Disciple's Desk Podcast (Pilot)

The one that started it all. Our pilot episode, where we gather around the desk to talk through hot topics of the day and set the tone for honest, faith-centered conversation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 1:14

What's going on, everybody? The day is finally here, the pilot episode of Disciples Death. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm your host, of course, Pastor Randy Brown. Uh, welcoming you to uh this inaugural uh taping of the uh of the of the podcast. So listen, everybody, just to give you a heads up on what uh what we're about and what we're doing, uh wanted to bring something to you that was genuine, honest, is of me. Uh I've been in the ministry for a number of years now, well over a decade. Um associate pastor, interim pastor, leader, minister, every all all the titles, but the titles don't mean anything. Uh, it's about who you are in your heart and what you do for the kingdom. And so I'm trying to do kingdom work here and get the message of the Lord out. Uh, I am the reason why it is called the Disciples Desk is because I do consider myself a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are looking forward to making more disciples, the Great Commission of uh Matthew 28, 19. Uh, we got this uh idea together uh to bring forth uh a word just to um bring the real faith um conversations to real life events. Uh we know that sometimes um, you know, our faith doesn't always line up with what's going on in our reality of situations. And so we wanted to be able to talk about that. And we also wanted to be able to talk about the hot topics, things that's going on in the world right now, uh, things that can affect the church and affect the kingdom and affect how our folks view our Lord and Savior. So that's what I'm here for. Um, uncut, real, uh honest. And uh we're gonna do this thing, we're gonna do it properly, all right? So uh without further ado, uh it's just me tonight. We got some great guests lined up for our future episodes. So stick in there, hang in there with us. Uh, we hope that you enjoy the content. If you do, uh, the best way that you can help and support us is by hitting like, share, and subscribe. We would love to have you all as part of the Disciples Death Nation. And uh, without further ado, we're gonna go ahead and get started. So, one of the things um that has been uh trending here uh as of late um in the past couple of weeks has been uh Pastor Winin's uh up in Detroit in the motor city uh at his church. I'm sure that you all have seen the clips of uh him and the uh the exchange with the with the uh sister uh during given time. Uh they were fundraising, right? So they were fundraising for a particular uh project, and she uh came up uh with her offering, uh, got on the mic and was declaring, making a declaration of what she was offering. Now, here's where we get in trouble, right, with uh as leaders and as we're recording these sessions live and um they get out on the internet, right? The internet is a diabolical place. These streets are not for everybody. So what happened was originally what made everything go viral was the clip that they showed uh of uh Pastor Wine is basically rebuking this sister uh because it seemed like he was saying that her offering was not enough, right? So apparently she said that she had $1,000 and she had like $235 or something like that. And uh the the the the pastor, uh Pastor Wine has looked at her and I was like, that's not what I told you. Like y'all are not listening, right? And it was very stern and very agitated in his spirit. And so uh she so he repeated that this was for a thousand and a thousand. And he said, don't come up if you didn't have the have the 2,000. And she said, Well, I'm gonna work on that other 800. And he said, That's not what I asked you to do. Took the money, sent her to a seat. That clip got sent and uploaded, and it was an uproar. It was so big and it got so viral that they actually had them both on the news up there to explain the situation. Now, another clip uh eventually came out a little bit later. Uh, so it was more of an extended clip showing that he was explaining how the order of the giving was going to go. You're gonna have $1,000 and the $1,000 line, you have $1,000 and whatever line, and he was gonna go on down the line. So apparently this sister came up in the wrong line. So that was the explanation. And she said that she didn't feel rebuked and that she uh uh she, you know, she didn't feel any type of way about uh what uh the pastor did, said it was okay, said it was normal. Um and a lot of people are just looking at her like, nah, that's not that's not what it do. So I'm gonna give you my take on it. Uh first of all, let's just address the whole giving situation and giving to the ministry. Listen, uh, as a pastor and as starting uh disciples desk ministries, uh, so starting a new ministry, we do greatly rely on the gifts of others, right? Uh your donations, your giving uh from your heart. That's how we build a church, help, and so how we are able to do our outreach uh work, right? So we definitely um asked, you know, ask for ask for giving, uh ask for offerings or whatnot. Now, um, so I'm not I'm not opposed to however he decided to run that fundraiser. A lot of people are saying he's pulpit pepping and all this other stuff. You know, you can call it what you want. Um, that's not exactly what I'm seeing, what I'm seeing, or what I have the issues with. Uh, so my issues with the whole thing is um a couple of things. One is his posture, right? As church leaders, we have a um we have an obligation, we have a responsibility to always be um representing Jesus at all times, right? It's that we we unfortunately we don't get a day off from that. We don't get a moment off where we as soon as they know our title, that's what they expect. That's we have to be that image of Christ that everybody is looking for, right? So to be in a uh to have an attitude, so to speak, to feel some type of way, to feel agitated. Um, and the words that he used towards this sister was very uh off-putting uh for a lot of people. Now you could just go and look through the comments and look through everything that people were saying. Um and but a lot of people, now you did have some that came to his aid, that came to his defense, say, look, this is the environment, this is the atmosphere, with nothing wrong with it. That's our pastor, get up off our pastor. You have others that took it um as okay, we shouldn't, if you don't go to the church and you don't live nowhere near there, you don't even plan on visiting the church, you shouldn't have nothing to say about the church. And um so it's none of our business. But and this was coming from another uh a pastor uh that said this, but I I have to disagree with that because the other comments that came in were this is why we don't go to church, or this is why I don't believe in uh Jesus, this is why I don't believe in God, because I how can a man of God or somebody that's popular or has that large of a congregation, et cetera, they're acting and and and operating in this type of manner, um, that's uh that's not representative of anybody any God that I want to be a part of, any God I want to serve, right? So we in our posture and our attitudes and our heart posture, we call it in our church, our heart posture, it can be off-putting if it's not showing the love and the acceptance of Christ and the gentleness, right? Um, even if if he had to correct her, and I can understand sometimes church folk just don't listen, right? Sometimes it's just like, man, I done I'd have already told you what I needed for you to do. But that doesn't mean that we can be irritated in the spirit when we're dealing with them, especially when we are correcting them in front of thousands of people and now in this instance millions of people, right? So to be gentle and be kind in that moment, even though she was incorrect, right? Sister, I we we thank you for your gift. We thank you. He didn't even thank her, right? That was that was number one. Like he didn't even thank her for what she gave. But just to say, sister, um, you know, and just repeat for everybody, not to even to correct her directly. Okay, we appreciate your gift, sister. God bless you and go on. But hey, just repeat, hey, this or whatever, however, he decided to have the lines going. This is for the thousand thousand, this is for the whatever, I'll call you up if you have less in that situation. All right. Nicely, lovingly, gratefully, appreciate you showing appreciation to your to your member, to your sister. Um, and it's still a loving environment, right? So that could have been how that could have been handled in that situation, because we don't ever want to deter someone because of our attitude from Christ. Now you'll get some pastors and some preachers that say, but if they if they turned off by that or something like that, then they were never trying to be a part or or really serious about God. Anyway, you don't know that, right? That's judgmental for one. And for two, that's not what we're called to do. We're not called to make that decision. We have to be representative of God, of Christ at all times in a loving way. So, yes, we're gonna make mistakes. Yes, you know, we're human. It stuff happens. Some are understanding, some are not so understanding. So, therefore, our discipline has to be at a different level, especially when we're dealing with recording these uh these times or these moments. Um, you know, and with the, you know, everybody has a camera phone, everybody has, you know, some type of device, they they're going live at any point in time. So we have to be aware and conscious of these things. And we also, and not just for that, and not just for the the reasons of just looking the part, we need to be the part. Okay? It shouldn't be an act. All right. We couldn't we shouldn't say, oh, he got out of character. So when you start saying that people are getting out of character, that means that they're acting. You need to, this needs to be your genuine attitude, your genuine personality, whoever you truly are and who you truly are should model Christ. It's plain and simple. Now, to not spend too much time on his posture, because the, you know, the beloved uh pastor, uh, brother Pastor, I, you know, um he he's he's outspoken. He's gotten some um some flack for, you know, talking about um the uh fraternities and how you can't be of God and of the fraternity or sorority, uh saying that you're going to hell if you have been have taken part of a fraternity of sorority. So they got he got the divine nine uh riled up in that instance. But um, you know, that's you know, that's neither here nor there. That there are there are plenty of uh leaders that do share his stance, and there are plenty that who do not, uh just to uh basically uh put it in a nutshell. So he's uh had some moments. He's he's had some viral moments already. So we um so we know that you know his his his posture is there's not not everybody bobs with him like that. So it is what it is. Now, my thing is this is not just to deal with um Pastor Wynins, but leaders in general, when we start raising money and we start um what offerings and things of that nature, when we start making it an environment where it's recognition based, okay, or there's some type of recognition for your giving, then that starts to divide the people. That starts to divide the congregations, that starts to divide uh uh social classes, et cetera. And when the the church was uh created back uh in the New Testament when uh after Jesus ascended, it was about community. It wasn't about class, it was give everything that you can, right? Give everything that you have or that you have and willing to give, just do it with the with a cheerful heart and don't lie about it, right? So when we start as church organizations and and whatnot, when we start uh putting lines, okay, those that got this much be in this line and come up to the front and give, and she actually had to take the mic and say what she was giving and and you know make a declaration at this season to be blessed and la la la la la, you're you're separating yourself. It does it it doesn't matter what you what you think, you're so you're you're creating separation between you yourself or this particular group as opposed to another particular group, right? And so just to take you to scripture real quick, Jesus has something to say about this and about giving. Um, in Matthew 6, 6 uh 1 through 4, he says, but beware, right? Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your father who is in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you as the what as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full, meaning they're not getting nothing in heaven, we're not honoring what they've done in heaven. When they come before Christ, they say, Oh, we've given to the poor. And no, I I didn't see none of that. Right? Because you did it to be recognized by by man. Says so, but when you give, says, but when you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret, and your father who sees what is done in secret will reward you for that. So when we start putting lines, you get in this line and tell what you gave, and this, because this line is this particular, gives this amount and no less. And this line, okay, so you're giving a little bit less. You couldn't make that that mark as the other group, so you're over here. Now that's when you couldn't do nothing. Nowhere near, it's a lot less. So now you're over here. You start having people looking at each other like, man, you know, some people like, hey, I gave, some people become uppity about it, right? Some people feel like they're in a better class. Some people get uh nice parking spots at the church now, or they got they they got their designated space on the pew because of how they give and they're recognized for their giving. And then you got to think about how about the person that really wanted to give, but they didn't have, they don't have anything. Or they don't have nowhere near as much as that other person that gave so much money, and like, God, I wish I could do that. Their heart is that their heart is like, I want to be able to give more for your kingdom, but it's like, are you do they want to give because they want to be recognized, they want to be in that group, but they just can't afford it? And then how does that create or how does that make them feel when they feel less than within the congregation? I personally have completely stopped putting my name on anything when I give. I don't, you don't need to know when I got it, if I got it, when I got it. Either you get it or you don't, right? We always say God knows my heart, right? So that's where I'm I'm giving from a place to be honored by the Lord. So I don't want, I don't, when I give, there's no, I don't, I don't need to raise my hand. I don't want, I don't want that rec, I don't need the recognition. And that's the posture that we need to be giving in if we truly want to do it to help um benefit God's people, but also to have our reward to build to uh uh build our treasures in heaven, as as Christ says. There's no reason or no purpose for us to constantly feel that we have to be recognized because then therefore we're starting to uh get into the attitude or the or the mindset that we're being justified by our works, right? And there's nothing about our works that's gonna get us into heaven. It's by grace alone. There's nothing that we can do to work or earn our way, and so to get any type of special recognition, uh it it breeds an environment of well, I'm just trying to give so I can get closer to the pastor, or I can uh be recognized more by the by the executive team or by the deacons or by, you know, or by the lay members, right? I want to be recognized in some type of way. So therefore, that's why ultimately that's the underlying reason why I'm giving. So we as leaders should not be fostering that type of environment. All right. I know that, I know that I know that I know that with this ministry and with this new ministry that we're beginning, if you are giving to be recognized, don't give, keep it. All right, and I and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I I appreciate anything that anybody offers, uh, that anybody donates, etc. But if you are giving just to be recognized or with the intent. On being recognized, please just keep that. Just keep that. Because that's not what we're doing. Okay. That's not what we want to do. I want anybody to give, to give from a pure place in their heart and with the right type of spirit and posture to be blessed by God and for that, for whatever they're giving, so that whatever we're doing can further help bless, bless God's people and do the work of the kingdom, right? So those are my takes on that situation. And then as far as I don't have time today to even get into it, but as far as churches preaching tithing, and but they're they're preaching that we're under a new covenant, but we're preaching uh old uh old testament, old covenant uh regulations and laws when it benefits us. And so uh there'll be a there'll be another teaching on tithing, um, and how I feel about it, I don't, I I do not tithe. I don't. Uh, then that's just being honest. I give until it hurts. That's just what I do. Uh once it hurt, I was like, yeah, and I uh I get that, mmm, that okay, we stopping right there. That's it. That's all I got. That's all I got to give. Um it's making a demand on tithes that and these churches that are that are demanding uh your tax forms and to make sure that you're giving it to you. You better not ask me for you. Don't ask me for my financial information. That's a conversation you don't want to have with me, right? I give there the church that I attend now, they're they're so they're so wonderful and so loving. Some of the things that I've done as far as my giving and buying stuff for the church or whatever have you, some some know some of the stuff I've done. There's stuff that I've done and bought and purchased that they don't know, right? I just do it. If you were privy to the information, that's because I had to work with you to make the purchase or do the thing. But I'm not trying to get any type of special recognition. It's just out of love. And it's just that I know that the apostle that I'm under is doing kingdom work. She's trying to do God's work, right? So, and I love the people there. So I want to encourage other pastors, other church leaders, other ministers to not foster that environment of recognition for the congregation and for those who give. Stop with the with the with the names and all that. Just, hey, give. God knows. God knows your heart. God knows the spirit. The Holy Spirit that dwells within you is the one that's encouraging you to give and that will convict you to give, right? As long as uh my sister uh uh the apostle of mine, Apostle Sheree, she has a saying that she said her uh her parents used to say, said, if if uh your spirit doesn't convict you, neither will I, right? So if the spirit doesn't convict you to give or to do or whatnot, I'm not gonna beg you, I'm not gonna cry about it, I'm not gonna be calling you about it, I'm not trying to call you out about it. You do what your heart tells you, what God lays on your heart, amen. So that is uh where I am with that. Now, when we when our posture isn't right, now to circle back around to us as leaders, when our posture isn't correct or when our heart isn't right, we can become a stumbling block for our brothers and sisters, right? We don't want to be the cause of them turning away from God, turning back to sin, right? I'd rather give my money to the liquor store. I'd rather, I'd rather, you know, do whatever with my money than it is, because this is not, this is this God, this is this is trash, right? They said that um Jesus has said uh uh about the children when he when he asked for the uh the children to be there, give me one second, it's coming to me. Um in Matthew, I believe it's Matthew 18. Um when he uh said, let me pull it up here. He said, and calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around their neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. So he's saying right here, he says, these little children, these are these are the newbies, right? These are the newbie believers coming in, they're excited, they're on fire for Christ, and they're they're under our watch, they come to us and we put them off in some type of way. Or we put or we become a stumbling block either by our attitude or what we teach, what we say, right? And we and lead them to believe or or or push them to sin. What about if a person feels rejected by us because of our uh we're in a bad mood or something of that nature, and then all of a sudden they feel put off by us, and now they feel like, okay, I'm ready to give up. I'm ready to go back to the drugs, I'm ready to go back to the alcohol, I'm ready to go back to the street, I'm ready to go back to that that woman or that man that's that that I shouldn't be with, etc. So it's it's we have to be very responsible and conscious of how we operate so that we don't push our brothers and sisters to be in uh to be out out of uh out of line or or you know um to be in sin, right? To force them back to what they feel is their comfort zone, um, you know, to to f to kind of pacify the hurt. The church is full of broken people. It's full of some healed, some unhealed, some have uh different um areas in their lives or they're still working on it, they're still trying to fight through. All right. We have to foster an environment where they feel comfortable and and knowing and feel safe to continue to grow and to continue to seek God. Right? And whether you like it or not, not just pastors, but other believers, other quote unquote Christians, they look for God through you. You people don't turn away from God, they turn away from the church people. And so when you're when you're not when you're acting a fool, or when you're acting out of uh quote unquote out of character, or when you're not being the the proper uh representative of Christ that you should be, you run the risk of pushing them to sin, to leave, to turn away, to give up. And at the end of that verse, he said, Woe to the world for temptations to sin. For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. Say, look, God, Christ is saying, Yo, there's gonna be temptation in the world. Folks are going to sin, but you better not be the cause of them sinning. Right? So I just want to encourage y'all on that. We're gonna transition to a different topic. Enough of Pastor Wyners and um and and all of that good stuff, and I pray that that uh that word blesses you and that it helps to foster an environment to uh you know to be better, right? So to get on a bigger celebrity news, so there's a young man that uh plays football for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Uh his name is Travis Hunter. Now, one Sunday, one good old Sunday morning, he decides to uh before a game to go get baptized, right? He's given his life to, he's he has already given his life to Christ. The baptism is just the public display of the public declaration of what he's done in private. So he's already given his life to Christ, and he said he's been, he said that he won he's been wanting to um, he's been wanting to uh to give uh to get baptized. So he went in, uh so he went in and uh uh before game, it uh somebody captured it, right? It got on the news, somebody captured it and it went viral, right? Some good, mostly good, most a lot of people truly supported what he did. But there's a gentleman uh by the name of Skip Bayless who, you know, is kind of just uh, yeah, he ain't all the way there, right? Uh when it comes to stuff like this. And he uh had a very insensitive take on it. He said that that uh because he chose to get baptized before a game, that that that he's checked out on the on the team, that he's not um fully engaged with the team. And so he caught a lot of flack for uh you know uh with that take. Even uh there was another um another uh two other uh former football players who got a podcast is uh Debo and Joe. Uh we talk about James Harrison and uh Joe uh Joe Hayden uh commenting on it. And um even uh uh Brother Harrison uh gave a scripture about that, you know, saying, yo, Skip sounds like the devil, right, in this instant. But this is what I want to uh leave you with when it comes to Travis. Um Jesus again in Matthew 10, 37 through 39. I want y'all to hear me, right? Because when he was talking to the disciples, he said, I did not come to uh to bring peace. He said, I come to bring war. He said, I've come to drive a sword between families, you know, father against son, uh mother against daughter. He said, Whoever loves the father or their mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. That's Matthew 10, 37 through 39. Jesus is basically saying, if you put anything before me, you're not worthy of me. Right? And that includes even if you're making millions in a professional sport, Travis get get gets that, right? He wants to be worthy of Christ. He knows the sacrifice that Christ uh paid for him. And so he in return, he said, I don't care whether whether I have a game. Whenever Christ says that I need to have this done, I'm going to do it. So being spirit-led, he decided to do it before this game. Sunday is typically the day that baptisms happen, and usually they're in the morning. The game is in the afternoon. He could have been doing anything else, but he was giving his life over, showing his dedication to his Lord and Savior and to his faith, to be uh shown as uh showing himself as a better young man, as a better person, as a better human being. So this wasn't the time to be critical or criticizing the young man. This was more so the time to be supportive. And I thank God that he has a lot of supporters and a lot of people that came to his aid and um, you know, to show or to say or to speak up for him and on his behalf. So kudos to the young man, Travis Hunter. I wish him the best in his in this walk and his in his journey. So my final thoughts on everything that we just discussed. This walk isn't easy, right? God, God is an amazing guide. Uh to become a Christian or becoming a believer is is an amazing thing because you when even when you just do the simplest things as praying, you're in the presence spiritually, you you transition into the presence of the creator of all things, of the universe, of the earth, of of everything. We want to make sure that we are leading as many people down this narrow path to heaven's gates as much as possible. And say, why does the road to destruction, right? Everybody is plenty of the world is going that way. We're trying to lead these people down this other path. We have a responsibility as believers to be the beacon of light that shines the way to the path, the on the path when things get bleak, when things aren't easy, when things are difficult, when things are hard. Um just to show that there is a better way. Our lives should be a testimony to the goodness of God. And so we need to operate in that faith and in that uh posture and under that discipline so that at all times we are representing our Lord and our Savior in the best way. So the Great Commission, Matthew 28, 19, says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus never said the discipleship was going to be easy. We have to learn to lean on one another and depend on one another. We're called to walk this road together. So let's talk while we travel. We'll see you next time as we gather at the disciples' desk. I'm your host, Pastor Randy Brown. Be blessed.