, in in a secluded room with when nobody knew my name, nobody was calling me to come to their church, nobody was asking me to write a book. So like I can't take credit for any of this, you know. Uh so how do I stay grounded? It's like n realizing that the Lord doesn't have to do this in and through my life, but also knowing that pride comes before the fall.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00And when you start walking in pride, it can all come down quick.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00Quick. And we've seen that over and over again, unfortunately, with so many leaders in ministry now who maybe at some point, you know, they were humble, but they they they allow pride and their ego to get in there, and God has taken it all away. Yeah, just like that. And that's a fear for me. I don't want to lose not my numbers, right? I don't want to lose my impact. That yeah, I don't want to lose my impact and my influence and my my reputation and my my respect of my wife, my kids, people who look up to me. It's like I'd be heartbroken if I did something that just let everybody down. So gotta stay grounded, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, man. Uh that's so important. That's what, like you said, like you alluded to, there's so many of a lot of our ministry heroes that unfortunately have made decisions that have that has disqualified disqualified them for a season in ministry. And and even if it is for a season, it'll never be the same.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01And and and I I I share that with you where I'm like, man, this podcast, the church that I get to lead, you know, whoever I'm talking to as a husband, as a father, the all the things, as a friend, man, I don't want to mess this up. Not because I'm afraid of like the yeah, the numbers and all of that. It's like, no, man, I realize the influence that I carry. Yeah. I realize that it matters. I realize that God is, He didn't have to give me anything at all outside of dying on the cross. Right. So anything, any grace that he gives me through any influence outside of that, the cross and the resurrection is truly a gift I get to just hold openly and surrender. And so I hear what I hear you saying, man, is like, man, in an instant this whole thing could go. So yeah, to always approach it with a humble heart, man. Absolutely. It's funny you say that because our our anchor scripture is first Peter 5, 7. Uh, like in in like the humble community, like 1 Peter 5, 16, 7. And so, like that, you know, just just approaching the Lord with with with with humility and knowing that He will exalt at the proper time. It's not me, it's not for me to do it. Yeah, it's not for me to strive, it's not for me. And so this whole podcast was built on that, where I'm like, I want to walk in humility as we talk about real things on this show, right? As we talk about real journeys, because I I I in my heart, I don't want to be, and I've always been this way. It's so funny how God works. I don't want to be in a room where the God is waiting for a conversation to happen or maybe for breakthrough to happen, and I get to be a part of that, but I was I was afraid of how I would look or maybe how I would sound. So I was disobedient to share something that maybe could help someone. Right. And really that's pride because I want to look good. I want to feel, and on the backside of that is insecurity, right? Yeah. And it's like, but I it's about me, and it's like it's not about me.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01It's about what God wants to do through me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so I honestly it blesses me to hear you say that because of what you've been able to accomplish, man, like every day, waking up, every video that you do, keeping Jesus at the forefront, man, is is really the secret sauce. Yeah. There's no formula other than that.
SPEAKER_00No, right, not really. Yeah. That's incredible. Stay connected. I mean, you know, being in the word, yes, being in accountability with other brothers and sisters in in Christ, you know, allowing people to speak into your life, rebuke you, ask you hard questions, get in your business. Like all those are things that ways that we can stay grounded.
SPEAKER_01Yes, sir. I love it, man. Well, listen, you you you kind of vision drifted a little bit, but all the ministry that you've been able to do, God has honored that. He's honored your obedience, and that's led to some speaking engagements, being able to bless other ministries, partner with other ministries, but it's also led to some book deals. So, man, I love to jump into your most recent book called Breaking Through, which I've had a chance to read. And y'all, you've got to get this book. I mean, like, I got the audio version because I love listening. I love that you narrated it too. Yeah, I did. That was cool. I was like, man, I'm just listening to Alan talk right now. Yeah. And so it was such a blessing just to hear even the nuance of your voice, your tone, as you were talking about your life, a lot of what you shared today, uh, but even what God has done through it. But I'm interested, like writing a book is one thing. And I think people see, like, hey, I wrote a book, I'm an author, and they see all that stuff. But it's like, I'm curious, what led to you being like, okay, I feel like God wants me to write a book, and I should write a book because of whatever. So, what led you to finally say, I'm gonna sit down and write this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, um the as you mentioned, the title of the book is Breaking Through How Ordinary Believers Experience Extraordinary Freedom.
SPEAKER_02Come on.
SPEAKER_00And, you know, what led me to write this book is I first looked at my own life and I realized that for many, many years um I was saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, you know, all of that. Come on. And and forgiven, but not free. Forgiven, but not free. Wasn't walking in the freedom that God had for me. I was struggling with what I call in the book soul chains.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00And uh in the book, I talk about different categories of soul chains. Let me sit back, remember all six. There's psychological soul chains, spiritual soul chains, emotional soul chains, sexual soul chains, generational soul chains, and relational soul chains. And I mean, all of us have something in those six, whether it's shame, guilt, fear, depression, anxiety, lust, addiction, toxic relationships, that would be in the relational soul chain category, legalism, you know, that would be in the spiritual category, uh, you know, all these different categories, um, generational things from our past that we've seen grow up. And and I said, I know I'm not the only one who is who lived a part of their life just bound, um, saved, but just bound. And these these chains hinder us from, at least for me, it hindered me from being in ministry to my fullest extent. And I said, well, let me, now that I'm on the other side of many of them, not that I don't have struggles and my life is not perfect or anything like that, but I'm not bound by the same things I was bound with for those 10 years. Um, and so now I'm on the other side. How can I write a book that would help people understand how to break through? So the book is broken up into three parts. Um, the first part is the problem. And so in this part of the book, I talk about what is a soul chain, uh, how do you identify them in your life, how do they form, right? Because that's the key is how how do these how do these demonic chains form in my life? And and is there something I'm doing? Is it allowing them, bringing them on, or whatever? So I talk about that and I give people uh advice on how to identify it. Okay, so now that we got the now we've identified what these soul chains are, the second part of the book is called the process. And so we walk through a biblical process of how to dismantle, how to break free from these soul chains that have us bound. And I talk about, you know, um, you know, the different weapons that God has at our disposal, uh, the or excuse me, the weapons that God has given us at our disposals that we can use to break through. And and and and so there's several chapters where I give a biblical roadmap for that. But then the third part of the book is called The Promise. And the reason why I included this book, this part of the in the book is because what I wanted to do is I wanted to paint a picture of what a life of freedom actually looks like.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00Because whenever I was bound, I didn't know that freedom was available. I just assumed that this is where I'm at and this is where I'm always gonna be. I'm always gonna struggle with relationships, I'm always gonna struggle with lust. I'm always gonna struggle with fear of getting married. I'm always gonna struggle. I'm always, you know, gonna struggle with a poverty mentality. I and in the book, I share, as you know, almost all of my soul chains. You sure did. Yeah, I mean, I went there. I went there. I laid it out there. It's as personal, it's as personal a work as I've ever put out any anywhere.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_00And and so um, but what held me back and what a lot of people are held back is believing that God can set them free and that there is a life of freedom. So I wanted to write that third part, the promise, to show if Jesus set people free in the first century and he was on earth, all these examples in the gospels, then if he's the same yesterday, today, and forever, yeah, it does he not have the power to set you free too? Come on. He says that I I want you to be free. He said, I want you, he says, whom the Son sets free is truly free and lead. I've come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00So that was the motivation behind writing the book and just want to help people get free.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Ooh, I I love hearing it because there, man, this this warms my heart to hear you talk about. And even as I was, I was, you know, I was listening to the book, because I just thought about throughout every just every chapter, I thought about, man, for my life, you know, struggling with addiction for for a season, but also for other people I know, there's a lot of Bible-believing, Holy Ghost filled, sanctified. Come on, somebody. Christians who who really are, as it relates to salvation and their eternity, they are like blood bot people. Oh, absolutely. And they're bound. Yes. At the same time. Yes. And I know what that feels like. So I appreciate you even saying that the the latter part of the promise because giving people a framework for what freedom can and should look like, right, I think is important. Yeah. Because I think part of the trick of the enemy is that that's so either distant or you just don't think it exists. This will be the thorn in my side, or this will be the thing that I have to deal with. And it's like, you don't have to. Right. And something you said different times throughout the book, which blessed me every time you said it, was Jesus didn't, he didn't just die for you to save you from the power of sin. He also died to set you free. Yeah. And I was just like, bro. Yeah. It's so good because that it's it's Important that we understand that. It's important that, again, while our our as it relates to eternity, our salvation is secure. There's also much for us to do here while we're still here on earth. Yeah. And we can be free. We can walk in freedom. And something I'd love for you just to, if you want to riff on this for a second, freedom, another thread you pulled on is freedom is a process. Yes. Where I think a lot of times, and I and I thought this at Humble when we talk about the real stuff. I thought freedom was a one-time I'm free. Somebody lay hands on you, be free.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And that demon of lust is cast down to you in the next one. Come on. Right. And you're never going to have another day in your life.
SPEAKER_01Never. Yeah. And then you wake up the next day and you're like, wait, what happened? What happened? Yeah. So God didn't move, or something's wrong with me, or I'm too. And it's like, no, no, no. Freedom is a pro like a daily decision and a process. So I'd love to hear you just for those listening, like any encouragement for those who maybe they're on the journey of freedom, but they don't have the feeling of freedom yet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, you know, um, it is a process. Uh, it is a journey, it's not a destination. Uh, even where I'm at now in my life, which is a totally different place, uh, in the book I talk about guarding your freedom, right? Yeah. Because even if once you get to that place, you then you have to guard it because there's always a possibility that you could relapse and go back to those pla those dark places. So it's a process. Um, it's it's a lot of times people from certain camps will have you to believe that you have to go and get somebody lay hands on you and and you know it's gonna, God's just gonna drive it right out. Well, maybe that's happened for some people, but for the majority of the people that I know, it's like, okay, how do I walk with God and partner? There's another P, right? Partnering with God for our deliverance and for our freedom, doing our part, right? And that's why in the book I share those weapons that God has given us access to to break free from these things. So it is a process. Give yourself grace. What you're looking for is not perfection, but progress, you know, um, and um and and and and take advantage of the the weapons that God has given us, the the tools that He's given us, you know, community, fasting, prayer, Bible study, uh church, um, uh worship. I mean, there's so many different the Holy Spirit, the Word of God. These are all tools that God has given us at our disposal that really work to break free from these things.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it it's not just a theological concept. Right. It's actually like a tool, like you said, that we can use against the schemes of the enemy.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01And I think that's an important nuance because I I'm I'm like you, like at least from what I'm picking up, correct me if I'm wrong from what you're saying, I've been a part of different camps that theologically just land in different places, you know, just like just some of their distinctions are a little bit different. That's okay. You know, we can wrestle with second-tier issues, right? Right, you know, as long as we keep the main thing, the main thing. But in some of that, even as it relates to freedom, it's like, well, you know, maybe things like worship or or even things like thinking about uh the power of prayer. Yeah, it's like it's it maybe it's a conceptual idea, but it's not like an actual thing that I could do.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Is pray that God, you know, release me from this and daily walk that out.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Um, so I love that you you nuance that because I think depending on where you come from, and or and maybe you don't have context to Christianity at all, but I think it's important that people know that is a part of freedom is that God has laid out in his word things that we can use as it relates to to actually healing. So man, what you know, two things. Why should people get breaking through? And what is your hope as they as they read it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I think the the main thing that I want people to get out of the book is um feeling empowered and that where they are now is not where they have to be. And that is the reason why throughout the book I share so many stories, not only from my life, but I mix in so many stories of other people that I know, many of whom I've uh interviewed on my channel, but I've I've I've seen God break the the deepest of strongholds from people who were in the porn industry, people who were in the occult as a psychic medium. And if God can do those things that He can handle and break what you're dealing with. So I want people to read the book, and if they come away with, you know what, I believe that God can do this in my life, and they start taking steps towards freedom, to me, that's that's victory.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yes, real, tangible, Holy Spirit-filled victory. Yes. Yes, sir. I love it. Well, guys, there you have it. I mean, go get the book right now. I mean, where where it's on Amazon, I'm sure. It's on all anywhere books say, okay, find your favorite book place, or if you're an audio person like myself, but Kindle, whatever. Kindle, yeah, but get the book, allow it to be a resource for you. You guys know me in this community. I love to highlight resources that can help us actually grow, help us actually break break free. And I'm not talking about this from theory, like I've actually listened to his words, listened to uh the the tangible things that that are tools that you can actually use to be able to walk in freedom daily and consistently. So my encouragement is get the book, allow the Lord to use it uh to be able to help you break free. So, man, thank you so much for for sharing that. Thank you for writing the book. Thank you for being obedient. Um, I I know, and I've never written a book, so I don't know, but just from what I've heard from friends of mine that are friends of mine that have written books, there is a sacrifice in that. Oh, yeah. There's a grind in that. There's timing and you're the rest of your family. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So I just want to say thank you and shout outs to your family as well for allowing dad and allowing husband to uh get in the lab and give us a resource that can really help the the body of Christ at large be able to walk into healing.
SPEAKER_00Amen. Yeah, thank you, man. Thank you for having me. Thank you for supporting uh the ministry. Thank you for getting the book and uh just thank everybody for for watching and for for being here and supporting your ministry, the humble podcast. I'm praying blessings over that. Thank you and uh praying that God brings more people uh your way to this podcast and uh God opens up the doors for for you to uh you know for your ministry to thrive even greater than it has been.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, man. I I receive that. Thank you so much for saying that, man. Bro, any final thoughts to our viewers or just anything at all that's on your heart that the Lord wants you to share?
SPEAKER_00Man, stay humble. I mean, at the end of the day, um I love your verse, you know. Uh God uh humbles the proud, but he gives grace to the uh to the humble.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And uh uh, you know, uh humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. In due time, he will exalt you, right? So in in any area of life, check yourself on a regular basis. Um get people in your life. If there's one thing I would say, get people in your life who can hold you accountable, who can walk through life with you because we all have blind spots. We all have things we can't see in our lives, and if we're not careful, we will um uh will continue to walk in those without even realizing it. It'll cause damage in our lives and the lives of people around us. Yes, sir. Get connected.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, Alan, that's it sounds like a part two. So you know what I'm saying? We probably should stop there, but I mean, would you would you be willing to come back? Yeah. Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00I feel like we got more to talk about, man.
SPEAKER_01I agree. I agree. You you've really blessed me during our time. And again, thank you so much for for being here and blessing our community with what God has done in your life. Yeah. Like it, you're you're literally a walking testimony. Thank you. And you you give people hope just by being who you are. Appreciate you, bro. Yes, sir. Yeah. Well, guys, thank you so much for always tuning in, always watching. Uh, again, get the book breaking through. I think it'll be a blessing to your life. And I just want to always say, like Alan said, thank you so much for supporting this ministry, being a part of what we're doing, and committing to be humble and talk about your real story through vulnerability, honest obesity, transparency, so that way we can truly walk with Jesus in an authentic way. That's what we're about. So thank you so much for watching as always. And listen, if you want me or Alan to be a part of your ministry, you know, if you need somebody to come lead worship or speak to your church or speak to your leadership team, just to come partner with whatever God's doing in your circle, either one of us would love to be a part of that. Just hit us up. I'll put all his resources and and uh contact information in the in the description below. But thank you so much for being a part of this community. And until next time, can't what cannot wait to see you for another episode. Peace. Thank you so much for checking out this episode of the Humble Podcast. And here's my prayer is that something that was shared through the content today resonates with you in a way that changes your life. And I could actually use your help with something. While you're watching this, would you mind subscribing to what we're doing on YouTube? As you do that, that helps other people to be able to see and value what we're doing, just like you do. But also tap that bell icon so you never miss an episode. Next, if you are listening on Spotify and on Apple, leave us a review or comment so that way other people can see what God is doing. And lastly, I would love to invite you into the Patreon community. Simply go to patreon.com slash humble podcast and you can become a patron where you can financially support what we're doing. That gives you access to perks and rewards and like special QAs and different things like that that I'm doing. So that way this community can actually be one where we foster vulnerability and we talk about our real stories and our real journeys with Jesus. Thank you so much for doing that, and I cannot wait to see you next time.