TT04: David Ayres on Preaching Without a Mask

David Ayres talks about how the freedom to preach without a mask saved his ministry.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:16

All right, welcome back to Testimony Tracks where we talk about faith, hip hop, and the testimonies behind the tracks. I'm Jason, and this is my co-host Everett, and today we have an amazing guest, the minister of the word at Bamel Church of Christ, the freshest young preacher the church has seen since St. John Chrysostom, the Golden Tongue himself. Join me in welcoming the creative powerhouse behind the Bam Bamboys, David Davyers.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Oh my goodness. Being with us, David, in this direction. I have always wanted to be compared to John Chrysostom. I know.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

I'm here to fulfill your dreams today, being on this testimony tracks podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Well, it's such an honor to be with you guys. I mean, I've I have dreamed of being on this podcast as well since the first episode. So to hit episode four and already be on this thing, uh that's an honor. Only the best. Get invited. Well, yeah, honored to be included in that circle.

SPEAKER_02 1:15

Well, for the audience, uh, I guess the way we know each other is that you're the preacher at our church. Yeah. Although not officially the preacher, you're the minister of the word. Yeah, that's the official which is not a super common title.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Did you make that one up? So I I loved the title when I heard it. I didn't come up with it. But I had I had seen it a couple of places and uh for other preachers, and I kind of liked it. Yeah. Um, partially because it was different, and uh also because it felt like it was kind of named what I was actually trying to do. Like I'm what I'm responsible for is like preaching the word and being faithful to that. So it it felt like it named more accurately what I was being called to do. So yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Well, good.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

But usually I'll tell people I'm the preacher.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

All right. Well, let's just start at the beginning. Your childhood, like what what was the household you grew up in like, especially in regards to faith and church? What was your experience of of church growing up?

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Oh yeah. So uh grew up going to church. My on my dad's side of the family, we'd go back in churches of Christ like eight generations. I mean, kind of basically when the the whole thing started. So we're, you know, grew up going to various churches of Christ. My mom was newer to faith. I think her family would say they were like nominally Christian, but she got baptized because of a spring break campaign from a group from ACU uh when she was like 18, and then moved down to Texas because of that. She grew up in Massachusetts, and so it was interesting growing up with those two parents, right? Like someone who is very grounded in the tradition. I mean, my dad is someone who definitely the keeping the tradition and like following the rules is really important to him. He's like the epitome of the like the good Church of Christ kid. And then my mom, like it's interesting coming from that angle because it was like she was she saw the need, and there was an attraction to faith because of some dysfunction in the way she grew up. And so it felt like that kind of solidarity and foundation was something that was attractive to her. And so I don't know, I feel like that was it was unique to grow up with both of those narratives kind of behind me. Like being able to see the beauty of the faith and also like the the solidity of it, like the stability that it offers, both. Yeah. I grew up Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 3:52

I was just gonna say, did it come pretty easily to you, or did you struggle as it became your own?

SPEAKER_01 3:58

So what I will say is I always had questions about faith. I remember hearing people talk about like how Jesus saves us, and like I specifically remember him like people talking about like, oh, he he covers us in his blood, and like so when God looks at us, he doesn't see us, he sees Jesus, and so that's how it's almost like we're like Jesus is like smuggling us into him. Like we're a Jesus blanket and God can't see us.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

If you grow up in the church, sometimes I don't I think you don't realize how weird some of the stuff we say is.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yes, yeah, and it struck it struck me as weird, and I'm like, that makes no sense. Like, either God is stupid, like why can't He see under the Jesus blanket? Or also like what is so like why can't God love me, right? Like, why do I have to disappear in order for God to be okay with me? And so like stuff like that. And also I had questions about like we have this story that really the only parts we ever talk about in terms of its salvation uh for us being effective for us is the beginning Jesus is born and then he died, and we don't really talk about the middle part with this teaching or even the resurrection, like it's those two moments that we spend most of the time on in the story. And that I had a lot of questions about that middle part, like why what's going on there, and why is it so important like that we they're teaching us these things, but I don't know how to what sense to make of it. Like, why am I supposed to live this way if I really the goal is for me to disappear under my Jesus blanket? So those kinds of questions kept coming up for me, and I think it's part of the reason why I'm preaching, like I was never satisfied with the answers I got, and so I kept digging and digging and digging because I was like, there has to be more to the story than than what I've been given.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Well, I was gonna ask you two separate questions of like what helped you with that, those questions, and when did you think you would start to become a preacher? And it sounds like maybe that's kind of connected, so yeah, yeah, led into preaching in in search for some of these answers.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Yeah, it really was like and I I remember like there's some formative moments for me. One of them, so my mom worked as a church secretary for a while, and so we would spend summers up at the church, like me and my brother who just have free reign of the whole campus, pretty much getting into all kinds of trouble. One time he set the youth room on fire by putting a paper clip uh in an electric socket, and then you know, some bad things happened while we were there. Um uh and my brother is a firefighter today, so you know it was formative for him as well. Um uh, but I remember going to the church library and just perusing the books, and I came across Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship. And I was in middle school uh and had no clue who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was, what significance he had, the history, like the era he was writing, and none of that. All I remember is I opened up the book, and that opening section talks about costly grace versus cheap grace. And I remember reading that section and thinking, okay, this is a Christianity with some depth. Like this has some teeth. This is something that I could see like actually being worth giving my life to. The kinds of things I heard in church about like being giving everything to God and selling everything out for him. It made sense to have that kind of call upon my life if this is the kind of faith that I'm being called into. And I and I longed for that. Like I wanted I wanted a kind of faith that was worthy of giving my life to. And I just kept kind of finding those breadcrumbs along the way, it felt like.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

Yeah. And then once you became a preacher, it was just upward and onwards, smooth sailing from there.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Yeah, yeah, that's right. That's exactly how it went.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

So are there any moments you can share where it was particularly hard as a minister? Like, have you have you thought about leaving the ministry and what helped you through that or what pulled you back?

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Man, so so well, right before we came to BAML. So we've been here for five years, back in 2021, we came here. And I had a conversation about six months before we moved to BAML with Mike Cope, who's one of my biggest mentors. I've learned a ton from him, worked with him for a while, and I I called him and said, Hey, I think I'm done with ministry. Like, I don't think I can do this anymore. Because I'd had a couple of rough experiences with a couple of churches. The first time, kind of the narrative coming out of it for me was like, okay, I had my one rough ministry, and now it's gonna be fine. Like, I got my one scar, and now it's gonna work out from here. And then I went into the second church, and churches are just messy. Um, they're full of people who are doing their best to follow God, and we don't always see on the same page. You know, the way I'm trying to follow Jesus is not everyone's way, they're trying to follow Jesus. And those things become clear when you're trying to lead a congregation. Your faith is kind of on display in a lot of ways, and if it doesn't line up with where the congregation sees itself or some of the members see themselves, then it can be really hard for them to be okay with you being their guy um in the pulpit every Sunday. And so that was kind of the story the second time around, and it you know didn't end well, and that's what led me to have that conversation with Mike where I'm like, yeah, I really think don't think I can do this. Or if I do stay in this, it's gonna have to be a very particular kind of church. Like, I I need to be able to be fully myself, and my what I value and the way I'm trying to follow Jesus needs to be what the church is trying to do too. And so, I mean, to be honest, BAML is what pulled me back into ministry. I I don't know what I would be doing if BAML hadn't come along. I applied for a dog food company somewhere in that season, like as a dog food taste tester. That's how bad it got. I was gonna ask what the role was, but I wow. No, it wasn't actually taste tester, but but but it was like I was looking for anything to get like some other way to do something else. But I so Bobby, Steven, and I, you know, our executive minister were already having some conversations, and then when things ended badly at that other church, he was the first person to pastor me, to shepherd me. He flew up to Arkansas where we were to have dinner with me that week. Wow. And just as a candidate, like I was just interviewing, but he did that, took it took the time out to do that, and I was like, okay, that was enough for me to be like, this might be somewhere I could be if these are the kind of people that are there. And that's continued to be the case. Like I continue to be not surprised anymore, but just so appreciative of the the church that we get to belong to because it is full of really good people uh who genuinely love each other and genuinely love God and are really patient with one another.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Well, for what it's worth, I'm really glad you found your way to us. Um this is not just glazing, is that what the kids call it, Everett? Yes, that that is. I have to admit, whenever I get the weekly BAML email, if it says that there's a guest preacher, I'm a little bit disappointed.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Oh well, I appreciate that, man.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

Um, but okay, Everett, I'm gonna turn it back to Christian rap because David said something about churches being messy, and it reminds me of a clip I saw of John Keith where he said that um John Keith, one of my favorites. When we sin, we'll say something like, Oh, you're only human. But he said, actually, being human is being like Jesus. And so when we sin, we're failing to be human, and that when we go to church, we're practicing being human. And so that's really what church is is just practice, and we're all really bad at it, but we're just practicing, so we're going to church, practicing how to be human. I thought that was pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Oh, yeah, that's good. That'll preach. I like that.

SPEAKER_02 12:12

Well, Everett asked me on my episode about what being a father. Sorry, my jumping in on your question, Everett. What being a father did my face.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

I was reading the script, so I was gonna ask the same question, but sure you can. Everett, why don't you go ahead? No, I just teed it up. Everett asked me about being a father, and if he would like to ask. Alright, so you grew up in the faith, you experienced questions and found a book which eventually led you to preaching, which I see as a God-given opportunity. And then you met a girl. And now you're a father. So I got a question for you. How has becoming a father impacted your faith or your ministry or testimony?

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Yeah, I that's a great question. And part of that's kind of hard to answer because I became a dad so young. So, you know, you talked about meeting a girl. I met that girl when I was 18, and then we dated for a year, and then we got engaged. Uh, and so like my college experience was freshman, um dating, sophomore year we're engaged, junior year we got married, and then senior year we had Ava. And so uh I feel like I've been in my 30s for like two decades now. Um I've loved it. Like it's one of those things, you know, we that wasn't the plan, but it has been such a gift. And I, you know, part of what parenting does, I think, like I think back to that first moment when I met Ava and held her for the first time. Like, I don't know that I have ever experienced that kind of awe in that way before that moment. It felt like a moment that was so flooded with meaning that my brain just could not pull it all in or comprehend it. And all you can do is just be present to it and be grateful for it. That's that's the one of the most significant moments that I remember of that. And and and to me, like a good spiritual life is kind of paying attention for that, and not even just in the big moments, but like every single day having this appreciation for everything is God infused, and everything is a gift from God. And so I think parenting kind of gives you a lot of the opportunities for a lot of those moments, just watching your kids and being in awe of who they are, these strangers that live in your house that are their own people, and yet are also marked by the way you've you've tried to raise them and that the relationship you have with them. And I don't know, all of that's such a gift. I also think, too, in terms of what how it shaped my preaching, I uh what honestly, one of the things that pulled me back into or helped me heal, maybe, is probably the better way to say it, from some of the church wounds I'd carried, was I remember going to the Agape conference, which started, you know, started at BAML and then now has been at Pleasant Valley in Arkansas, and usually in October, I think is when they host it. And I I went there for that conference the October after I took the job at BAML. And I remember being in that setting and experiencing the worship there and hearing the preaching there and thinking this is this is the faith I want to pass on to my kids. Like it almost infused me again with hope for oh, there is like a there's like when you've when you when you're carrying church hurt, it can be really easy to grow cynical and kind of lose hope that there's anything good in church or that there's anything redemptive. And so to have that experience of like no, actually, there is something really beautiful here that I want to pass on to my kids. I want my kids to experience this. Not because there's been times where I'm like, I want to protect my kids from church. There's been experiences that pull me that direction, or at least one, I want to work really hard to make it a healthy place for them. But then to have that experience alongside that and say, man, I hope they have they find faith. I hope I hope they see the beauty in this too. Um, has been important for me.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

So I wouldn't know anything about kids being their own people and strangers in the house. I was gonna ask though, what is it what is it like preaching with your kids in the audience as they have become teenagers?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Especially Jacob.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Especially Jacob. Oh, it's been fun. Because they, I mean, they all respond to the to that role, like that you know, the weird place of being the preacher's kid in different ways. Ava and I are very much wired the same way. Like she really enjoys thinking about words and how you how you say things and putting together a speech. Like, what does it look like do public speaking well? And so, like, uh we can nerd out together about that kind of stuff. And she has lots of good questions about God and faith, and um, that's been fun. And and Jacob, I think like there's uh a part of him that really like one of the things I always try to do is ask my kids if I'm gonna tell a story that involves them from the pulpit, I need to ask their permission before. And but Jacob will come to me and be like, hey dad, can you tell this story about me?

SPEAKER_02 17:24

I remember the Jacob series, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Right, yeah, like I did a whole series because I want I want an opportunity to talk about Jacob. And so, like, for him, there's something important about hearing his own story tie in with what he sees me doing, but also connecting that to the text, to scripture, to the Bible, uh to connecting it to God's story. And and Matthew's kind of similar in that way too. I think like he really likes it when I uh mention him or talk about him. I think there's a uh for them, there's it there's I think there's been less embarrassment. I think there can be some embarrassment for kids sometimes when when their dad's like a public figure like that. But for them, I think they've more kind of uh not enjoyed the attention like in a negative way, but like or in a bad way, but like they're proud of it, like there's some pride that they they carry, which makes me a feel good. Like I want them to be proud of what I do and like they feel good about it.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

And and one of my favorite moments too, Matthew and Jacob have both done this, come down to the front, like after I'm done preaching, to for them to be like waiting in the pew for me after I get done. And I have really cherished that moment because it's so easy as a preacher, like so many people want to talk to you after church on Sunday. And so, like, for the first person I hug, the first person I greet, the first person I'm paying attention to when I am done preaching is one of my kids. And so, like, that that's kind of a moment, a treasure.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

I remember you and I talked once about a podcast idea that I think somebody else maybe told you that was like for preachers to send in the sermons that they think they can't preach in their own context and it gets read anonymously. Um and I'm curious if you feel like how is preaching at BAML different than preaching some of the places you've been before.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yeah. How many sermons would I have to turn into that place? Maybe. Man, okay, so it preaching at BAML, it felt like from day one something clicked in a way that I've never experienced in other places before. Like, and part of it, it almost felt like if you I I think was it Malcolm Gladwell that talked about like the 10,000 hours or something. I almost wondered, like, did I reach my 10,000 hours right before I came to BAML? Like it felt preaching felt like I I found another sh a gear or like something something clicked in a way that hadn't before, and it became not easier, but like I just felt more free to be myself, to not be as like scared or reserved or nervous about not just the presentation of it, like there's a performance aspect, but even just like the kinds of things that are important to me, uh, and the way I want to say it, and allowing my personality to come through, like just be me up there. There's just yeah, there's been a lot of of freedom here that I had not felt other places. You know, there there's a danger in preaching, I think, that there can be a temptation to kind of put on this mask and perform the role of preacher. And to me, your best ministry is when you were just authentically showing up as yourself. Like what I am bringing to any sermon or any hospital visit or any class I'm teaching is just myself as God has formed me.

SPEAKER_04 21:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

And that's the gift I have to offer, which means I have to be really I pay careful attention to how I am paying attention to me being formed. Like I I need to be paying attention to God and being spending time in prayer and in scripture, like all of that, because that is what I bring. Um, that's what I have to offer. Yeah. And I don't know, BAML lets me do that. Like, I just the the temptation to wear the mask has not been uh because sometimes the sometimes the congregation wants you to wear the mask.

SPEAKER_04 21:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Right. Like it's like we're more comfortable with you if you if you'll perform this role for us. But BAML does not ask me to do that. Like we're actually what they really want is me to show up as me. And uh that's a gift, I think, I think to me, but also I think a gift to Bamel.

SPEAKER_04 21:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

We went on mission trip for those who haven't heard. You and Brandon talked about it last time. Yeah, but for those who haven't watched the third episode and went straight to the fourth episode because let's face it, David is better than Brandon.

SPEAKER_03 22:17

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Wow. We'll cut that part out, but um I don't know. We decide to talk about Honduras uh with Brandon, and I've decided to ask a couple of questions about Honduras with you because I was in your group like four times during Honduras, which that was wild because the first night I had in Honduras, I had a dream where at the end of the dream, like I we like bonded it. I I think it it kind of came true. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

I'm glad to hear that.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

I got a couple questions for you. The first one is what surprised you about the students or just anything in Honduras?

SPEAKER_01 23:09

So what yeah, what surprised me about seeing the kids there? Um I I don't know if this is a surprise, because I feel like I had some like I I I know you guys are, like I've spent some time with y'all. Like I I love that part of what I get to do is hang out with with the teens. And so like I already knew this was in y'all, but I was so impressed by how hard y'all worked, how little complaining there was, and how much you genuinely were kind to one another, kind to the people we were with. Like it just I was really proud to that like y'all represent our church, right? Like, yeah, and for people to know that these are the kind of people that that are at BAML um made me really proud. And it like and and probab maybe one of the most poignant examples of that was your brother's sermon on on that Sunday morning. Like the sermon he brought first of all was fantastic, just as a sermon, but like the content of it to remind us of how amazing the grace of God is and to have this picture of God as one that is he is oriented towards us in and as mercy is like that that's the kind of God that I want people to know. Like I that's that's the kind of faith I feel like can save people. And so to hear someone who grew up at BAML and I know has been shaped by BAML and shaped by your family, is just I'm like, man, that this is I'm glad this is the kind of faith we're putting out in the world. So I was really proud of your brother too.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

Yeah, and my second question is what was your favorite part of the trip?

SPEAKER_01 24:51

I think my favorite I think I have like a favorite day. So the first time we went to build the house, it was uh there was a group, I think I don't know, there's like eight or ten of us that went that first time to go build the house. And just like loading up in the back of a truck, uh and like off-roading through Honduras, this foreign country that you know we hadn't been to before, and with mountains in the background and just beautiful, lush trees everywhere, and driving over rivers, and like it was just like this picturesque moment. And then but then alongside that to see the poverty there as well, and to know what it would mean for us to offer this house to this family, and then to share that work with and you know, again, the that moment of seeing how hard you guys were working and supporting one another, even when it got hard. That was I don't know, and then we got caught in the rain, like it was just this very memorable, and not all of it was like fun, you know, you know, like there was some miserable moments associated with that. That rain was cold and we were like ready to get out of there. But even that, like it's just almost like surreal. It was another one of those like awe moments, and I I'm just really thankful to have experienced that. And for me, you know, kind of going back to the parenting thing, it was really meaningful to me to experience that with Ava. Yeah, like that's one of the like core memories from the trip for me is the the drive back from building the house, it's raining on us. Um, like we were phone gets ruined. The phone, yeah. Ava's phone is getting ruined, and yet like the she has this biggest smile on her face as like the wind is like blowing through her hair, and she's looking around, taking all this in as we're driving back on the back of this truck, and like just to see how much she was into that moment and how much she was enjoying it meant everything to me as a dad. So, yeah, that that was special.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

All right, Everett. Well, it's been fun talking to David, but do you think we should talk to Dave?

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Yeah, we're gonna have to wrap this up. This is the last section. We didn't do any Bam Bam Boys. Do you want to do any Bam Bamboys? Well, we can do uh some Bam Bam Boys with this section, but I was feeling we'd start producing the track record, which is basically our version of uh the lightning round.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

Oh, okay. New segment we're adding. Yeah, get ready. So if you know lightning rounds, you just gotta say the first thing that comes to mind. You don't get to defend your answer.

SPEAKER_00 27:22

The answers are usually short, and you're not a yapper.

SPEAKER_02 27:25

Okay, I'll try not to yap.

SPEAKER_00 27:27

First question Who wins a rap battle? You or Brandon?

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Brandon. Easy. He he is so good at improv. Like my brain does not function that quickly. Like, yeah, I just can't, I can't, my brain doesn't work that fast.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

So he he would hands down win in a rap battle. Okay. Next question. Will you be Dave for your next summon? No.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

No, okay, we're gonna explain Dave.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

I mean, we already explained it. We already explained Dave and MS3. So they know who Dave is.

SPEAKER_02 27:59

What's the quick pitch here? This is like your fun alter ego, or is there a better way to go explain?

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I think the way the the way Ava talks about it is like this is like my mega church alter ego. That's a whole nother thing. Like, there is this, like, there's a coolness to him, and like does everything for attention, and like I don't know, there's a kind of a celebrity pastor vibe.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Well, that's the Bam Bamboys.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Definitely. Well, what's the best concert you've ever been to?

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Okay, uh, U2, 2008, sorry, 2009. It was their 360 tour. Kristen still gives me a hard time for this because we were living in Ablane and I drove to Dallas, and it was the week before Ava was born. Uh we had bought tickets like even before, like I went with someone who was like a big planner. Yeah, and so he bought tickets so early, like we had no idea we were gonna be pregnant.

SPEAKER_02 29:03

Well, soon your answer will be Mumford and Sons 2026.

SPEAKER_01 29:07

That's exactly right. With the Mahler's baby. But yeah, no, like there's that that concert was incredible. And there was a there's a moment, um, oh, what's the song? Uh Miracle Drug, where like Bono has a line about like like the top of a newborn baby's head. And like I just remember that moment because I'm like, I'm about to experience this with Ava being born. So yeah, that was a pretty special concert.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

All right. Uh what's currently on VP John Your Spotify?

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Um, okay, so I have so I've been running a lot, and so I created a playlist for when I run, but it's like newer music because I'm like I'm wanting to kind of stay up with what what so John Keith, Mars Minnick. I don't I don't have I don't have him, unfortunately. Those are some things. Feel free to offer uh you know, give me some options here uh for what I need to add.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

Pretty great with words as you uh as well. The Puerto Rico song.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

The oh wait, first time in Puerto Rico, you know what I'm talking about? No. Uh by Sax Boy Billy. It is so catchy and it just makes me happy. I gotta do it. This is where you need to play a clip of this song if y'all can play it.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

I I'll try to insert one.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 30:28

First time in standard one.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

All right, this is sort of a related question, but if you could have a walk-up song every time you got on stage on Sunday morning, what would your walk-up song be?

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Oh gosh, that is such a good question. Thunder, uh imagine dragons. Thunder.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Lightning for the thunder, thunder. I feel like it's a good vibe for walk-up.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

That was lightning before the thunder.

SPEAKER_00 31:25

Okay, so having read any fantasy novels and which one is your favorite? Does Harry Potter count? Harry Potter does count. It is still it is still fantasy. It has orcs and trolls and dragons.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

I think I kind of was more shaped by or not, like I I read more of that than I did the others.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

Well, there's more Harry Potter than the others, so Right.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

I mean I've read both. I think I actually like the movies better for Tolkien. There's just not as much to wade through. There's a lot of walking. There's a lot of walking, a lot of like random poems and stuff. Like the world building he does is incredible. Like I have mad respect for that. But in terms of just as a reader, yeah, I think Harry Potter's just a little more accessible.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Alright, next question. What is the worst thing about working with Brandon Tree?

SPEAKER_01 32:21

You know what it is? I the amount of food I eat because of him. He is a bad influence when it comes to my diet. Because he likes good food, and it does not take much for me to be convinced to eat good food. So the number of times we go out to eat just to hang out and get some good food, that is that's probably, you know, probably the worst thing.

SPEAKER_00 32:46

Okay. What is your biggest pet peeve?

SPEAKER_01 32:50

Oh, biggest pet peeve. Man. Well, okay, driving into my neighborhood, all the cars that are parked on the side of the road instead of in the driveways, that really irks me. Like I I have had fantasies about renting like a a uh what's it called? Like a uh snow plow type of snowplow, something like that. Just ramming all of them off to the side of the road. Like that's that's me in my worst moments. Thanks for being that vulnerable with us, Dave. Thank you. If you ever see me driving a snowplow, watch out.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Truly terrible moments are shared on testimony tracks.

SPEAKER_01 33:31

Yeah, that's what this is for vulnerability, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Yeah. It's what we created it for, so people can relate to the worst sides of people.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

Yeah, yeah. Because we're all human.

SPEAKER_00 33:43

We're all trying to be human.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

That's right, we're trying to be human. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 33:47

Alright, Everett. I think we're done.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

Are we done? Mm-hmm. That's a wrap on this episode of Testimony Tracks. If today's conversation meant in anything to you, anything at all, follow the show over Unison. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, even my own YouTube channel, uh Sa Shameless Plug Imune Creeper101. Go subscribe. Find us on Instagram at Testimony Tracks, or by email at show at testimony tracks.com. Again, that's show at testimonytracks.com. Show notes and more episodes are at testimonytracks.com. Follow us, Totofriend, and we'll catch you on the next track.