Be Rooted- Setting the Foundation for Intentional Discipleship

In the first episode of the Be Rooted Podcast, Nick introduces the heart and purpose behind the show and lays the foundation for the journey ahead. He explains that the podcast will focus on intentional discipleship, helping listeners grow deeper in their faith through thoughtful teaching, practical application, and personal reflection. The episode begins by exploring why clear definitions matter when talking about faith, and Nick introduces two key ideas that will guide future conversations: intentionality and discipleship. Intentional living means doing things on purpose and understanding the deeper reasons behind our actions, especially in our spiritual growth.

Nick then reframes discipleship as more than a program or checklist, describing it instead as a lifelong journey of transformation for those who choose to follow Jesus. He shares a guiding definition that will shape the direction of the podcast: a disciple of Jesus is someone adopted by the Father, chosen by the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and entrusted with carrying the family name and legacy of Christ. Through a personal story about becoming a father, Nick reflects on how that experience led him to reevaluate his life and ultimately pursue Christ. The episode invites listeners to approach the podcast with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to grow as they begin the journey of intentional discipleship together.

Be rooted. Live intentionally. Stay curious.

Email at :berooted@beministries.net

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Around here we make ancient and wisdom with real life principles so you can grow deep roots and live out your faith in Welcome to the Bee Rooted Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

So this is episode one. Um I'm gonna take some time today to just kind of set the stage, maybe lay a foundation and some expectations for what you should see in the future. Um each one of our podcasts are gonna kind of be built around the same kind of rhythms, and they're gonna start with uh with this right here. It's going to be a little bit of an intro to the content. So today we're gonna be diving into just a few definitions, some things about me. You'll get to under, you'll get to learn who I am, you'll get to um develop some some ideas of what we might be able to um go get into in the future. Probably going to have some trainings in the future. We'll probably have some um interviews. Well, I know we will because I've already recorded one. We're gonna have some personal reflections. So this intro will allow you to kind of check the vibe of the for the content. And if it's something you feel like you can you can dive into and be curious about, well, then we want to invite you into that. So without any further ado, let's get into it. All right. So I want to start today by maybe developing a few definitions, you know, that I want you to know that everything in this Be Rooted podcast is there for a reason. There's been a lot of thought gone into this, a lot of uh prayer and and just a lot of strategy, honestly, because we want everything to be done for a reason. Well, today I'm gonna start actually with the the subtitle of our Be Rooted podcast, and that is Intentional Discipleship with Nick. Well, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about more about me later on in this episode, um, so you'll get to know me a little bit better. But for right now, I would I want to kind of set the stage for what I mean by intentional discipleship. You see, in this world, in our society today, words have meaning, language has meaning, but we find a lot of miscommunication. When I'm trying to share with you something, if we don't share a common definition, then often things get lost. And in this kind of conversation, where I'm only really talking to you and you don't get to interact with me, then we miss, we have the potential, anyways, of missing a lot of the the context of what we're trying to do. Or so I'm gonna start by just defining a few terms. Now, the other thing that I want to clarify is I'm not trying to redefine words when I do this. I'm I'm just trying to help you to understand where I'm coming from. Because if you have a slightly different version of a definition in your mind, and I try to use a word, you're instantly gonna think about your definition. And although that's good, I want to change your definition. I my goal here is to communicate where I'm coming from and what I'm and try to get my meaning across. So I'm just gonna start with the example of what does it mean to be intentional? So intentional is doing something on purpose. Now, on the surface, that sounds pretty like duh. It sounds pretty you know simple. And if I were to ask most of you what your definition of intentional is, you'd probably have pretty close to the same thing, if not the same definition as I do. Doing something on purpose. But what is that? How can you take that all deeper? You know, what purpose? You know, see, intentionality can only be intentionality if you understand the purpose of the thing you're trying to be intentional about. You know, I've one of the examples that I that I love using when it comes to intentional is uh Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. You know, I was an 80s child, I loved martial arts. We'll probably actually talk about some of those things in future podcasts because I think there's so much we can learn about even our spirituality and our discipleship through the ancient lens of martial arts. But Mr. Miyagi does a thing with Daniel, where he makes him you know sand the floor and he makes him paint the fence and or and he makes him you know paint the house and he does all these things. And Daniel gets so frustrated because he's like, the only purpose I have is doing your chores. Like, like what are we doing here? He doesn't see the intentionality of Mr. Miyagi because he doesn't understand the purpose. So it gets to the point where he's so frustrated he blows up at his teacher and he says, What are we doing? And Mr. Miyagi says, Hoi, show me send a floor, or show me paint the fence, and he starts punching and he starts kicking, and all of a sudden Daniel's blocking all this stuff, and he's like, What the heck? I didn't know I could do that. You see, Mr. Miyagi was being very intentional, and but Daniel didn't know the purpose behind it. So Daniel is just being obedient, and sometimes that's fine. Sometimes we need to just be obedient without understanding the purpose behind everything. I've had I disciple boys, young men for a living, and there's been numerous times in the past, and even yesterday I was having a conversation with a young man, and I just said, You're just gonna have to trust me. You're just gonna have to do this thing and trust that it will work out in the end. Trust that I'm trying to build habits in you that will make you more spiritually strong, more emotionally and mentally strong. You might not see the purpose, but if you can trust me. So for them, they can be intentional when their intentionality is just obedience. But you can't be intentional if you don't understand the purpose. So for me, when I when I'm talking about intentional discipleship, it's doing discipleship on purpose, for a purpose. So before I go any further into that, we probably should define the word discipleship. You see, discipleship is a word that I have had numerous conversations about. I have spent the last probably decade plus just researching discipleship, you know, reading Bible verses and books and all sorts of things around just what does it look like to be a disciple or to make disciples or to disciple others? But on top of that, I have also just tried to invest in my own discipleship. What does it mean for me to grow in my faith? And I have invested in other people trying to help them in their discipleship. So for the past several years, I have gained experiential knowledge and had knowledge on what does it mean to be a disciple? And I've also asked numerous pastors, numerous men that have that are in this same field that I'm in, and I've asked them, what is discipleship? Can you define it for me? Now, unlike the word intentional or intentionality, where almost everybody could give you the same definition, when I've asked that question about discipleship, I have yet to get the same answer. Now, there are some common nuances and there are some common things, common themes around discipleship, but there is such a diverse understanding of discipleship in our culture and in our church culture that it's really hard to hone in on some on being intentional. How can I be intentional about doing something when everybody's doing something different? Or everybody sees it slightly differently. Everybody's aiming for a different target, yet trying to be intentional. And so, one of my goals here is to help you to maybe hone in on a definition so that we're all aiming at the same thing. We're all trying to create movement towards the same goal of what does it mean to be a disciple? What does intentional discipleship look like? So, discipleship is a unique process, it's a unique journey to every person who has claimed the salvation of Christ, who has claimed the name, who calls themselves Christian. If you have done that, if you have claimed the salvation of Jesus and you have said, I want to follow this person of Jesus, then you are a disciple. And you have a unique process, you have a unique personality, you will have a story that will not mirror anyone else's story. That's the discipleship process. You know, and I start with this because you I want you to see a few of the very specific and intentional words. You are unique. Your process will be unique. Discipleship has somehow turned into a programmatic thing that I can check a box, or I can read a book, or I can take a class, or I can do these things, I can learn enough about Jesus where I can now check off the discipleship box. And that's just not what discipleship is. See, discipleship starts before you meet Christ as you begin to follow him, and it ends when you die. There is no cookie-cutter program, it is a principle-based process. But Jesus does have a definition for us. Jesus did have something in mind for us when he said, Come, follow me, be my disciples. And I think today I'm gonna talk, I'm gonna give you a definition of what I think Jesus wanted you to have, or the kind of person that Jesus wanted you to be when he said, Come follow me. Now, I've already stated that there is a process, and you might find yourself at various stages along this journey. So this definition might not always 100% fit you. I'm kind of gonna call it kind of a discipleship or disciple utopia. That God wants you, Jesus wants you to be this, but he also understands that you're not always gonna be exactly that. That that there will be times when when maybe one of this parts of this definition doesn't fully define you, but that's okay. That doesn't mean you're not a disciple, it just means that you're at a very different stage in your process, different stage in your stage of life. So the definition that I'm gonna use, and I will probably use this definition in in various forms as we um talk about discipleship, and that's a disciple of Jesus is someone who has been adopted by the Father, has been chosen by the Son, and has been empowered by the Holy Spirit, and they have accepted the responsibility to carry on the family name and the family legacy of Jesus Christ. You see, that's what Jesus wanted for you. He didn't want you to just be a student, somebody who learns some things about him. He wanted you to be part of the family, and he wants you to be part of the family. So being a disciple of Jesus isn't just learning some things. There is a lot of learning involved. Honestly, there are four growth areas where I think learning is a part of each one of those growth areas. But Jesus wants you to be adopted into the family, he wants you to know that he has chosen you and he wants to send his spirit into you so that you can be empowered to receive and accept the responsibility of carrying on his family name and his family legacy. You see, I've already said it, but I want you to hear it, and I want you to hear it clearly. If you have, if you bear the name Christian, you carry Christ in your name, you carry his name with you. You don't get to say I'm a Christian and say, well, I get to be a Christian, but I'm that discipleship is for somebody else. If that's the way we're we think about it, then we misunderstand discipleship. They are they are one in the same. If you carry the salvation of Jesus, then you carry his name too. And when you carry his name, you're responsible for living according to the family rules. That doesn't mean you're always gonna get it right. The the most primary family rule that Jesus came to this earth to express is the is the rule of grace. That you didn't earn it, you don't deserve it, but he gave it to you anyways. And he's gonna keep giving it to you, and he's gonna keep loving you. And the whole time, he wants you to be conformed to his family traditions and his family rules. So when we talk about discipleship in every episode moving forward, you'll probably hear this definition again. I want these words to ring true. Have you been adopted by the Father? You have been chosen by the Son, and you have been indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and your part in that is just to accept that responsibility. Accept that that God wants to shape you and mold you so that you fit into his family traditions and his family structure. That's what discipleship is. Now, these podcasts are gonna be built in these rhythms, and I told you that. So that's our main content for the day. The the next thing that you are going to experience in our podcast is going to be what I call the call to intentionality. You know, each each moment each podcast will have a moment where I'm going to say, Hey, this is what you can do today. Here's something that you can do to be intentional today. If anything that I've said throughout this content has rung true to you or piqued your interest, or or maybe brought out a little bit of curiosity in you about what discipleship is, then your call to intentionality today is to simply like, follow, you know, share this podcast. I know you hear that from pretty much every other podcast and every other YouTuber, but this is an intentional step. If you want to walk this journey with me, then I want you to know when my content comes out. And I want you to share this with me. I'm gonna grow, I'm gonna change. We're we're sitting here in studio today, I'll be in various locations in various forms. Because the other thing that I want you to understand is that this is for us. It's not just me trying to give you a bunch of information. I want you to email me. I want you to uh like and comment on the on any of the social media stuff that you see. And the other intentional part of the like and follow, I would love you to send me an email. We will put an email in the show notes for this episode so that if you have things that you're curious about or conversations you want to have, I would love to share that with you. And maybe one of your questions or maybe one of our conversations could be inspiration for one of these. And heck, who knows? Maybe you can actually be on the show with me. So this show is for us, it's not for me, and I want you to take part in that and join me. But lastly, the end of this the episodes, in every episode, I want to give you something practical andor something personal. You see, I've been in this discipleship um space for, like I said, well over a decade. And one of the most common things I hear is that's great. Could you make it practical for me? You know, could you could you could you give me maybe a personal like application of how this has worked out in your life? So the very end of this show, at every show, I want you to receive something practical or personal. Maybe it's information, maybe it's tactile, you know, it's a it's something that that makes sense that you can maybe do or mirror, or it can help you to understand a principle from the content. But today I want to share with you what I think probably one of the most practical things you can do, and it's also very personal. You see, I think even though it might not feel practical because it's not a tangible step, one of the most beneficial things you can do is change your mind. Allow your mindset to be shifted a little bit. And I'm gonna take you back over 25 years ago for me. You see, my mindset began to shift, and I want to share this story with you. I became a girl dad for the first time. I got to hold a young girl in my arms, and I got to call her daughter. You see, this is before I knew really who Jesus was. Yeah, I've heard the name in the culture, you know. I would say it at best I knew his name and knew that he was a religious figure. At worst, I rejected his teaching and I rejected religion because I was a good person. There's nothing wrong with my life. I loved my life. I didn't want any archaic set of rules to take over or to ruin what I had going. But I've always had an inkling or a connection with psychology. And I was taking a course and I just remember hearing a phrase. I don't remember if it was one of the videos or from a textbook or what it was, but the phrase hit me like a ton of bricks. And it was your daughter will marry the image of her father. And and it and it rocked my world. Now, I'm telling you, I was not a bad person. I actually prided myself on being a good person. I treated people well, I was um conscientious, I was compassionate. But when I held this girl in my arms and I looked at her, and I and I said, and I said, you're gonna marry somebody who looks like me? And I started to look at my own life, and I started to realize that my standard of good was not good enough for this little girl. That I wasn't the kind of man that I that I needed to be for her, because if I'm living this way, and I don't want her husband to live the way that I was living. So something had to change. So I started trying to pursue what a good father looked like. I didn't have a good example of that. My dad left me. He didn't fully abandon me, but he left the house when I was about 11 years old in a moment where I needed a father to show me what fatherhood looked like. I didn't have one, and now I'm a father. So I began to find fatherhood and I began to see man, what it looked like. Like to be a man in faith. See, my journey didn't towards Jesus didn't start trying to find Jesus. My journey toward Jesus actually started just trying to become a good dad. And I found the best father. I found the example of Jesus. And I found truth in that. Now I'm still not a perfect father. There's still a lot that I have to learn, but I would not be the father that I am today, and I would not be the man that I am today if I wouldn't have let my mindset shift. If I wouldn't have let that truth change the way I see the world, change the way I interacted with the world. You see, I think God was in pursuit of me, and he found me in the way that he knew he could find me. And he helped me to find him. I think he's doing the same thing for you. So my question today is going to be are you willing to let your mindset shift? Are you willing to come to this cure to this podcast and into life, not with the need to be convinced that everything is true, but to be curious, to be open-hearted and open-minded. That's why I use the phrase, stay curious, my friends. Because a curious heart can be molded. I'm going to end this with a quote that my mom actually passed down from her grandmother to me. And it's the reason why I want to emphasize this moment of curiosity, and it is this that a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. I don't want to convince you. I don't want to have to convince you. Because if I need to convince you, you'll still walk away with the same opinion. I want you to come with curiosity. I want you to come with an open heart, an open hands, and an open mind to what God has for you. And I want you to take this journey with me as I do the same thing. So I look forward to future episodes. I look forward to entering into this conversation and this journey with you. Thank you. And remember, stay curious, my friends.