Discussing Discipleship with a Special Guest

As Jesus was about to ascend to His Father, he gave a command to his disciples (including us!). "Make disciples..." He told them in Matthew 28:18-20. This is a command of scripture, it is a command of Jesus Christ himself! And yet, according to studies and research by groups like Barna.org, only 1 in 10 Chrisitans are actively involved in discipling others in America today.

Our hope is that Broad Creek will become a hub of discipleship where every Christian is actively engaged in discipling others. What does that look like?

Join Dan and Scott today as they are joined by Aaron Askew to discuss discipleship. Aaron joined us to give his insight into teenagers and the desperate need to disciple young people today. 

There is good news on the front though. According to stats, Millennials and Gen X Christians are discipling at a rate of 30% or so in America today. How do we make it so that discipleship isn't the exception, but it becomes normal? 

Join the discussion, send us your feedback either through our email addresses or the fan mail link. We would love to hear from you!

Produced, edited and hosted by Scott Askew and Dan Daugherty

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Hey, Dan sitting here doing interpretive dance to the opening music. This is the Creek Cast with Scott and Dan. And today we have a visitor with us, and I need like intro music for him. He is a special guest. He is someone who's going to be sitting in, maybe answering some questions that we shoot at him. Of course, Dan's with us. Dan, how you doing? Super awesome. Dan's here. And so uh, does this um what fits for this? No, that's terrible. Um, we can't do that. Um, I got I got music for you. Hold on. You can't hear it though. He doesn't have a set of headphones on.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

Yeah, I like that.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Our special guest today is Aaron Askew. Aaron, how you doing?

SPEAKER_03 1:02

Uh I'm doing pretty good. That was that was awesome, disco, man. Yeah, that was. That was pretty good. It was great.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Well, it was kind of like it was kind of like modern disco, yeah. Just put an afro on you, and it'd be fantastic, right? We'd be in good shape.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

That sounds great.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

So Aaron's joining us today. Aaron's Aaron's kind of um just sitting in. He's gonna be our live audience, and uh, and and we're we might ask him a question or two, so uh he can participate how he wants, and we'll let him go.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

He was very he was very reluctant. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

And uh but he's sitting here now and he's not running away, so he's doing good. And I'm proud of him. I really am. So thank you. You're welcome. You happy to be here?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

Always. All right, sounds good.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

Always a pleasure. Trying to get him a third position here where he can.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

Yeah, he can run, he can produce and run the set the run the system. That would be really nice. Yeah, I wouldn't have to run it, and um man, that would be awesome.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

It might be dangerous too, because he might change our voices.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

I think he would load up sound effects and the whole time it would be awesome, you know, cows moving and pigs poinking, and I think he would do it all. And that's okay. He could do that. So uh we are happy to be with you today. This is the week of May 11th, and uh today is actually Wednesday of that week, and we are going to record and put this up hopefully tonight. And we've we're gonna talk today about the subject of discipleship. And we wanted to kind of talk about some a new development that we've been working on here at the church, and and Aaron's joining us to kind of to get a teen uh perspective on discipleship and what he thinks it looks like for him, but what he thinks it looks like also for the youth, and um what the what we can be doing, maybe uh some ideas, and um, we can talk to Kevin. Kevin couldn't be here, but we'd um uh you know get sit down with um and work with Kevin and and more discipleship for the youth, more discipleship for adults, and that's what we've really been working on uh hard. So uh yeah, it's it's gonna be fun to get into. And so I'm gonna let Dan just kind of get us started with the idea of discipleship. We've got tons of scripture we can run um and um processes that we've seen and the need for it and why discipleship, why is that so important? And so uh I'm gonna let Dan uh jump in here and get started.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

Um, discipleship. It's kind of uh what I do. Um, I'm the discipleship minister here. So um discipleship's been at the heart of who I am since the very beginning of my uh journey in Christ. Um I was discipled right away. Um, and I thought that was the norm. So when I got into ministry and started doing that, I thought it was just that's what you did. Yeah, quickly found out that's not what everybody was doing. So uh, but anyway, um, so discipleship is something that that has been close to me uh my whole life as a Christian, going on 30 years. So um basically the the word disciple is this uh idea that uh one who wants to be like the rabbi.

SPEAKER_04 4:00

Right.

SPEAKER_03 4:00

Um and so uh there is it's a very New Testament concept. Um in fact I'm writing my dissertation on on discipleship. So my dis my my PhD is Bible exposition. So if you don't know what that is, Bible exposition is referring to the ability to take scripture and to um exposite uh the the the meaning and the truth based off of history, the culture, uh the audience, that type of stuff, um, and teach it effectively that way. So it's expository preaching, basically. Uh and this is what we do at our church. We're going through the book of Luke. Uh you can you can uh you can do expository preaching even through through topical messages, uh as long as it's just centered centered uh strictly on scripture. So um, but anyway, uh so that's that's my training. That's that's what I like to do. So within the realm of my degree, my dissertation is uh the motif uh or um the form or the form or or or uh I don't know the the the thematic form.

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The theme. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 5:06

The theme the theme of discipleship throughout script scripture, uh specifically in John's letters is what I'm what I'm uh um doing. Uh but um basically what we found is is discipleship is is as we know it is a primary New Testament thing, but there was forms of it in the Old Testament. That's right. Uh kind of the master teacher form. Uh and they they called them Talmudim, yep, um uh disciples. That was the Hebrew. Uh, but the word in uh the Greek is mathis, uh, which is this this concept of one uh one who wants to be like their teacher. Right. And so uh and it's a different kind of thing. And and Jesus has a difference of the way he does it compared to uh what eld, you know, uh there's a there's a rabbi called Hillel the Elder during the uh would have been the intertestamental period. Um they had kind of their schools of thought and schools of way they did things, and so um traditionally what had happened was a rabbi would come uh and and he would he would teach these young men. Um, and then at the end of that teaching, they would they would try to find one of a rabbi in the community or whatever to follow. Right. And so they would go to the the rabbi and say, Hey, we want to follow you. This is all not like not speaking to you as they would speak, but right. Um, and so they would ask, can we follow you? And then he would put them through a litany of tests, yeah. You know, can you memorize, did you memorize this? Uh, what do these concepts mean? And if they were worthy enough, that rabbi would say, Come and follow me. But if they weren't, uh, which a large portion of them probably weren't, um, up to his standard, he would say, Well, go, you know, it's obviously you you love the Lord, so go home and learn the trade of your father and and raise your children uh and in in the Lord. So uh there's a whole Shema uh concept, so uh, which is love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Deuteronomy six.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

Yes, yep. And anyway, so um Jesus though, he does a he does it differently. Jesus actually goes and he finds his own disciples and calls them, and these are already the rejects, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

And so they've already felt they've already gone to school and fell out basically.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Yeah, yeah. They they they finished what they had to finish, and then they were not capable enough in the eyes of the rabbis that they wanted to follow to follow them. So Jesus calls them, and the way he does things though is is different because you biblical discipleship that we see uh uh throughout the uh you know intertestamental period and stuff is has always pointed towards God, right? Uh, which it should, you know, it should point towards God. Absolutely. But when Jesus does this, not only does he point towards the Father, but he's he's pointing to himself, right? Which was vastly different than any other rabbi.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Really world-breaking leading.

SPEAKER_03 8:03

Right, right. And so uh this is why he um he often uh you know, you see the phrase in the New Testament, and and they were in awe of it or in wonder of his of his authority. Um, and so so you have you have Jesus turning that on its head um and really establishing what what I believe should be the model for today. Yeah. Um and that's what I'm really what I'm what I'm presenting in my dissertation is the the idea that you have this theme of discipleship throughout scripture in various forms, but John presents discipleship in such a way that um along with the other gospels, uh, but uh I think John's model is uh very uh very pertinent to what we should be doing today, and that's really relational um and covenant based. So um, so anyway, long story short, um uh discipleship has to be the core of all all that we are as a church. Um and and I believe a disciple is different than a convert. Um, even though in scripture we find disciple and can and a convert kind of one and the same, but it was different then because they understood discipleship. Right. They weren't uh they weren't coming to the Lord and saying, Okay, so I'm saved, so I can just go on and do what I want. They knew the next step was to follow after Jesus. Um it was it was uh it was a it wasn't a requirement. I mean maybe it was, maybe it was a requirement in their hearts they knew that this was the next step. Right. It's it's beyond just believing. That's right. And so and I think uh over the years the the church has lost that. Yep. Um uh they've lost that next step. Yes. You and you and I you and I both know that um in the years of ministry that we've I think it's fifty-five years between the two of us, um we as as leaders have often brought people to Jesus and then we've just let them go and release them and say, you know, good luck. Yeah you know, and and that's that's a shame because what that ends up producing is um is nominal Christians at best, cultural Christians. And uh and and that's um and I and I own that too.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Yeah, yeah, I we have to own that. Well, yeah, I definitely okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

I even though I I can tell you that in in my life, because of my my background of being discipled, the people that I've led to Christ, uh, I've tried my best to do discipleship with, um, but I've failed in the past too. And I think as a church, we we have to own that together.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Yep. I I think the church overall, I know I know my experience growing up and coming up through churches, and even in past churches that I've served, I never I never was able to do discipleship the way that I felt like it was necessary to do because as ministers, if you're a minister of a smaller church, you're doing everything. Yeah, you're creating events and you're um trying to, you know, teach lessons, maybe multiple lessons a week on five different topics. Um you're trying to go to business meetings, you're trying to do run day-to-day. Um, I know in our book that we're studying Homegrown Leaders, um, Jim Puttman was at a church one time, and the elder said, Look, if anybody calls me for anything, um, you're gonna get in trouble for it because you're the paid guy. I don't want anybody to call me. And he was an elder, a shepherd in the church. And that, but that's that mindset. And so I think a lot of times, and I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying that it's it's really easy to fall into that long-term mindset where we say, you know what, I I got them in I got them to to Christ, they accepted Christ as Savior. Now I'm hoping that they'll come to one of my classes. I'm hoping that they'll do, but there's a lot of hope. Right. And discipleship is more than hope. It's next steps.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Yes, yes. So and I think too that you know how how you and I um knew at an early age of ministry of what discipleship we we knew there was something wrong. There's something broken.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Yeah, it was felt it felt that way.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

And and we maybe not had a plan, but we had an idea like like this, this has got to be different. But to insert that into a culture of a church, yeah, um is hard. That you just got to or that you've not been to for or been a part of very long, uh, it's very difficult because DNA church, yeah. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

DNA. It's it's the identity of a church that you're really trying to change, and people don't see it that way, right? But it is, it's DNA, it's identity that you're trying to change.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

And so to imp implement something like that, uh you're you're asking uh an entire uh generational body to uh basically abandon everything that they've always known. I mean, because because you and I both know, um, and and you guys listening, um if you're old enough, the the the eighties and nineties like were the glory times of church. Yeah. And there's reasons for it. Right, in the in the 50s. And there was there was a gap there in the 60s and 70s where it was it was but there was a there was a big quote unquote revival. I think we we misused that word too, but yeah, anyway, um but so so naturally we wanna we want to operate in that in that time frame still. Yeah. And and we can't. It's not possible. It's not possible. And and so our churches wonder like like what is it? The average church is uh isn't is under 80 or 88 or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Uh yeah, it's yeah, it's somewhere around in that area.

SPEAKER_03 13:31

Something like between 80 to 100 people, like most churches are small churches. Yep. Most of them. Yeah. Um in fact, by a large majority. Yep. Um and so we wonder why sometimes that is. And and I truly believe God doesn't necessarily desire for every church to be a large church. Oh there is room for small churches that are doing things really well.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Small churches can put kids on stage. Absolutely. Small churches can do things that we can't do, it can focus, and and they have a much better path. I mean, Bob Russell, who was at Southeast, came from a church, a very small church in Pennsylvania. I've seen the pictures, you know. I've uh so those kind of things that we not we can't always do. We have to do in much smaller scale. Right. But small is small is better in a lot of people.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

Our home churches. Yeah, I mean, my my home church was was, I mean, I think today is running 30 people. Yeah, yeah. My home church is running 60 or so.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

And so, I mean and I was but I was on stage, right? I tell you, as soon as I displayed that I could sing or I could act or I could do something, read scripture, they had me up on stage. Yep, and um it and that kind of paved a pathway for me to be open to preaching. Right.

SPEAKER_03 14:44

Lots of Timothy come out of the small churches. So so there's nothing wrong with small churches. That's right. Uh, but there are churches that I believe have the potential to grow uh not only numerically, yeah, uh, but in the depth of the word, yeah, uh, that don't do it because they're still trying to cling to the the glory days of of the way things used to be. Um and many of those churches at that time probably were over a hundred people, you know, and they and they think, well, that's you know, that's what we that's what we try. So like all their programming, every every bit of their DNA uh revolves around the mindset of what it used to be. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

And so um and they'll they'll hamstring themselves to keep that number. Yes. I it's funny how churches will sometimes do that. And uh this morning we were joking, it was a joke, and if the person's listening, uh this was a joke, but they uh we were talking about having to move out of the kitchen because we got so many people now coming to Wednesday mornings. And guys, if you're listening to this from Broad Creek, you're welcome to come. 10 o'clock on Wednesday mornings. We have Bible study, and I would love to see you there, but we're moving out of the kitchen now because our size is just too much. And um, they and the person joked and said, uh, well, I guess we could stop getting donuts. And I was like, well, that would certainly lower the numbers probably a little bit. And uh, but but and even though it was a joke and she didn't really mean it, I think churches do that. I think churches will hamstring themselves so that more people won't come so they can stay in that comfortable room.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

Right, right. They they like that. They like they like the and they they equate family as small. That's right. Um, and so again, because I've I've been in some really small churches and uh I've had to endure the uh the mindset of of those people and and and great people, yeah, by and large. Um, but the the desire to just just exist, yeah. Um in in in no certain depth, uh, with no certain plan. Yeah. Um, you know, uh, it just to me it's it's it's it's beyond my comprehension as as a pastor to see a church that doesn't even try.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

I mean, you and I were talking uh the other day about people that we know who are in churches that are just helping them die.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

There's no reason for that. No, in in my mind, there is no reason for that. I think we should be fighting tooth and nail to try to help people understand who Jesus is. And I think if we're faithful to that, God will add to the numbers numerically. Yep. I think so. And and it may not be a lot, but but it may be in your context, in your area, it may be enough to to make uh a church that's dying healthy again.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

That's right. And we we Broad Creek, the church, is settled on land that is really settled between two counties. And Craven County has almost a hundred thousand people, and Pamlico County's 12,5,000. So we we when we look at it, we don't look at okay, how can we grow our numbers? Right. We're not we never look at that. What we look at as, and what we're developing more and more and more all the time, is how do we develop individuals into mature spiritual Christians? Allow God to give that increase. We plant, we sow, we were talking about this morning. We plant and we sow and we plant and we water, but God gives the increase, and whatever size that is, that's what we want to be obedient to. That's right. So it's not about going out and bragging how bare a church is, it's just about being as an effective church as we can. And I I used when I first got here, I thought, you know, 350, 400 is probably about where we're gonna max out. And now we're there. Yeah, and I don't feel like we've maxed anything. Oh, no, no, I I not even close. I think I think we're really just getting started. And and so I believe God is gonna bring more people to Himself, and we just have to be faithful to pave roads and do those things. And discipleship plays a huge part of that. And so when we, you know, when we talk about discipleship, Aaron's gonna sit in, Aaron's sitting in with us today because we wanted to ask him a couple of questions from a teenage point of view, and um just kind of have his his um just have his viewpoints and and what does discipleship look like and for teenagers, especially in the youth program. So, Aaron, you want to um join us here again on the mic? Let me make sure the mic's up. Say hey. Hey, all right, yeah, we got him. Um so he had to clear his voice. Yeah, he's uh he's nervous in our presence.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

He's really a teenager. He's the way he sounded was about 75-80. But no offense to you, 75 or 80.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

No, no, yeah. He he sounded much older. Um, Aaron, for you, um, what does what does discipleship look like? Like um for for you as an individual, um, and maybe I Dan said he had questions for you too. So maybe maybe Well you're you're you're hitting it. Is that yeah? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it over. Um what what does discipleship look like for you as a teenager? Um what might benefit you? And then I'm gonna ask a second question about how do we disciple the teens that are here in a better way? Like, what does that look like in your in your vision? What does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_00 19:56

I personally believe that discipleship is it has to be relational. I feel like for me to really feel like I'm being discipled by someone, it has to be somebody that I know and trust. Um someone I know that isn't gonna just tell me whatever they think is right, whatever, but more of what's biblical and what's actual. Um, like Mr. Jack Brooks. Um, when he's taken me under his wing and he's taught me things, I know I can trust him. And when I've gone to him for advice, I know that I can trust him, and I trust him to um tell me what's right and to keep a biblical aspect of it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:34

And and real quick, what why can you trust him? What what do you see in his life?

SPEAKER_00 20:40

I see, I mean, I see fruit in his life. Right.

SPEAKER_03 20:42

So you see him following Jesus as closely as possible, right? And then so so you you know you can trust that.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Yeah, I see him being discipled by Jesus. So I know that he's being led. Yeah. So I feel like I can be led by him.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Good. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. What was the other question? How about for other teens? Like what are what are so if you talk about relationships, uh, you know, relational discipleship, how do we, you know, how how do we how what what do you think would be a good path in helping the teenagers? Do you think I think we're doing some things as well, because I'm helping out with teens a little bit right now. I think we're doing some things good, but what else would you possibly either like to see or think would be effective by discipling uh in discipling especially our middle schoolers and younger high schoolers?

SPEAKER_00 21:29

I think we I think we need no I mean I'm not saying our current sponsors are you you tell us what you think. Because they're not, but I think we need I think we need younger people. I think we definitely need more men in our youth group because there's a lot of there's a lot of and I say a lot. There's some kids in our youth group that do not have father figures in their lives. And if they do, they're not Christian. Yeah. And I think a lot of our young men The young men in our church really need good men to lead them and to have relationships with them to the point where they feel comfortable and they can trust them. Yeah. Um, I think that having young adult sponsors will make the kids um and them being again relational with them will make them more comfortable because I don't see a lot of, hey, hey, I got a baseball game this weekend, like you should come check it out. I don't see a lot of like this family member just recently died like specifically going up to a sponsor outside of prayer requests. I don't and I'm not saying like our sponsors, our sponsors are amazing. I wouldn't trade our sponsors for the world. Um but I really do think that for people to be led, they have to trust and they have to know and be comfortable with the people that are leading them. Um I think it's really important, especially between I just looked at a statistic, between the ages of five and thirteen are the most formative years for um for children, and that between those years, if they have negative experience, negative or positive experience in the church, that will directly affect their relationship with Jesus when they enter adulthood. Yeah. So I think those incredible times are really formative for a lot of people, and I think that it shouldn't be wasted. Yeah, right. I agree.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

And we're not saying that women aren't doing a good job. Oh, no, that's not all I'm saying. And Aaron's been clever.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

But we we are getting we are getting a male's perspective, and that's that's what that's what we have here.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

I mean, I'm sure I'm sure one of the girls would look at it completely differently than that.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

But but but this should be taking place in in with the females as well. Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

We need we need more young women that can um help lead our girls in the group, too.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

And and looking at our sponsors, if I other than you uh who are kind of work work with I'm there until more young men come.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

And as soon as young men come, I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

So it's it's it's Kevin, who's our youth minister, and Scott. Yeah. And those are our male sponsors. Those are those are the male sponsors. Who are able to be there regularly? But but there's a lot of there's a lot of young uh young boys.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Yeah, there we have we have more middle schoolers in the past eight years I've been here. We've never had this many middle schoolers.

SPEAKER_03 24:27

There's a ton of schools, yeah. They could really use that that's that vital that that age that you were just talking about, you know, that up to 13 years old. I mean, a lot of these kids are sixth grade, which are 11 to 11, 12.

SPEAKER_00 24:39

And and there's now a lot of kids in youth group that do not come to church here in Sunnyworth. Right, yeah. So their families are not involved with that.

SPEAKER_01 24:45

I think there's more of a percentage of kids who don't come to Broad Creek regularly than there are who do come. Probably. Uh or at least it's 50-50.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

And most of the kids in our youth group are not public school. They're most uh we have a huge majority of homeschool kids and then we have um private schoolers.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Yeah. I remember at one point when I first got here and was helping out with the youth program after we lost a youth minister. I remember going over and thinking there was only one kid, two kids in that youth group besides Aaron and Libby that really had a very strong male influence, Christian male influence in their lives. And um, and it wasn't as many as you would like. And that's one thing that I think Satan has done over the last 50, 60, 70 years is he learned a he learned that if he could just make the man in the home spiritually weak. Yeah, if he could just give him so many things to look at, so many temptations, if he could just make the man spiritually weak, then he could he could ruin the entire family. He didn't have to hit the wife, he didn't have to hit the kids, he just focuses on the man, and that's why a lot of our discipleship efforts right now are geared towards men because we want to build men up in their relationships and in the one.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

Yeah, I mean, if if a young if a young dad or a young husband can it's it's that pivotal age again. Yeah. Like if we've missed them when they were up to 13, yeah, and we can grab them now at you know in their early 20s or you know, late teens, um, and we can start to help them and shape them, then what we're gonna do is we're going to, and it's it's gonna take a while. It's gonna, it's a it's a generational thing. That's right. It's a change. If we can start speaking into the lives of young men, um after, you know, again, we've missed them uh at that pivotal point, uh, there's an another pivotal point, and that's when they're starting in life. Right. Uh they're starting in their own careers and in their own families. If we can hit them then um and help them understand their biblical rule, yeah. Um, then what I think we're gonna see in the next 10 to 20 years is a shift in the DNA of church.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Yeah. I think so. I hope I believe that's possible. Men being who they're supposed to be in churches.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

I mean, uh some of our churches, we we don't we don't believe that uh that women can be elders, and that's gonna be another podcast uh here coming up soon. Um and so, but some of our churches have had to, and that I know of personally, uh especially on the West Coast, have had to implement women as elders because there's not enough men to step into that role. And so so in my mind, there's there's women being uh forced into a role that they're they were never meant to have. Right. And and it's it's changing the DNA of churches. Not that women are terrible, they're not. We need the women in the church, certainly so. Um, but only men can teach masculinity biblically to other boys, right?

SPEAKER_01 27:33

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

That's the only way that happens.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah. And and it has to happen in in an intentional environment. Yes. And and that's something that we've I I I think again, we're you're listening to this, maybe you're listening to that to this in 2026, maybe you're listening to this in 2030 or 2045. I don't know. But whatever it is, and whenever you're listening to this, we're owning the idea that we've not been great at it. Even Dan and myself haven't been perfect at this. Right. But what we're doing is we're doing everything in our power to move us into a situation where we can fix it. Yeah, because you can't you can't fix the past.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

So we've got it. What do we know now? Yeah, and how do we correct it?

SPEAKER_01 28:12

That's right. And and we can't go to men who are 50 and 60 and always just tell them, hey, get your head on straight because they've been developed in another direction. Right. It's gonna take 10, five, ten years to move them where they need to be.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

So we're fighting against time, we're fighting against conditioning, we're fighting against all these psychological concepts. The the the brilliant need is five to thirteen year olds. Right. I mean, if we can if and that's why the call, guys, if you're listening to this and you're a part of Broad Creek and you're you're a young man, please come to us and say, I want to be discipled so that I can help disciple this next generation. Right. Because it's not just about you, it's about leaving behind a legacy of discipleship that wins souls to Christ and that brings people closer into relationship with Him.

SPEAKER_03 28:59

Yeah, and and all and if that's you, uh I can tell you all it's gonna cost you is 12 weeks of your time.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Yeah, we can do it. We can we can disciple you in 12 weeks.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

We can disciple you in 12 weeks. Um, and and again, if you come up to us and you're a little more, you know, uh green at being a Christian, we we might take a different route. But uh our discipleship program is is 12 weeks. Yeah. And uh and when I say program, this is just to to prime the pump.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

So that you understand a what a disciple is and b how to make other disciples. That's that's what our goal is. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

And then we're not saying you're gonna be the most spiritually. You're not gonna be Paul, you're not gonna be even even you know Jack or something. Right. But but you'll be well on your path to understand how it works.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

That's right. And you you will continue to be discipled while you're discipling somebody else, because that's how it's got to work, which is which is how it should be for the rest of your life here on earth. That's right, that's right. And so, you know, look coming back to what Aaron was talking about, um, discipleship goes beyond even just your um taking somebody through the word, which that's the that's the foundation, right? That that's you want to know what it what it means to be a Christian man, um, how that looks scripturally, because we want to be as obedient to scripture as as as as humanly possible, yeah. Um, within the context of who we are, like where we live and stuff. I mean, there's there's things in the in the Bible that we find that are still applicable um today, but there's also things like you know, Jesus taught out of parables and he used, you know, he used farming and he used fishing. Well, a lot of places don't have those industries. So, you know, if you're inner city, New York, it's gonna be different. It's gonna be different, but it's still the same truth. That's right. And so uh so what we need to do is we need to help help young men understand the truth and then how to apply that truth in their context. Uh, because the truth that never changes, the methods change. That's right. Right. And so, and so what we need is we need young young men to come in, or or men uh in the Lord to come in and take these younger men that are in the Lord and teach them what it means to follow Jesus. But it goes beyond the biblical teaching. It then goes to the to the life, the life that you live. Yeah. Um, you know, Aaron, you mentioned that that you know, Mr. Jack is one that you can trust because you see his the fruit. But the fruit isn't just him talking about the Bible, right? It's him living the Bible, it's him, it's him serving others, it's him um um treating people kindly, uh, even when it's easier not to. Um, and so you you are learning, and this is what discipleship was biblically. Jesus wasn't just teaching them truths, he was he was fulfilling those truths in the way he he lived it.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 31:38

That's why Paul says, follow me as I what? Follow Christ, follow Christ. Paul, you know, Paul's he's he's setting the standard like as soon as you see me not following Jesus, do not follow me any longer. As I follow Christ, as I follow Christ, follow me. Yep. You know, and so um so going back to the teens, we just need people, men and women, who will come and they will invest in the lives of these teenagers. Exactly. And when I see when I say teenagers, I'm talking our sixth through twelfth grade. Um and Taryn, Taryn could use help too in the children's ministry. Uh but discipleship looks a little bit different as they get older. Um, but nonetheless, we need men and women to come in and say, you know what, I can invest in the life of a teen. Yeah. And and really take them under their wing. Um, you're gonna go through intense training and because we want you discipled as well. Yep. Uh, you're gonna go through a background check because we're protecting our kids.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Uh, but all those formalities we do sexual awareness training, sexual awareness training. Um, just to um be able to recognize grooming. Right. Um because grooming is a uh horrible way that sometimes adults treat can groom children into relationships. And so we want people to be aware of what that is and to be able to recognize.

SPEAKER_03 32:54

And as as shepherds, Scott and I are are elders and shepherds of the church, our job is to protect our flock. That's right. And so, and that means all ages. Yep. And so we're gonna do everything we can to make sure that you um you are fit uh legally, uh, all those things to to disciple our kids. But nonetheless, our our responsibility as older Christians is to make sure that the younger generation understands what it means to abide in Christ. Right. Um, and so um if if you are one of those people, please. Yeah, I I I'm I'm pleading with you. I our you know, I I always hated the you know, our our youth are the the future of the church. No, they are the church. Yep. If you have no kids, you will not have a church.

SPEAKER_01 33:35

No, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03 33:37

You will not have a church.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

And our present our present sponsors are good, yes, but there's four of them, and Kevin makes five because we got three basically three women, there's a fourth woman who comes. But guys, I'm telling you, and you may say, Oh, well, they're saying that no, we're saying they're great, but we we need 20 people right now, we need 25 people right now who are willing to be discipled, who are willing to disciple teenagers, and who are going to dedicate themselves to it. And that may sound crazy, and you may have grown up in a youth program uh or seen youth programs when there's only one or two leaders. No, we're talking about discipleship. Discipleship takes people who are mature in Christ, who are willing to walk and teach others. One Aaron, one of the things that you did with Jack wasn't just uh like like Dan was alluding to, it wasn't just what because just I know there was a Friday a few weeks ago where you spent time with Jack, but just name a couple things that y'all did that day.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

It was he um he taught me how to make sausage. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

I mean that's dude, we got flat packs of sausage in the house. That is awesome, yeah. That is legit.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

Nice, it's really good. Um he taught me gosh was he taught me how to drive his tractor. Yeah. Um, and then he also taught me the physics of how to chop down trees and what to do and what not to do. And we moved some trees off of his path. Yeah. So it was very I mean, it wasn't like we sat down and we read through the book of Genesis together. Yeah, yeah. But it was like he taught me how to do things and we got to hang out, and then he would just talk to me about stuff that's been going on and life.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

How does a Christian man walk through life? That's right, right.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

And he and he led by example.

SPEAKER_03 35:15

So yeah, that's right. Yeah, and and and that's that's all we're that's all we're looking for. That's all we're looking for, guys. And is Mr. Jack at youth group every Sunday? No, no, I don't know that he's ever come to youth group. No, and so and so we're not asking you to give up your your evenings whenever youth group is. Yeah, what we're asking you is to invest in in a in a in a teen, so that may look a little bit different. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Yeah, you don't uh you don't have to know how to make sausage or chop down trees to that's right, to mentor and disciple somebody.

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Maybe your thing is working on cars and you're gonna take a guy and you're gonna work or a girl, you know, maybe you're a woman who works on a car, I don't know. But but you're gonna work on cars and you're gonna talk about that, but it's still a Christian doing life as a Christian. And you know, there will be conversations, there will be in-depth, but that's how we learn doing things together and growing in that way. That's beautiful discipleship.

SPEAKER_03 36:08

Yeah, and being able to feel just field the questions. I I can tell you, uh, the main disciple maker in my life was was uh he's one of my best friends now, but his name's Kelly. But he was my youth minister, and um my grandpa spoke into me, the pastor of the church spoke into me a lot. Uh, grandpa's the reason I'm a Christian. Uh, but Kelly really brought me under his wing uh because he was, you know, five years, just five years older than me. Um, but you know, he was teaching me what it meant to love Jesus in the context of our culture.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

Um and man, I I just and I remember him saying, just you can ask me anything, Dan. Just any. And I had the stupidest and weirdest questions for this guy. I mean, he can tell you, and like and some of them are not appropriate to even talk about because but I was a teenager trying to figure things out with no direction, yeah, you know, at home. And so, like, and so I I mean, I'm sure there was questions I had that were truly embarrassing for him to answer, but he answered them. You know, and and and that helped me understand that our life needs to be transparent as disciple makers, um, enough uh so much so that like you know, obviously we we don't we don't wanna and we don't want to entice kids to to fail. Right. Um, but I think they need to understand what it means to have victory over things that we failed at. Um and so uh but man, it's just it's just such a such a blessing to to know that that's how my Christian walk started. And you know, I I'm I'm one of those, I'm blunt, I'll just say whatever, and you'll you'll you will know too much information uh in a conversation with me, I I promise you. But um, that's the way I was raised. And then when I became a Christian, it was like even more so like if you're struggling, you need to say something. You know, if you you know and and I knew that I could tell Kelly anything, and he wasn't gonna hold it against me, right? He wasn't gonna look at me like I was strange and weird. He may have thought it, but he didn't let me know, you know. But he helped me through those issues. Right. And uh and he was honest with me, Dan, stop it. Yeah, quit doing that stuff. Yep, you know, and and like I appreciate that, you know, and but that's the way discipleship should be. It's it's biblically based, it's foundational in the word, yeah, but it's also you living that. That's right. And uh it's like you guys ever heard you saw those commercials and I think they're still on about foster care or or adopting kids. It's like you don't have to be a perfect dad to be a dad, you know.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

Yeah, you don't have to be perfect, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:42

And so uh it's the same thing with in discipleship. You don't have to be a perfect disciple to make disciples, right? You just have to be struggling enough through life to understand what it means to help another younger person learn from those struggles. That's right. And and and how to fall in the arms of Jesus. Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 38:59

So I think that's the requirement for a disciple maker. They love Jesus, they understand the life, they're doing the best they can, not perfect, they're they're they're trying. And um, and guys, that's that's the thing. We're not calling for perfection here, we're calling for a willingness um to love God and to love others. And and it's just um it's just so important. I'm sitting here thinking of a verse and I was trying to find it. Um what was it? Oh, yeah, um Matthew chapter 16, verse 24, that Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. And that passage when when when prisoners and when people who were being punished took up the cross, they were agreeing with their sentence. They were agreeing with the sentence of Rome that said they were guilty. And so when Jesus takes up his cross, it's not that Jesus has done anything himself to sin, but he's taking on the guilt and the sin of the world. And and so he takes up the cross to identify that we take up our cross to identify that we are followers of Christ and we we bear that cross gladly, and that's all we're asking is for you to to lose and I know it sounds like and it is everything, but if you're a Christian, you've already lost it, you've already lost your life.

SPEAKER_03 40:16

Yeah, if if you if you are a true follower of Jesus, you have to do it.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

You've lost your life, and so now it's and guys, look, it's not yours to command anymore. Right. It it is and Jesus, when he's leaving in Matthew chapter 28, he gives us those four things. Yes, he says, go, make disciples, uh, teach them and baptize them. And and when he when he says it, uh, we talked about it this morning, the imperative command there, there's one imperative command, then there's three ways to go about it, like three things that have that need to happen while you're doing it. And the command is make disciples. Yes. I mean, think about it. Jesus is leaving the earth, he looks at his disciples, he says, Oh, one last thing, and this is the most important thing. Make disciples. Yeah. And we go, I I'd rather, I'd rather sit on comfy pews. Or or or we pay people to do it. Ah, or we pay others to do it. Hey, you're the paid pastor, so you go.

SPEAKER_03 41:07

Or you're the missionary, or you're the whatever, you know, and and that and that it it sickens me because like that directive is for the church. And and we've talked about it recently. You know, pe people our whole career have asked is I don't know what God's will for my life is. And I take them straight to Matthew 28. It's the same thing. 18 through 20. There's God's will for you.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

And how you go about it may differ. That's right. It may differ from me.

SPEAKER_03 41:28

But you are to go make disciples. And and the go is not just get up and move to Africa. It's as you are going. Yeah. As you live your life, make disciples. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

As you're chopping down trees in the woods. Yeah. Teach them. Yes. Yes. As you're making trees. As you're making, yeah. As you're making swatches. As you're as you're learning how to chop down trees, as you're learning how to drive a tractor, as you're living life together. I mean, I've always tried to disciple my own children in such a way that that they would know Christ and tried to be authentic. And I decided early on I was not going to be a different person in the pulpit or at church that I was at home. And I know I know you believe that as well.

SPEAKER_03 42:07

I'm I'm 100% on board with that.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

But man, I've met preachers who weren't.

SPEAKER_03 42:12

If if I say crap at that stage, I say crap at home. You know, like that's that's the way and and yeah, I've met so many preachers who, you know, deliver these eloquent messages and and you're going, ah, spiritual giant. And then their life during the week looks entirely different than that.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

They berate their children. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 42:30

They they I've known several preachers' kids who were abused. Yeah. Um, you know, uh uh wives who were abused. Um, and it that's it that's that's gross. It is. That is gross.

SPEAKER_01 42:41

And I think gross is a good word for it.

SPEAKER_03 42:43

Yeah. And and so, uh, you know, like you said, that the the job that we have is to make disciples. And so, and that will look different for for everybody. But and and so, like, even what I do, like my my whole I in fact, I I left youth ministry um for the reason that I believed that be becoming the senior pastor at Kimberly Christian Church in Idaho would enable me to disciple my children better. Yeah, because I was involved in discipling so many other kids.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:12

And at that time my children weren't in the youth group yet, they were in the children's ministry. Uh, but I discipled so many kids that I was losing focus of my own children. Yeah. And so I said, you know what? I think this may be the perfect opportunity for me to pour into my own children. Yep. And so that and that was real I if I'm honest, that's the that's the primary reason I I left youth ministry and and came into uh the senior ministry. Um uh and so but I also expected that I wasn't gonna be the only one with my children. And so like like you allowing Mr. Jack to come into Aaron's life is is is awesome because we realize as parents our kids will only listen to us so much. Yeah, and and and we've done this. In ministry where we've talked to kids and we've told them things and they're like, Oh, that makes sense. And then the parents come up later and say, What did you tell them? I'm like, Well, I told them this, this, and this. Well, that's exactly what I've talked about. Same thing you've been telling them for 10 years. And so uh, you know, others can speak differently into the lives of your children. That's right. And we have to be okay with that as long as they're biblical, biblical people. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 44:23

So Kevin, Kevin's a good example. Kevin, Kevin and Aaron hang out a bit, and and um, I'm thankful for Kevin's influence in his life. I mean, uh, we're really blessed here to already have some men who are willing to do that, but we need more who are willing to jump into other kids' lives. The other night we went, um, we made it a point. We had some um we have some young men coming um to church who are baseball players, and we decided that we wanted to go. So Aaron actually with me, they're younger um than uh Aaron. And so uh Kevin and Stephanie and Aaron and I went out to the ball fields and watched them play. But just things like that, where we show up, you know, where we and I'm not saying you have to go to every game, you can't possibly make every game, but just to show up, talk to the parents a little bit, but to be there, when he saw us, he was waiting, he was throwing playing catch, warming up, and he saw us over the fence and he was like, Hey guys, he was waving at us, and we were like, hey man, and uh and they didn't win. They had a bat, they were playing the number one team in the league, and and they beat them. But man, they were really thankful that we were able to come and show up.

SPEAKER_03 45:24

And I can tell you, I I know, I know their parents, yeah. Uh especially their mom personally, and it meant a lot.

SPEAKER_01 45:30

Yeah, well, I and just showing up means so much, you know, when you don't have showing up when you don't have to, right? And that's what a mentor does. I think that's the definition of a mentor, at least partly, because parents are expected to do it. Yeah, but eventually you're right, that Roseman, uh John Roseman, uh builds it out, you know, and I'm not gonna go through the whole process, but he says at a certain point, uh, your children are gonna get to the place where they're not parent-centered anymore, they're gonna be friend-centered, and you're going to slide into the role of a mentor. And a mentor as a parent is hard because, yeah, they have they're supposed to obey you, but they get a choice at a certain point. And are they going to listen to you and follow you at that point? And that's hard. That's really hard to do because mentors don't have to show up, but the mentees, if that's what they're called, that sounds like a phrase. Man, manatee. Manatee Barbara. Manatee. Um Aaron's squint squinting. It's become painful now. Um, and uh the cheese has been released. And uh, but but they don't have to show up either. Right. And so that's that's really what we hope happens in a in a mental relationship is that the knowledge is there that we don't have to show up, but we did. And and they didn't have to show up, but they did. Right. And that's a beautiful thing too.

SPEAKER_03 46:48

And so um and this is all just within the realm of what we need in our teens. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 46:53

Yeah, yeah, we didn't expect this to turn really into the teen thing. But I'm wearing 45 minutes.

SPEAKER_03 46:57

I'm telling you, you you hit the teens and and the children, not hit them, don't hit them. You'll have to contend with me. Um, but if if you start with the children and get into the teens, yeah, you you are going to change the DNA and the and the and the character of an entire church for generations to come.

SPEAKER_01 47:18

I told them this morning, I said, if we if we're able to pour, I don't remember exactly how we said it, but I said, 60 years from now, we want there to be 70-year-olds sitting in a class like this, saying, When I was a teenager, I had people come alongside me and mentor me as a Christian, showed me how to live life as a Christian, and didn't because look, we get sometimes teenagers hear, oh, you should be a Christian, you should follow God, these are the scriptures, this is it. And then they get out of high school and they go, I don't, I've not seen that.

SPEAKER_02 47:48

Right.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

And I don't know how to live that. Right. And so they they kind of get off track. If we can show them that, if we can show them what life looks like and that life can be okay doing that, as a matter of fact, it can be awesome and it should be, um, then then that's what we're doing.

SPEAKER_03 48:01

Yeah, I mean, even as a teacher, um, I've taken, you know, I've had 16 juniors all year in my theology class. And I don't I don't look at that as like, oh, I just go twice a week and you know, for a couple hours I teach them and I grade and I and I, you know, it's a core class, so they have to have it and pass it to graduate. I I don't look at it just as that. I look at it as this an opportunity. I'm I'm porn into yeah, I'm pouring into teenagers. Yeah like like I'm discipling them. Yeah. And so um, and my challenge to them all the time is that before you graduate high school, I believe every every Christian student should be able to understand and articulate what they believe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 48:41

Because when they get to college, that's gonna be challenged. And if they don't know what they believe and they go to a secular university, chances of their um leaving the faith altogether is astronomical.

SPEAKER_01 48:57

Yeah, it becomes multiplicative, multiplicative. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

But we but we as churches have been so satisfied with just filling up our youth and children's programs for so many years and celebrating them, and then we send them off to college, and then we we watch them deteriorate and and and as they as they are as they are messing up and they're and there's no accountability, there's no uh there's no uh church that they're plugged into, there's no student ministry on campus that they're plugged into. Um and we're just watching them do and and then we say, well, you know, what what happened to our kids? You know, why don't we have young people? Like, why are they you know, I I just I just it's all avoidable. It is if we would just if we would just take the the command to make disciples uh seriously. It's a command, it's not a suggestion.

SPEAKER_01 49:49

And I like it that because when Aaron and I have discussions, because his plan, if the Lord allows it, is to go to Johnson to maybe get that um that youth ministry preaching hybrid um major that they have there. And um, and I think he wants to be a youth minister for a very long time, which is awesome.

SPEAKER_03 50:08

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

But I want him also to understand that concept of discipleship. I mean, he had me first and foremost as a disciple maker, and I wanted to build into him, and I've tried to be, you know, as good as I could. And we'd talk late into the morning some nights um about about questions that he had. And sometimes I was really good at answering them. Sometimes he would ask questions that blew my mind and I had to come back to him. And uh, yeah, and so, but ultimately that's what I want for him. I don't want him to become a dancing monkey who stands up in front of a youth group. I want him to spend time with those children. I mean, I knew a guy named Brian. Brian was working at Beaverdam in Washington, and um, I always thought Brian was a little different. He played soccer at MacU when we were there, and he he was just different. He was wide open, just different kind of guy. But he got that youth ministry position. And his first question for Tony Kranz, who was a senior, um, he asked him, he said, Hey, I want to disciple these teenagers. What can I do? How can I work this in the budget? So, anyway, the church gave him a little bit of a budget to pay for a membership at that he could bring a guest at the local club where they had a basketball court in Washington. And all the guys in his youth group played basketball. So he scheduled it on days off. He started at like nine in the morning and had like nine guys in a row come for nine straight hours. And he would play basketball with them and then they would sit down and do scripture at the end of it. And I thought, honestly, because I was not trained for that, I thought that's crazy. I was like, he what is he doing? You know, for some stupid reason, I remember looking back on it a few years ago and thinking how stupid I was. It was brilliant because that was the way he was reaching them. And a lot of those young men ended up going to Bible college at Johnson and other places. Um, and and the ones who didn't went to public university, I think did really well. But he was he was discipling the best he could with what he knew to do, and it was working. Meeting them where they were. Oh man, it was beautiful when you look back at that, yeah, how brilliant that was. And I thought he was a complete screw up, honestly. And I was going, man, this guy will never do anything. He didn't he didn't preach well. I don't think he was a great speaker, but dude, he was discipling.

SPEAKER_03 52:12

And you don't have to be those things. That's exactly right. That's I remember my first year of ministry. We had we had a a a pretty, pretty steady group of kind of like-minded teens, which is crazy because our our teens here are not this way. Like I had a whole youth group of of athletic, you know, type you know, people. And I'm not saying any of our kids aren't athletic, but like this this first year of ministry, I'm like, wow, these guys, and I I love sports and I was an athlete. So like I that that was a key part of my discipleship with kids. I would in the you know, in the summertime when they were out of school, I would meet them at the basketball courts in town and we'd play basketball all day long, and I'd buy them lunch or you know, that type of stuff. And so, like that, you know, and that was 20 almost 25 years ago. And I still have contact with a few of those kids. Yep, you know, and it's it's really cool because like those those are formative years with that. Um, but you know, the the reality is that that you don't have to be um a scholar to do this, right? Um, but you have to be obedient to do it. Yeah, like like this is this is a command. Yep. And and and if you know, and deep down inside you're you're kind of feeling bad because you haven't been doing good. Yeah. You should be feeling bad.

SPEAKER_01 53:25

There should be a feeling of that that you can't because it's not something that you can't overcome. Yeah, yeah. We think, oh, I'm stuck, I don't know the way. No, we can show you this. Let's help you do it.

SPEAKER_03 53:34

But yes, I I think there should be some conviction in your heart right now, you know, that that, yeah, um, I haven't been doing this, but I guess I should be. Yeah. Yeah. Feel bad, please. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:46

If that motivates you to come.

SPEAKER_03 53:47

And then come come to Scott and myself, and we we will help you get started.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

And women, you're involved in this too. That's true. And I'm talking to everybody. Yeah, we're talking to everybody. Um, because we have some women who are willing to walk down a discipleship path with you, and they would they would do so. Um, I was talking to a couple of them this morning, and and they would they would be willing to do that. Um we're we're kind of sitting at we're almost at an hour, and um maybe we'll have a part two next week and then jump to those topics we've been talking about waiting on. Um, but one thing that I would like for Dan and yeah, for us to talk about is something new that we're going to start doing um here at Broad Creek.

SPEAKER_03 54:24

Dan, you want to introduce what I'm working on now is uh uh there is thanks Aaron for your input by the way.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

Yeah, thank you, dude. Oh, hold on, hold on. Say that again. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_03 54:34

Thank you for having me. I had him muted you. We we got we got to get him on more on a regular.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

Well, I'm paying him with lunch. So I've already given him a honey bun, so I'll get him lunch over weekend.

SPEAKER_03 54:43

Lunch is a good payment.

SPEAKER_01 54:44

Lunch is.

SPEAKER_03 54:45

So so um so what what we're doing is is you know, we we have we have discipleship for people, uh, we take them through the disciples' journey um uh for for the most part. Um and really the disciples' journey is for somebody who is um who is ready um to tackle the concept of making another disciple. That's right. Um and so Which means there's it's a little more meaty.

SPEAKER_01 55:09

It's not so much as just milk. There's some more meat on that body.

SPEAKER_03 55:12

And and we've discovered with a couple guys that um that we've discipled in the past few years that uh they just weren't ready for that. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 55:20

And that's okay.

SPEAKER_03 55:20

And that's it's nothing about it, not a problem. Right. Yep. And so so there's this gap that we've recognized between the uh the conversion to Christ and then that program. Yep. And so uh we want to address that gap. Um, we want to address the fact that um a lot of our young women um haven't been right discipled.

SPEAKER_01 55:42

We've been we've been able to, they've accepted Christ and we baptize them, but we've not had them in a discipleship mode for a while, and and we want to address that.

SPEAKER_03 55:51

So so what we're gonna do is uh is I'm creating from from just our basic statement of faith as a church, uh four weeks of of lessons uh about the basics of what we believe. Yep. And so if if you come to the Lord at our church, and uh after you you submit yourself to baptism, uh, as you should, yep, do it, as scripture says, um uh as soon as you're done, your next step is to come the very next week to our connect time at 10 a.m. And we're going to partner you with another person who is willing to for four weeks, four consecutive weeks, take you through the basics of what we believe. That's right in Christianity.

SPEAKER_01 56:34

I love it. I can't wait. And I'm so stoked.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

And then the next step from there is we're going to we're gonna say now your next step is to get involved into a connect class. That's right. And then or a small group, or you know, and so like but we want to progress you. Um and and of course, again, we can't force you to.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

No, and it's not about forcing.

SPEAKER_03 56:54

No, but it's about helping you understand that biblically the mandate that you have is to be a disciple. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 57:00

It's not just about salvation. And and salvation is the greatest gift we could ever be given. Right. But if you're saved, it the desire to know Christ, we want that should be a flame, and we want to blow as much oxygen on that flame as we can.

SPEAKER_03 57:16

We want it to grow. We want you to be an all-consuming fire. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 57:20

And and that flame can be stoked, and that's what and that's what we want to do with this. I love it. I I really envision it to be when we bring people up out of the Baptist Baptistry that um before they're even dried off, we're introduced to their own. They're being introduced to their mentor for the next four weeks. I just think that would be so cool.

SPEAKER_03 57:38

Yeah. And so, so so we need we need a couple things from from you listeners. Uh, we're we're looking for people. We already have eight people who are willing to do it. That's right. Um, we're looking for more. We need we need women who are, and you've already talked to a couple, uh, but we need women who are willing to do this. Uh, but as men, we will, if it's a woman coming to the Lord, um, because we're gonna offer it during connect time and there's there's public visibility. That's right. We can go sit in the four-year-old generally speaking, Scott and myself, if you need counseling, if you need, you know, whatever, we won't meet with you one-on-one if you're a woman uh unless somebody else is here. That's right. Or it's in a public ava uh public place where others know who we are. That's right. Um, and so, but we will, uh, because it's gonna be at church. Um, but we do, we would like, we prefer we prefer women if women could could disciple women.

SPEAKER_01 58:27

We would prefer that.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

Right. But it's gotta, it's gotta happen. Yeah. And so um, so any any rate, we're so we're we're gonna be starting that with an I'm I'm still working on the curriculum. Uh so I'm I'm hoping within the next month or two uh we'll be kicking that off. Um and so if you've been a Christian for a a short time um or a long time and you've never been discipled, we want you to start here.

SPEAKER_01 58:51

We want you to get on that journey. Yes. That's your next one.

SPEAKER_03 58:53

So come to us and we'll start making lists and we'll start pairing people up. Um, and then when the when it's ready, we'll we'll launch it and and you'll already have that person. Yeah. Um, but so I I don't care if you've been a Christian for 30 years, if you've never been discipled, we want you to start here. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 59:09

That's why I told them this morning. I said, if you were never discipled, we understand that you're a good Christian, that you're growing in Christ. You know, everybody in that Wednesday morning does really well. But I said, if you were never discipled and want to know what it's about, come and uh we'll we'll walk you through that four weeks, plug you into you know connection, uh connect class, and and we'll go from there and we'll see what the Lord has for you.

SPEAKER_03 59:29

Yeah, because our small groups, I mean, we're we're gonna be adding more small groups this fall. Um, and so there's gonna be room. Yeah, um, and and even if they're full, there's still room.

SPEAKER_01 59:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:38

We're gonna plug in, you know.

SPEAKER_01 59:40

And some many of those are taking summer off, so we get we understand that, but um, it's not that far to the far. It really is. It'll be here before we know it.

SPEAKER_03 59:48

Yeah, yeah. I got back to school bash cut.

SPEAKER_01 59:50

And connect class stressed out by the connect class is going to connect those times. Yeah. So um uh there will be connections and ways you can be involved and so so we we want you to be discipled.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:02

Uh it it is it is my my dream, and I think Scott would echo this and our leadership would echo this that every single person in our congregation has a chance at being discipled. Absolutely because we can't force you, and that we would love to see the majority of our congregation involved in small groups and connect classes and Bible studies. Yes, because you have to keep growing.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:25

And and we grow better together. That's right. It's it's really hard to grow alone. Um you you don't have anyone to help you be encouraged, you don't have any edification, you don't. I mean, there's just a level that when we I I mean, the Bible says iron sharpens iron. So when we when we're with each other, we can sharpen each other. Yeah, and that's what's needed. And these things, guys, you may be sitting there listening to this going, Well, I don't need it, and I I'm fine, I don't maybe you don't even come to church, or maybe you're in another church.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:52

Right. Guys, we're telling you, this is get your butt off the couch, yeah. Go and and find come, go. Yeah, I mean, we we we need we need to understand the the directive that that Jesus gives in Matthew 28. Yes. We have to. We have to. Um, otherwise the the church the church is not gonna be what Christ has has established, uh, what he died for, what he gave himself for. Um, you know, uh the point is to make other followers of Jesus and to help them strengthen in their f and their resolve as being a Christian, because it's guys, it's only gonna get worse in this in this world.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:25

It is the world is getting worse and worse. Yes, the world is learning how to be more carnal all the time. And and it and not only is it more carnal, it maybe, maybe it's not, but it's com but it's being communicated more clearly. I mean, I remember when growing up, I didn't see the words on bumper stickers that I see these days.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:45

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:45

I mean, we were in traffic, I don't remember. Or on TV. We're on TV. Regular TV. And I mean, I I just don't I don't remember all of that. And and you know, I'm I'm of the opinion that we as a church, the the less we grow in Christ, the more the world's going to encroach. And I'm telling you guys, and it's taking over the church itself. 300 million, 350 million Chinese Christians woke up this morning praying that America would fall under persecution. Right. I mean, it's just what they pray for because they know better than anyone, maybe, yeah, that persecution grows faith and the church and Christians better than ease. Right. And so, you know, we we've got to stop living in this comfortable state, and we've got to understand that the next step after I become a Christian is to learn how to grow as a Christian.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:35

And again, you know, uh, to reiterate what I said a minute ago, um, and if if you're not in church on a regular basis, now regular basis isn't once a month. Right. I'm sorry, that that is not regular attendance.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:47

Unless you're working, unless you're working. We we get that. Yeah, but I work on Sundays.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:51

But if you can if you can be here, get your butt off the couch and get to church. That's right. Allow a family to love you.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:58

Yes, yep. And I think that's a good way to put it. I think that's a great way to put it.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:02

And I I make no apologies. So come to church.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:06

Get here or get there to a good, God-fearing, Bible-believing, Christ-loving church.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:11

That's right, that's right. Um, if they love the Lord, they fear the Lord, and they teach the Bible and they teach it correctly. Yeah, no prosperity gospel, none of that stuff. Yep, get in get involved.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:21

Get involved, go and and see what the Lord can do, because the Lord can do anything. And and if you're just gonna sit on the couch, man, I don't know how many people really grow in Christ sitting on a couch, unless it's a couch in a discipleship room.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:35

And if you and if you have to be bound, if you have to be bound to home, yes, um, you know, continue watching the service uh online. Uh, but help let us know how we can help you.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

Yeah, yeah. Figure it out. I mean, if you say, hey, if I had someone to talk to, or uh maybe you don't want a anybody to come to your home. I mean, there there's all kinds of things.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:53

There's all kinds of ways that we can help you, whether it's what we can do. We we can we can design uh a curriculum for you to go through. I mean, there are so many ways that we can help you.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:04

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:05

Um, but but if you physically can make it to church, online church is not is not ideal for your physical ability to be able to come to church.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:14

We have a fella who is suffering with cancer terribly, and um he's here almost every Sunday. He can't even stand right for the worship. He sits and he bows his head. And if you asked him why he keeps coming, it's because he gains so much from being here. Just being here. And and if he can be here, right, man, anybody can really be here. I mean, unless you are just homebound and we understand we understand that.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:41

And we want to love you, help help us help us love you. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:44

But give us a chance, we'll do our best. Yeah, we may not be perfect, but we'll do our best. Right. Sometimes we look at things like that and we wonder who benefits because you know it's like um in crime scenes, who benefited from the crime, you know. Um we we don't necessarily benefit, we don't get any added money or anything. Our salaries don't depend on how many people we bring. Um who benefits is you. Right. You benefit and the kingdom benefits, and and those things are great for us. And we'll I think both Dan and I could say we'll go to our our our graves uh here on earth um shouting the goodness of Jesus and and knowing that his kingdom is the one that we get to be a part of is the best kingdom. It's eternal, it's eternal, and that's better than anything else we can receive here. And so I'm I just hope that you understand that that the biggest benefit is going to be for you. If you disciple, the benefit is for others, but it's also for you. That's right. Um, the benefits that God has for you, you have to be willing to step out and and grasp them. And uh God will God provides. He always does.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:50

And and the the verse that you mentioned earlier, the Matthew 16. Yeah, uh you you read for uh you quoted verse 25 as well, and that was my verse uh when I first became a Christian. You know, whoever wants to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. That's where you're, you know, I used to and I had a shirt that had a gravestone on it, and it said self. And it was that constant reminder that I need to die to my old ways and allow Christ to live through me. And later on, I do I adopted a a different life verse because of where I was in my faith and where I am now. Um, is first John 2 6, whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:28

And that's the heart of discipleship.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:29

That is the heart of discipleship. Yeah. What one one disciples one uh rabbi said, You must walk so closely to your rabbi that you're covered by the dust of his feet. Yeah. And uh and that's what it means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. That's right. And so we want to walk so close that the dust covers us. And um, that's all we want. It's good stuff. It is, it will change your life. It is. Aaron's still sitting here. Aaron, thanks again for hanging out with us. I got your mic up if you want to say any last words.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:55

Uh thank you for having me. All right, cool. Uh thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:00

Yeah, buddy. Thank you so much. We appreciate you. I knew he's hungry. I know I'm hungry. Yeah. Uh, we're gonna go get something to eat, but um, we appreciate you guys listening once again to the Creek cast, and we hope that uh God will bless you this week and uh and pray, pray, pray, we pray that you will be moved into the idea of discipleship in a powerful way and that you will allow God to work in you. Dan, thanks for everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:22

Hey, fan mail us, yeah, yeah. Fan mail us. Some topics and some dad jokes. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I forgot the dad joke for you. Do you have a dad joke, Aaron? Aaron, Aaron is Aaron. Hold on a second.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

Aaron's not just immune to dad jokes, he's like dad joke resistant.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:38

Yeah, I and and I get that. My I mean my kids I make my my son roll his eyes on a regular basis. I mean regular. All right, let's see. What happened when two slices of bread went on a date? It was loaf at first sight. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:05

That oh good stuff. Yeah, that was I don't know that the adjective good works there, but okay. I love you. I love you. All right, we're gonna end on that note. All right, guys. We do love you. We do love you. Have a good week, and uh, we will see you hopefully at church on Sunday. Get there. Get there. All right. We love you. Take care. Bye-bye.