In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Mark Schultz. Mark tells us about his journey in being a successful Christian artist. He shares his process of songwriting, offers advice to young artists and discusses the importance of using your platform to give back.
Episode Summary:
Mark Schultz is a Christian artist who has sold over 1 million records. He has been nominated for numerous Dove Awards, winning his first at the 2006 Dove Awards. He has had over 13 Number 1 singles and has landed the top spot on Billboard’s Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriter List. Together, Mark and his wife, Kate, founded The Remember Me Mission, a non-profit dedicated to helping orphans all over the world. The Remember Me Mission has raised nearly 2 million dollars toward healthcare and education for orphans at home and abroad. Mark is the father of two adopted children and is also actively involved in his church.
Six Key Take-Aways
“The people who made the biggest impact in my life were the ones who said, ‘I’m in.’”
- Mark Schultz
Quotes from the Episode
Links Mentioned
This episode is sponsored by Beratung Advisors and Henne Jewelers
https://www.beratungadvisors.com/
https://www.hennejewelers.com/
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the L3 Leadership podcast, where we’re obsessed with helping you grow to your maximum potential and maximize the impact of your leadership.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to&
In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith interviews Mark Schultz. Mark tells us about his journey in being a successful Christian artist. He shares his process of songwriting, offers advice to young artists and discusses the importance of using your platform to give back.
Episode Summary:
Mark Schultz is a Christian artist who has sold over 1 million records. He has been nominated for numerous Dove Awards, winning his first at the 2006 Dove Awards. He has had over 13 Number 1 singles and has landed the top spot on Billboard’s Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriter List. Together, Mark and his wife, Kate, founded The Remember Me Mission, a non-profit dedicated to helping orphans all over the world. The Remember Me Mission has raised nearly 2 million dollars toward healthcare and education for orphans at home and abroad. Mark is the father of two adopted children and is also actively involved in his church.
Six Key Take-Aways
“The people who made the biggest impact in my life were the ones who said, ‘I’m in.’”
- Mark Schultz
Quotes from the Episode
Links Mentioned
This episode is sponsored by Beratung Advisors and Henne Jewelers
https://www.beratungadvisors.com/
https://www.hennejewelers.com/
Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of the L3 Leadership podcast, where we’re obsessed with helping you grow to your maximum potential and maximize the impact of your leadership.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to&
She's like, Hey, are there things about you that you wish were different that you wish? Gosh, I wish that that didn't happen. I wish I wasn't like that. I wish I wasn't like that. Do you think God looks at you any different and just goes well, he was in the club until I saw that the fact in him now he's out. No, God just love you. And so we met my ma two years later and she didn't have fingers on her left hand. I knew that was gonna be a huge deal. And I knew that's all I was gonna think about. And it was, it was a huge deal for about 20 minutes. And then I haven't thought about it since she's just a go-getter she's, she's unbelievable. And now I don't see her as a kid to, from China who has maybe a effect. I see, I see her as my daughter and she's perfect to me.
Speaker 2:Hey leader, and welcome to episode number 303 of the L three leadership podcast, where we are obsessed with helping you grow to your maximum potential and to maximize the impact of your leadership. My name is Doug Smith and I am your host. And today's episode is brought to you by my friends at bear tongue advisors. If you're new to the podcast, welcome, I'm so glad that you're here. And I hope that you'll enjoy our content and become a subscriber and to those who listen to the podcast consistently, and those who have left us a rating and review on apple podcast. Thank you so much. That means the world to me. I wanna read you a recent review from, from St. Anne's. It really encouraged me. Mike said this, he said, I find Doug's podcast to be consistently relevant and always adding value to my life. I often share episodes as it provides inspiration to people in many different stages of life. I'm grateful for Doug and highly recommend others to listen to the podcast as well. Thank you so much for that review, Mike. And if any of you wanna leave us a rating and review, it really does make a difference. It helps our audience and reach more leaders, which is our whole mission here at L three leadership. So thank you in advance for that. Well, in today's episode, you're gonna hear what was a bucket list interview for me, I do have a bucket list of people that I want to interview. And Mark Schultz was certainly on that list. I've been listening to Mark's music for well over 15 years, and he's made such an impact on my family. If you don't know, mark, let me just tell you a little bit about it. He's a Christian artist that sold over 1 million records, a multi nominated in 2005 dove award winner. And he's had over 13 number one singles in his lifetime and has raised millions of dollars for orphans and pregnancy crisis centers all over the country. And I first got introduced to Mark's music through my wife and her family. They were big fans in the early two thousands. And joining that time period, my wife's mom actually got diagnosed and ended up losing her battle to cancer. And Mark's music played such a significant role in getting us through that journey. In fact, we actually played his music at my mother-in-law's, uh, Memorial service, and we will be forever grateful, uh, for Mark's music, really getting us and caring us through that time. And, and we've continued to listen to this music and it's continued to have a made your impact on our life and this past November LAR and I, and my father-in-law actually got to see him live in concert, which was a dream come true. And it was absolutely incredible. And what I love about Mark's music is, is I believe he's one of the greatest songwriters on the planet in any genre. And he's one of the best storytellers that I've ever heard, and yes, he can get you emotional and, and his songs will make you cry. But he's also hilarious. If you get to see him before or listen to any of his live albums, he'll make you cry in one moment and then, you know, be belly laughing in the next moment. And he's just an incredible person and you're gonna love this conversation. And I would just tell you that if you haven't listened to music, please do. If you haven't seen him perform, please go to his website. You can see of his upcoming shows. Please go to a show. We're gonna try to do our best to bring him to Pittsburgh, cuz we truly do believe that everybody needs to experience a Mark Schultz concert. And so in our conversation, you'll hear mark share his story, which is incredible. You'll hear him share his process for songwriting, his advice to young artists, his thoughts on adoption, he was adopted and he's adopted two children and you'll hear him share how you can use your platform to make a difference. You're gonna love this conversation. But before we get into that, just a few announcements. This episode of the L three leadership podcast is sponsored by Barung advisors, the financial advisors at barong advisors, help educate and empower clients to make informed financial. You can find out how Barung advisors can help you develop a customized financial plan for your financial future by visiting their website@barungadvisors.com. That's B E R a T U N G advisors.com, securities and investment products and services offered through LPL financial member, FINRA and S I P C Bartung advisors, LPL financial and L three leadership are separate entities. I also wanna thank our sponsor. He jewelers they're jeweler owned by my friend and mentor John. He, my wife, Laura and I got our engagement and wedding rings at he jewelers. And we just had a wonderful experience and not only do they have great jewelry, but they also invest in people. In fact, for every couple that comes in, they give them a book to help them prepare for marriage. And we just love that. So if we you're in need of a good jeweler, check out, he jewelers.com. And with all that being said, here's my conversation with Mark Schultz and joy. Hey mark. Thank you so much for being willing to do this interview. Uh, we were just talking earlier, but uh, this has been on my bucket list for a long time. And your music specifically, uh, had a significant impact on my family's life. Specifically, my wife, uh, her family, her mom was actually going through cancer in 2004 and literally your music got them through and uh, and just ministered to them before and after they lost their mom. And, uh, literally we can't think about your ministry and your music without tearing up and we, yeah, we can't listen to your music either without tearing, I'll say, uh, but just thank you so much just for, for your ministry. And you know, I'm excited to dive into your story and, and how we got there. But for those who may not be familiar with you, why don't you just give us a brief overview of, of who you are and what you do?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Oh, thanks Doug. That's kind of you say, uh, I, uh, man, I'm grateful. I grew up in, uh, Kansas, uh, was adopted when I was two weeks old, you know, and uh, just got a great family and I've had a great life. I mean, I was, uh, I always joke that, uh, in the town that I grew up as a town of 5,000 people. And if you weren't in the paper at least three times a week, you probably didn't live there, uh, anymore. Uh, but I played football, it was a quarterback. I played baseball, I ran track and basketball. We did it all. And uh, I was kind of a, a sports person that did some music on the side, you know, and then I got to college and I thought, man, I'm gonna be a pitcher, you know, in the pros. And uh, I went to junior college in the same town and, and I remember I threw a couple pitches to a guy and the third pitch, he hit so hard. He hit it out into the, uh, like center field and put a dent in the scoreboard. And I thought, I need to find another job.<laugh> this one's not gonna work out very well. And so, uh, yeah, I just started putting my energy into writing songs and I'd never done that before. Matter of fact, I didn't even know you write a song when I was in high school. I just thought the songs were already written and you just performed other people's songs. And, uh, one of my instructors said, no, you can actually write your own songs. I was like, oh my gosh, that's cool. Yeah. I just jumped into that, just jumped into songwriting in college and uh, got some opportunities to perform, uh, went to Kansas state university with, uh, to get a marketing degree. Uh, so they could go to Nashville and become a professional waiter. Again, I was doing music there. I went to Nashville and you know, I have to, uh, I have to really, uh, thank my parents because all, all my other friends in college were going off and getting real jobs, you know, and, and, uh, I did a little concert and some people came and I did a song about my grandfather and it really moved my folks. And I said, uh, Hey, instead of getting a job, like everybody else, I wanna go to Nashville and just give it a try. Because at that point in time, I was, uh, I figured, uh, I wanted the dream to do music more than I wanted. Uh, the fear had the fear of failure. And so I just thought, I'm just gonna give it a try. And so I did, and I, you know, I tell the story about, um, I was a waiter in Nashville and I'm, I'm sitting there. My parents come for Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving I've been in Nashville for about four months. And, uh, I thought I was gonna get to town and get a record deal and it would be great. And, uh, I got to town and I was going nowhere fast. And, uh, my parents came, I gave'em a tour around town and, and, uh, right next to restaurant where I was working at the hotel where I was working is the grand old Opry, uh, which I've got a picture here in my office. And, and I remember my dad just stood in there. He looked at me, he goes, is that where my son's gonna perform one day? And I said, dad, and it kind of broke my heart. Cause I knew that it, it just wasn't gonna happen. And I said, uh, you have to really make it to perform at the grand old. I think it's not gonna happen. And, uh, he put his arm around me and my mom was standing next to us and put his arm around me. He said, no, this is where my son's gonna perform one day. Wow. And, uh, I was just like, it goes on from there. But the end of the story is, uh, six years later, I was, uh, I was, uh, I did my own show with the grand old Opry and, um, and sold tickets and it sold out. And, and, uh, and, and I, I met a youth minister that led me to all that. Um, but, uh, there on the, uh, second road, the balcony was my mom and my dad and the curtain came up and it was packed and, and, uh, the record company was there that night. And, uh,<laugh> looking back, that was the craziest thing I've ever done. And I'm not sure that was the smartest thing I've ever done, but, um, I got a record deal that night and it was, you know, a lot of, because my dad just saying believe in more of my sons gonna perform one day. And, uh, and so, uh, it, thankfully it came true.
Speaker 2:Wow. There's so much, I, I wanna unpack there, I guess first I would just start, you know, in the beginning of your journey, you, you said you were adopted and I know you're extremely passionate about adoption. Um, can you just talk about that? You know, why are you passionate about it? What, how has that impacted your life? You know, we can dive deeper, but I'm just curious, just open ended there. What would you say?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, you know, growing up, I never thought of it thought of, even thought about being adopted. Like when people would say, Hey, who's adopted here and I look around like, see, who's adopted. And I was like, oh, wait a minute. I'm adopted, you know, did you
Speaker 2:Know you were adopted from, you know, did your parents tell you when you were as soon as early as you can
Speaker 1:Remember? Yeah. I tell the story that, uh, my sister and I were going through our baby books. She's a year younger than me. She's not adopted, we're going through our baby books and we're flipping through and she's got more information in hers than I do in mine. And I told my mom, Hey mom, uh, I've got some discrepancies here on my baby book. I need to, I need some answers. And, uh, I don't think I used the word discrepancy, but, uh, she said, she said, you know what, uh, you're, you know, you're special because you were adopted. And what I said, what does that mean? And she said, well, it means with your brother and your sister, uh, we didn't get to choose them. That's just who God gave us with. You we'd get to go pick you out special. And I was like, oh man, that feels good. And so as I got older, my sister and I would get in an argument and, uh, you know, on important stuff, like who had the cooler, uh, tennis shoes. And, uh, she would say, oh yeah, I remember one time. She said, oh yeah, well, you're not even supposed to be in this family cuz you're adopted and then waited for my response and something on the inside of me began to bloom and kind of smile. And I said, yeah, that means mom and dad, that, that mom and dad get to pick me out special. They just got stuck with you.<laugh> and uh, and, uh, boom. So it, it even makes me laugh to say it now make it feels good.<laugh> so, um, but I got a great family and, and so I didn't think that much about it until, uh, I started to do more, uh, went to Nashville and perform. And at the time family Christian stores had done this, uh, started this advocacy program, uh, where they wanted to help out orphans around the world and they called me and they said, Hey, we know you were adopted. Would you like to be our spokesperson for adoption? And I said, sure, what do you want me to do? And they took me to Mexico and they introduced me to just a ton of, uh, orphan orphan kids. And they told the story how these kids, a group came in and said, we're just gonna, we're just gonna make these kids hamburgers. Cuz they haven't had meat in a long time. There were 25 kids, they made over a hundred hamburgers. And at the end of the night, uh, they went to find out where all the hamburgers went. Cause they were like, I'm sure these kids haven't eaten four time, you know, four times the amount. And so they followed them and these kids were taking the hamburgers and they were putting them in between their mattresses, uh, in the rooms when they slept. And they said, where are you doing that? And they go, we don't know when we're gonna get meat again. I mean, this is the thing. And I was like, so, uh, one of the ladies that worked there, she said, Hey, you can get your based on a poster that says, Hey, I believe in adoption and help orphans. And have'em put in stores all over the country for Christian stores. She said, or you can do something significant. And she said, I, I, I would just ask you, make a dent in this for us and make a dent in it for God. And so I just got this idea, man, what if I get on my bicycle? I just woke up in the middle of the night. One night, my wife is had just ridden their bike across the country, uh, for fun. I don't know why somebody would do that, but anyway,<laugh>, uh, I thought, Hey, instead of taking a bus, why don't I just leave California and go to Maine and ride my bike all the way across and, and do concerts along the way and whatever money we raised, we just give to, uh, the organization and man, sure enough, we did. And uh, 62 days later and uh, a quarter million dollars later, we, uh, we got to the other side of the country and, and uh, had raised a, a chunk of money for those folks. And it was one of the greatest things I've ever done. And from then on, I thought it feels better to be on stage talking about something where I'm not benefiting at all. I'm just helping other people out than it does to stand on stage and say, Hey, look at me, I'm on stage. And I just did a song. You're clapping for me. There felt something, something felt different and people who watched the concerts would say, you sang, you sang more passionately and you spoke more passionately than we've ever heard you before. And I thought, oh man, I think that's the key. I think the key is to use your platform to, to lift others up.
Speaker 2:Wow. And you, and I don't remember where this was in your journey, but I'd love for you to share the story. You know, you wrote a song to your, your birth mom who yeah. You'd never met. Right. And you, I think wasn't there an older woman who kind of gave you a slap in the face with, can you just tell that whole story of how you had, you came to that song and if you haven't listened, it's called everything to me. Literally. I turn, I turn on and sweep like a baby every single time. And I have to ask you like, this is the number one question. Everyone wants me to ask you like one, do you, do you cry when you're writing songs?
Speaker 1:You know, what's so funny. I was a youth director and uh, funniest thing about this is if you were hanging out to me and you said, if somebody in our youth group, you would say what's Marshall like hanging out with, they would say like, he's just crazy and fun.<laugh>, he's just like, we're always laughing. And uh, but I think there's something that I show my emotions most through music. You know, I feel safe to put my emotions into music maybe where I just don't, I don't walk around, uh, with my emotions on my sleeve. Just going, Hey, can somebody just gimme a hug? I just wrote a verse. I just
Speaker 2:Do. Do I just wanna do you, do you cry? I need you to answer this. Do cry when you write the
Speaker 1:Songs. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. My favorite thing. So all the songs that you know of mine, I've written in one chapel, uh, where I was the youth director of the church and I I've written in one chapel and I was just sitting there and there's something about the stories in that chapel. They just kind fall off the walls. I mean, I'm just in there playing the same music I always play. But then these lyrics come out. So I'm writing these songs and, and I always know I've got something I don't ever write a full song. Like sit down, just write one full song. It's usually I'm writing a melody and some oranges come to me. And all of a sudden, like the little hairs in the back of my neck stand up. And then, you know, I can just remember that. He's my son letters from warm. Uh, remember me, uh, the moment that it hit me and it's like, God drops something in your, your lap. And you just are just like, something just happened. Cuz I'm much different right now than I was 10 seconds ago when I was just sitting in here by myself. And yeah, there's some songs you can't force. If I forced a song, you probably don't know it. Or it's, it's not, it's not on a record, but um, but I'll just say this to give you an example of when I write a, because you ask him about it. When I wrote he's my son, I tried to write that song for three months and, and I couldn't write it. And it was just, it wasn't that great of a song at all. And then one night I went home, I sat in front of the television, hit the clicker twice, got back in my car and drove to the church. And I sat down and that's one song that all came out at once and it was just like, I think God was saying, Hey, I'm gonna give you three months to realize this isn't your song. And then I'm gonna give it to you.<laugh> and then two weeks later we went into the recording studio and I had a, I was sick. I had a cold and the producer called me and said, we gotta record this song tonight. I said, I can't, I'm sick. I can't even sing. And I remember I went there, I got there at midnight and I was hoed and I couldn't hardly sing. And, and the music started playing in two, just filled my eyes because it was just a production of, it was so good. And I just got to the microphone. I started to whisper the lyrics and he's like, I'm gonna hit stop. I'm gonna hit record. I don't want you to move it. You just sing it just like that. And uh, and I sang it down and, and he said something special happened here. Wow. And I don't wanna touch anything. I'm just gonna wake up and the morning and hope it's still here. And it was, and so when people say a concert, I think he wrote he's my son. I think he wrote that for me and my son or me and my daughter. I was like, number one, I didn't write it. But number two, I believe that's true because I think again, gotta wait until I had nothing left even in the singing of it and then go, okay, now I'll give it to you. So you know that this isn't from you, this is just from me and you, you just get to deliver it. So, um, so yes, I do cry sometimes I cry when I'm recorded too.<laugh>
Speaker 2:And, and just on that, I'll, I'll get back to everything to me. But my understanding is when you went to Nashville, you weren't planning on being a Christian artist is my understanding, correct. You wanna be a country artist and, and that didn't really work. I'm just, well, I don't know what happened. Just curious. Can you walk us through that journey and you know, what was it like to go from wanting to pursue country, to, to being Christian and just talk about the impact that, that that's made in your life. I'm just curious what that journey looked like. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I grew up in Kansas, so we just listened to, to pop and country. There was no Christian music in my hometown, so I didn't know what Christian music was. And I remember when I was leaving to go to Nashville, one of the girls that I knew was listening to one of my songs, cause I would always sneak into the music building at night and uh, get on the grand piano and plagues out two o'clock in the morning. And she was listening to my cell and she said, you know what? I can hear you being a Christian artist. And I was like, I don't even know what that is. She said, it's kind of what you're doing right now, but you're just telling more stories about faith and stuff. And I was like, I have no idea. And she took me to a, a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert in Kansas city. And I, I watched it and I was like, well, that's awesome. And afterwards, everybody got in a big circle in the parking lot and prayed afterwards. I was like, this is really different. I don't know what this is. And so, uh, I went to Nashville just thinking, Hey, I'm, I'm, I'm a do country, probably cuz I have a receipt in airline and I can put a country, a cowboy hat on and nobody<laugh>. So, uh, but here's what happens. I remember I was, I was staying in a hotel and I realized I had no, I was in Nashville. I wasn't in college anymore. I was a real adult. And I was, and I remember praying God, I have got myself in a huge pickle hair. And if you are real, please show me you're real because I'm going nowhere so fast. And this was a huge mistake. And uh, and I said, I don't even know how to play the piano. And I joke, I just played the black notes on the piano cuz there's less of them when they, so, uh, six months go by and I'm a waiter, a hotel. And um, and the first week that I was in town, I got an internship at a, at a, a place called BMI, which they collect royalties for singers and songwriters when their songs are on the radio. And this girl said, man, you're in not, you need to meet this guy that I know. And I said, what's his name? And he said, Martin, she said, Martin Dre. I said, well, who's Martin Reese. And she said, he's a youth minister. And I worked in his youth group and I was like, there's absolutely no way I'm hanging out with that guy. Cause he's gonna make me hang out with kids and I'm gonna, you know, I'm allergic to him so I'm not gonna do it. So she gave me his number and I, and I ripped it up in pieces and I threw the trash can. And then another six months go by and I'm again, just having a tough time. And they told me at the hotel, if nobody comes in by noon, you can go home. And I was the last one work and I just thought, this is great. I just wanna go home on Saturday. And I'll probably go back home to Kansas, cuz I'm going nowhere. And this couple comes to the door and they, they wanted to eat. And I was like, oh, you've gotta be kidding me. I was this close to locking the doors. Anyway, they came and ate. When I brought him their food, there was a hot pepper on this guy's plate. And he said, Hey waiter, I wanna see how tough you are. And I was like, okay, you know, and he cut it in half and he gave me, I think the half of the hot pepper and we're eating them. And he said, whoever drinks, my water first loses. And he put his water on the table, weer hot peppers. And he looked at me and I looked at him, his face turned red and mine turned red and his lips started to shake and mine started to, he was sweating. I started sweating. So I picked up his water and drank it. And then I drank as he smoke. And he's like, man, you're crazy. What is your name? I said, mark, you know? And he said, you must be pretty smart if your name's mark. And I said, you must be a mark too. And he asked me what I was in town to do. I said, make it in the music business. And I, and he, I said, what's your name? And he said, Martin Dre. And I said, oh my gosh, wow, there's a million people in Nashville. And I was supposed to call you six months ago. Cause I met a friend of yours who said I was supposed to. And he just looked at me and his wife just looked at me like, are you kidding me? And he said, do you like snow skiing? And I said, no. He goes, why don't you go snow ski with me? I said, OK. And uh, I ended up taking, he just didn't tell me I was gonna take 15, seventh graders on a ski trip. And uh, we got to pale peaks, Indiana, the Mecca of all great skiing. And uh, we got there at midnight and the kids jump out of the van and they said, Mr. Schultz, can we have some mountain Dew? And I said, yes, cause I'm a moron. And the kids drank all the mountain do and spent the next five hours just running circles inside the cabin. I said, Hey, y'all, let's go to bed. We don't have to get up till six, but let's go to bed at six o'clock. I get up, my alarm goes off and I can't move. And everybody in the room's laughing and I'm like, what? Ha I think I had a seizure from these kids. I really am allergic. And the light came on and I realized the reason they were were laughing is because when I was sleeping between five and six, they were duct taping me to the bed.<laugh> and so, uh, beautiful. Yeah. So anyway, I stayed with him. The great thing is this youth minister, Martin re stayed there for 30 years as the youth minister for this church. And uh, and he just mentored me and I came on board as a youth director and he would just be like, Hey, want you to write a song for this kid? His dad's having a tough time. He's got cancer. His, his son has cancer, was he's my son. Or remember me, we're doing a we're going around and visiting all the college students and you're gonna come with me in the car and we're just gonna go every college student that we've ever had to go through our program. We're gonna go to the college and visit him. And I wrote, remember me in the car, you know, uh, for those. So, uh, anyway, Aw, I told you that earlier story about playing at the grand old Opry, I did concerts and he would say, Hey, write a song about this, write a song about this. And I kept writing these songs and the kids would keep asking for the songs. And I did a concert at the church and then I did another one and it was even bigger. And a lady said, Hey, you should do a show at the rhyme auditorium. And she was kidding and I didn't know it. So I called the rhyme auditorium. I said, I need to book a concert for Mark Schultz. And they said, who are you? And I said, Mark Schultz. And they go, what do you do? And I said, I'm a youth record at church. And they go, well, you just can't call and book your own concert. And they said is a benefit concert. And I said, yeah, it's for me. So I showed up and the reason why I say the reason why I say it was so special, uh, right before I, I thought this is maybe my last chance. I just want to give it a shot. And if it doesn't work out, I'll go back to Kansas. No one, I gave him my best shot and the record company wasn't interested in really coming, but they owned the rhyme auditorium. And once they heard that I was doing a concert, they decided to come and, and uh, nobody was there beginning, there holds 2,500 people and about 300 people in their seats. And I got to go on stage almost. And they said, hold on, they're letting out a couple football games. We're gonna see it. More people come. And, uh, mark dere, the youth minister came out, uh, before me and looked around and he came back in. He said, you met, ready to go out. He didn't tell me anything. And I said, yeah. I said, I was not marrying many people out there. And it is maybe not gonna work. But I said, at least I gave it my best shot. And he smile gave me a hug, prayed for me. And I'm standing, this gets me every time I'm standing backstage and he's in the front and he's talking to the audience. And he said, the reason we're here tonight is because there was a kid from Kansas who had a dream when he came to Nashville and he surrounded himself with people who were just crazy enough to believe it might come true. Wow. Welcome to mark. She at the rhyme and, and a crowd just it's full it's packed. And my mom and dad are sitting on the front row and it wouldn't have happened. Had I not run into him. And I wouldn't have run into him. Had I not prayed the night that I got there and felt like I made a huge mistake and said, God, if you're real, you got to show me and show me in some way that you're real. And he put a Martin of reason in life, in my life. Who's a mentor to me and I still talk to and run with a couple times a
Speaker 2:Week. Wow. Yeah. You wrote a song about him, which is amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's Ben, you know, one of the tunes then that's a, that's a newer, that's a newer one for sure.
Speaker 2:So good. You talked a little bit about, you said you were writing songs at a chapel. Do you have a process for writing your songs? Is everyone different? Yeah, I know you said a lot of times God will drop something in your heart. It sounds like mark DeVries is really the mastermind. It gives you all the songs to right. Is that<laugh>? Yeah.
Speaker 1:At the beginning, at the beginning, it was the pressure of, uh, Hey, we have, uh, we have, uh, the kids are graduating and we need a song for youth Sunday. Or we had a thing called Jesus jeans and beans, which is the kickoff Sunday at the beginning of the year where kids wear their jeans in the church and it's real laid back. And I wrote a song called I am the way, one of my first songs I ever wrote. And, um, and so he would just say, Hey, we need a song for this. We need a song for that. And then I love that because that kind of puts the, when you're driving down the highway and you can see that there's rails on the side of the road. And, you know, I gotta stick with this theme and you can't get outside of the, because I'm the kinda guy that would just keep taking different roads. And I'm my off onto a song that nobody's ever thought of before. I just love that. And, um, and so it really, it really helps, but for me, I'll go into the chapel and I'll sit down there and I'll write something and I'll just, I have to get out of my thinking brain and I just have to write until something else takes over. And then you're into creative process that you're not thinking anymore. And I think that's where God can do some work. And then I'll say a phrase. And then I, you know, I heard funny enough before this podcast I went on and, uh, I was listening to your podcast about your, uh, uh, 2 20, 21 recap podcast. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, I gotta go back to, uh, episode 2 97 and listen that how to, how to do my end of year thing, but oh yeah. I was, uh, I heard you talking about a song on there, uh, before where you call me home and yes, uh, that was an example of me just sitting there and I was just playing and all of a sudden I started singing before you call me home. And, uh, something happened. It was like, oh my gosh, that's beautiful. And I just put it on my tape recorder and I just recorded it. And I said, we'll come back and figure out what that song's about later. So a few months later I came back and listened to it and I go, now I've gotta make sense of what that, what that song was all about. But usually it's just that. And, and as long as I've got a great melody and the hook of the song, then I can go, okay, man, then I can, you can get on that thing and write it as far as if possibly can. The hardest is, is a great melody with, and you're trying to figure out what that Melody's about. And sometimes that takes a long time. Do you
Speaker 2:Have a favorite song or a handful of songs that are your favorites or are they all basically like your babies? You love
Speaker 1:'em all. Yeah, my favorite's always the last one I wrote, you know, I put'em out there and they're like, kids, you just help they go out in the world and make a living. And then so checks<laugh> and support their dad. Yeah. There's a, you know, there's always a, a handful of them that I, I just know are special. And, and, uh, and so whether that's, uh, the one you were talking about, uh, early, earlier, man, here's what makes'em special, makes'em special when they go off and they have a life of their own. And then people tell me the stories about<affirmative>, uh, about how this had an impact. So whether it's with your mother-in-law or the song I wrote for, uh, and now I'm just realizing you asked me about it and I just went off on another song. So, uh, everything to me, uh, the song I wrote about my adoption, uh, I wrote with, uh, a girl who I've written a few songs with, and she had just had like her second or third baby. And it was like a couple months after. And I said, I get this song. I'm not writing with my birth mom. And so I sat down at the piano and I said, something like must found you on when they, to me from neurons. And I still remember she had her notebook and her eyes just rolled up in the back of her and she just rolled over and she was in the church pew, and she just went sideways and she like, like she was pretending to pass out. And she was like, I just gave birth to a baby. And given a baby up for adoption, seems like my head is about to explode, you know? And so we just sat down and that song just really came out quickly. And, uh, at the end of the day, the song was about, Hey, I just wanna tell my birth, mom, dog never met her man. When you gave me up, you gave everything to me. I I've had a great life. And, and the line in there, the second verse about man, when you were making the choice, whether you gonna have me or not, or have an abortion, were you thinking about what my life was gonna be like, were you thinking about, uh, me getting married, you know, whew. And my wife walking down the, and, uh, and I, and I just paint the picture of what that looked like. And is that what you were thinking about? And there's a line in there that says, um, you know, if I saw you on the street, would you know that it was me? Would your eyes be blue or green, like mine, would we share a warm and brace? Would you know me in your heart? Or would you smile? Let me walk by. Um, and, and the last part of that is I just, I just hope you'd be proud of who I am. You know, man, I cry on interviews too. I, I write, I cry when I write it. I cry to record it and I cry an interview, but I think that's what those are the things that now that I'm a dad and, uh, we've adopted two girls, we've adopted a girl from China and we've adopted a girl from, uh, not only here in the United States, but from the same state, the same town and the same adoption agency that I came from. Wow. And so, uh, to see that from the other side and be the dad of adopted kids, and then I sing those words and I'm just like, oh my gosh, that's full circle for me. I get to see the whole story.
Speaker 2:Yeah. When you were performing here in Pittsburgh, I'm sure you share this a lot. You just talked about your wife has this phrase that you catch onto just we're all in, I'm all in. And you talked about that, you know, what came to adoption? Can you just speak to people listening to this about specifically around adoption, but what does it mean to be all in? And you know, what, what advice do you have for those may be listening to this who maybe have never considered adoption, maybe now they would, or that are considering adoption, you know, what would you, what would you tell them about being all in?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I just think number one, I've had a lot of friends, uh, maybe couldn't have a child, maybe have had a child and they, they thought maybe we could adopt too, because there's so many, I mean, your options are limits limitless when it comes to adoption, because there's just so many options. And, and I think the one thing that holds people back is fear. I see it over and over again. And if there's one person that shouldn't have been afraid to adopt anybody, it would be me because I'm adopted. And I just feel like that's part of my story. So when my wife said, Hey, let's adopt. And I was, she was like, we got to go. And, and I said in the, in the concert as well, I said, look, the people who made the biggest impact in my life have been the people that said I'm in. And that was my mom and dad. When they adopted me, you know, my mom, when they're getting ready to adopt the people, they don't know the story. But my mom, I said, tell me the story. My mom said, well, we looked at you two weeks old in the crib. I looked at you and looked at your dad. And I looked at you and I go, well, what do you think? And I looked at your dad, he just looked at you. And he goes, I'm in. And, uh, two year, uh, 23 years later, I go to Nashville. And the people that I live next door to are Henry and Liz, Liz grew up with mini Pearl off of he, uh, real. I mean, they really grew up together and they took me in and fed me every night and uh, took care of me and encouraged me and just said, you're gonna make it here in Nashville. You're gonna do fine. And one day they called my Christmas. They put a telephone next to me and they said, oh, your folks would tell me, they've got nothing to worry about. Cause you just got adopted in my entering list. And I was telling my wife, the people who made the biggest impact in my life were the ones who said I'm in. And uh, she said, well, I think they knew how to do that because they loved the guy who did that to them first and said, I'm in. And they were just mirroring back to you, what you had. They had got, had already done for them. And I said, we should do that. You know? And my, my life, as I said, during the show, my wife's like, well, I've been doing it for a while, but you can join me if you want to<laugh>. And uh, and so it really was, my wife was like this arms, white out I'm in. And, and I remember when she was filling out the form for a Chinese baby, my wife's a medical doctor. She's an OBGYN. She knew what, all the meant. She knew what it meant to have, you know, Hey, would you take a baby without a finger? Would you take a baby without a hand? Would you take a baby with a heart defect? Would you take a baby with a lip? Would you take a and marking to one she's marking in the opposite? And I'm like, you just don't have any idea, honey, you have no idea what your, what your, and she just looked at me and she's like, she's like, Hey, are there things about you that you were, that you wish were different that you wish? Gosh, I wish that that didn't happen. I wish I wasn't like that. I wish I wasn't like that. You know? And she said, do you think God looks at you any different and just goes, well, he was in the club until I saw that facting him now he's out. No. Oh, God just loves you. He just loves you. And so we met my ma two years later from, from, uh, China and she didn't have, uh, fingers on her left hand. And I just, as I said, during the show, I knew that was gonna be a huge deal. And I knew that's, that was all I was gonna think about. And I met her and it was, it was a huge deal for about 20 minutes. And then I haven't thought about it since I have not thought about it since. And she's been the, she, when she was, uh, two and a half, three years old, and she was the first kid that in her preschool class to put on her socks in her shoes. I mean, she's just, she's just a go-getter she's, she's unbelievable. And now I don't see her as a kid to a adopt from China who has maybe a defect. I see, I see her as my daughter and she's perfect to me. Amazing. And so, um, and so, uh, I, I think there's a, there's a before and there's an after and I've learned more. I hate this because I'm a creature of comfort, man. When I go do concerts, when I do a concert, my road manager always knows just to find the nearest Jimmy Johns cause that's where I want to go. Cause it just it's the same every single time. He's just like, not only, I know you want Jimmy Johnson and we're gonna hit Starbucks after I get it. And I know what you're gonna get. You're gonna get in number three at Jimmy Johns every single time. And I'm just creature comfort. But what I'll say is the places where I've grown the most and the most important things have happened to me is when I've jumped outside my, uh, comfort zone. And I hate living outside my comfort zone, but the best things happen to me. I'll say whether it's moving to Nashville, whether it's adopting my daughters, whether it's, um, getting married, whether it dreaming up the next thing it's getting out of my comfort zone, where all the magic happens. And so I would just tell people who are thinking about adoption, it's stepping outta your comfort zone and it's just taking a chance. And once you take a chance and you go, well, how could it have not been? How could it have been anything other than this? You know, and I remember there was a, there was a lady who adopted this few kids and her husband, she came to a concert and uh, her husband had sent her a picture of, she, he said, honey, let's adopt one more. And she said, absolutely not, no more kids for us. And she came to my concert and uh, I walked out afterwards and, uh, she was just standing there and she was just looking at me. She said, had this look on her face. And she's just like, come here. And, and she shows me the picture like this, and she's just got tears running down her face. And she said, you did this. And I said, what did I do?<laugh>? And she said, we weren't gonna adopt anymore. Now I just called him and said, we're bringing him home. So I was like, oh man, that's, that's a, so for a song to go out and, and encourage people like that, to be brave, to be strong, to, to, to change a life like, um, like my parents did for me and Henry and Liz did for me, uh, my prayers that we can be that for, for our girls as well. Wow.
Speaker 2:Well thank you for being all in and, and that, you know, after seeing you perform live and listen to you, I, I believe everyone needs to experience a concert with you. Uh, so I wanna talk to you about performing and I am trying to figure out ways to get you to back to Pittsburgh, uh, cause oh good. Yeah. Cause everyone needs to hear you. Um, but performing you are not just your songs, but you performing, you're literally one of the best storytellers I I've ever listen to. And I'm just curious when it comes to storytelling, is, is that just natural that naturally comes to you? Or is that a skill that you actually had to hone?<laugh> you're laughing. Yeah,
Speaker 1:I'm laughing because, uh, I, I just re I think it's, uh, I think it's come pretty natural, but it's honed over the time too. My best friend from high school, he came to watch me. We had a show in California and, uh, I remember it was when I first starting out, was it, uh, Knottsberry farm or something? I forget. Anyway, he came to the show and he was just sitting out there and I could just see him sitting there watching me like this. And he was just shaking his head and he had this huge smile on his face. And I said, afterwards, I said, well, what's going on? And he said, the two things that you're doing right now, telling stories and singing behind a piano have been the things you've been doing your whole life. Like, I remember I used to go home for lunch. Uh, I ran track and so I'd get home for lunch and I'd have a salad with my mom. And, and, uh, cuz the, the meeting, the big lunch at school, which just, uh, would make me sick. So, uh, at track breakfast. So I go home and I'd eat with my mom, but I would always notoriously be five to 10 to 15 minutes late coming back in the class. And the teacher after about the first week was so mad the first week and then just enjoyed the stories of why I was so late, so much that he would say, oh, let me just get comfortable here. When I'd walk in, he would stop class. He would give back in his chair and he would put his feet up on the desk and he would sit back there and he'd go, okay, you can start. And I would just tell a story about why I was late. I would just make it up mostly. And, and by the time it was over with, he would just say that was, that was better than yesterday's story the lesson. You know, its just, I don't know. It's just something that I love and, and uh, it's made its way into my songs, you know, to story, tell inside my songs. Yeah, Adam. So that's why I laugh. And I, I think that because I feel like I've been doing it my whole life now, people just, you know, by tickets to come see it is, is, is different. Oh. And, and
Speaker 2:With that, what I think is so brilliant, like I'm, I'm just picturing when we were with you in November at the show. I, I think you saying walking her home, I, I forget which song was, but literally I looked at, I left and, and the couple who were good friends, I didn't know at the time, but his wife was pregnant. She's literally shaking, crying so hard, uh, impacted the song. And then within I'm sure the whole room felt the same way. I mean, Laura and I were teary eyed and then you instantly go switch it to humor. And literally we go from the motion of like bawling our eyes out to laughing. I mean, is that, is that just intentional or that's just more of who you are. It's, it's absolutely brilliant cause of how emotional your songs are.
Speaker 1:I'm both those people. So if you're hanging out with we're hanging out, we're laughing. But if I'm, if I'm putting my of hard into a song, then it's like, that's also part of me. But the thing is, if you're gonna play those songs and you come back with a, with kind of a very deep, sad story after that song right there, you just can just run people into the ground. You know, they're just gonna be like, I can take three songs and I can't breathe anymore, you know? But the humor is just, that's fun for me. I, I just, I love to play a song that I can see people feel, then that's the magic of it. When I see somebody feel the same way that I did when I first wrote the song after 15 or 20 years, they're still having that feeling that I had when I wrote the song and it reminds me of it, but then to entertain and, and just to make people laugh and go, oh, and one person said a long time ago and I've always tried to do this. He said, I feel like what you do is you take real life and turn it into art, you know? Hmm. Whether that's to make the stories, to, to make people be inspired or cry or think, oh, I've never thought about that before. Or to tell a story. That's funny taking life and turning it into art in some and handing it back to people. And then people can see themselves in it. You know, if people are, are crying or they're laughing, they can see themselves in those situations.
Speaker 2:Can you talk to, this could be young leaders, but in general, talk to young performers, you know, what would you tell the, the 20 year old version of yourself, you know, that maybe's moving to Nashville has a dream. Maybe doesn't have all the people believing in them. What would your advice be?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's interesting. I think, um, I got this advice, uh, from a, a country singer when I went, when I was a waiter in Nashville, Willie Nelson said the same thing in an interview. And I heard later on, but there was a, a, a country guy who had come to town and he was, uh, his career was over and he was lead and he found out I was his waiter and he found out I was leaving. And number one, he said, uh, Hey, I've had a good run here, but if I could lead one thing with you, he goes, I don't know if you'll ever be on stage or not. Or if you are, this'll be worth it for me just to tell you, he said, make sure when you perform a song, you never phone it in because if you're not feeling the, that song, the person in the seat out there is not gonna feel the song. They're gonna feel it less than you do. So you need to put everything you are into that song. And then the other thing is that I think is so important. I heard will Nelson say this when people ask me how to get into the music business, I just don't tell'em cuz I figure if they were meant to be in the music business, they're gonna find a way to be in the music business. For me, that is absolutely true. And I remember<laugh> I remember being a Kansas state and I was reading a book on, uh, how to make it into the music business, you know? And it said, number one, the number one rule. If you're this book, uh, if you want to come to Nashville and get a record deal, uh, don't come. Only 1% of the people who come to Nashville get a record deal. And I still remember looking at that going, I think I'm one of those guys<laugh> I think I'm that 1%. I have no idea why I was just even think that, but I just had like, man, I think I'm gonna do that. And when I first came, came to Nashville at BMI, they listened to people's songs and that's where I had an internship for free. And uh, after six months I finally got enough, enough nerve to ask this guy who, who was a song plugger there to listen to my songs. And he listened to, he listened to one, you get about halfway through and, and he'd move on to the next one, get halfway through, move on to the next one. And I thought myself, either things are going really, really well here, or they're not going well at all. And afterwards he said, you know what? Your songs kind of get me. They're kinda like half hooked me in, but you're not a great singer and you're not a great piano player and you're not a great songwriter. I just don't know what's gonna happen. And I remember sitting there thinking, ah, man, think I'm better than that. And I went to, I went to Martins and noble and I picked up a book, had to write a hit song. And I was working as the, as a youth director at the time. And I sat and read it, cover a cover. And I sat down, I went, oh, you know what? He was right. There's a lot of things that I'm doing wrong. And the first song I ever wrote was a song called when you come home, I wrote it for my mom. And that was a, a first song that I wrote right after I read that book. And I went back into the guy's office and I said, you're absolutely right. And I played him the song and, uh, tears were running down his face and he goes, you got it. And, uh, that was it. So I think it's you find a way, I mean, if you're meant to do it, you find a way and, and, uh, you're not discouraged when, uh, Roblox. We just go, I'm just find a way to get it done.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And, and by the way, this is totally personal, but is your mom still around?
Speaker 1:My mom is still around. Okay.
Speaker 2:I always laugh at the live stories and songs, you know,<laugh> because the last first of that song, man, it always like, yeah, your mom's actually still alive, but everyone thinks she's dead.
Speaker 1:I was saying in the book, it says, uh, man, if you're gonna write us on that third verse, gotta be as strong as you can possibly get. And, and, uh, having my mom pass away at the end of that song was as strong as I can possibly get. I said, everybody is really excited about that, except my mom, you know, have to tell everybody at the end of the song, mama, she's really fine, but that's what the book, so follow. That's
Speaker 2:So good to hear. If we have time, we'll go in the lightning round, but I wanna focus on just finish, focusing on, on generosity. And, and, you know, you mentioned that you raise money for orphans. Uh, you're also in the middle of, you know, you had a goal of raising a million dollars for, uh, pregnancy resource or crisis centers, which yeah, my understanding is you're over 2 million now we're close to that, which is incredible. So most doubled your goal. My wife and I we've been just challenging the area of generosity this year. And it was interesting what we were praying. It's like, okay, God cares about the poor, the widow and the orphan. And we feel like we're good on the giving the poor area. And we're like, man, God, where do you want us to connect with orphans and widows? And you know, and then I was doing research for this interview and I saw the remember me foundation. Can you just talk about, you can talk about giving back, but talk about the, remember me foundation and if someone's listening to this and was impacted and wants to make a difference for orphans, uh, what can we do and how can we be a part of, of your foundation?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Well, two things. Number one, uh, when I went on my bike ride across the country, my wife's, uh, I, I said, she's, uh, man, I gotta tell her what, what I'm thinking. And I said, honey, what if I rode my bike across the country? And for three months, all the money that came in from that thing, we just gave away to orphans. And my wife just, she looks at me and she has tears coming down her face. And I was like, oh, that was a bad idea. Let me switch the subject. And I said, okay, what about we don't do that? No, she said, no, no, no, it's awesome. She said, I'm, I'm just sad that I can't go with you and do it. That seems like something would be so fun to do together. And she was an OB GYN residency, so she couldn't do it. And I thought, okay, well, number one, I'm married to the right person. I mean, she was got a huge heart. So I did that. And then I, after it was over with, and I came back and I said, that was the greatest thing that I've ever done. I mean, I just gave all the money away and we just sat in the kitchen on the floor and we were, I remember we were just sitting in the kitchen. I don't know why we were on the floor, but we were just so happy that we gave so much money away and nothing benefited us at all. And it was such a great feeling. And she said, you know what, when can we do that again? And I said, Hey, we didn't do that the first time. That was me by myself. And she said, we gotta do something cuz you just can't let that feeling die and then go 20 years and go, oh yeah, that was fun. And she, she said, uh, why don't we start an organization? You know, maybe it's based off one of your songs and ended up being, remember me. And we called the remember me mission. And so every year we, I would come out with a new project, whether it be a, a book or a new record or whatever, and anybody who bought that merchandise, all that money would go to the remember me mission. And then she would, uh, disseminate that, uh, money out to orphan care and um, help mothers, uh, around the world. And it was in huge win for me because it kept me off my bike and uh, having to ride my bike across the country again. So it's been really great and, and my wife has really plugged in and knows the needs of because, um, maternal fetal medicine and, and has real ends to places she's gone over and done mission trips around the world and over in Africa. And so she's really plugged in the, the people who are in need. And so she can plug those, uh, that money into assets or into places where those assets will really help the, the communities. And so it's been awesome. And again, I think the biggest thing is, you know, I tell my wife all the time, I thought the biggest thing in my life would coming the national and getting record deal. After that, I was like, it can't get any better than that. That's like the greatest. And then it happened and I got there and I was looking off the top of the mountain. I was like, man, there's gotta be more than this. It's gotta, you know, it's great. I love it. But there's gotta be more. And the more was, find other people who don't have a voice and be their voice. And so for me, that's been orphan care and uh, and so yeah, during, uh, COVID, I, I sometimes I'll just pick up the phone and I'll call a pregnancy center or a, or a adoption agency. And I'll just say, Hey, I was walking down the hall this morning when my daughter who was two at the time, woke up and she pulls herself up over the crib and she goes, dad, dad, she lights up the whole room. And I'm like, I just called to tell you that you're doing an awesome job and keep up doing what you're doing because without your work, I wouldn't have the daughters that I have today. So thank you for what number one, they're floored that I call. And, and they're just like, you know what, nobody calls us to tell us, thank you. And I say, well, here's one person doing it because I'm grateful. So whenever my girls are having birthdays, I get on the phone and they start calling these organizations and then they, oh, so I called some of'em. They said, Hey, we're just, we're having trouble keeping our doors open. Cuz COVID OS you know, we can't hold our banquets or anything like that. And I told my wife, I said, what if we just decide, we're gonna raise a million dollars for those organizations? And she said, that's crazy, cuz COVID habits. I haven't. And man, if we didn't go out and race 2 million and that feels that's good. So awesome. Yes. That feels so awesome.
Speaker 2:Well thank you for that. And thanks for everything you've done with a few minutes. We have left. I do wanna ask about a platform. So, you know, everyone comes to, to Nashville wanting to, to have a platform and wanting to be a star you've gained influence obviously, and have done well. What have you learned about the platform and the influence that you know, God has given you? Did you enjoy it as much as you thought you would? You know, how do you steward that? Well, um, you know, when people want your attention, one stuff from you, I'm just curious to hear you speak on that.
Speaker 1:Here's what I, think's really important. Looking back when I said, Hey, I'm gonna come to Nashville and get a straight record deal and I'll be on the road traveling. It'll be really great. Two things pop out when you ask that question, the first thing is when my songs are on the radio and we're going to play these concerts and there's two or 3000 people there and there's people saying, Hey, can we get you a bottle of water? Can we get you a napkin? Can we get you? Everybody
Speaker 2:Was just Jimmy Johns. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Can we get you Jimmy? I want number three. I know you won. Number three. Everybody was just coming at and giving, giving. And I felt like, oh my gosh, I feel everybody's taking such good care of me. And you can get the state where you can kind of feel like, oh, that's just how its now people just take care of me. The greatest thing for me early on was then to come back, uh, on a, after a Saturday show, come back on Sunday morning and walk in. And Martin Dre youth semester would say, Hey mark, glad you got here. A kid just threw up in the hallway. Can you go get the mop and clean that up and then meet us down for the, for the assembly. And so you go from this and I just always remember thinking to myself, I always want to be the guy who my kids in the youth group know if they come out to a show somewhere, I never want him to say, oh, did you see the way he acted to that person? Did you see the way he treated that person? The way that that's not the mark shes that we know that's not the youth minister, youth mark shows the, we know. And so that's just always stuck with me. It's important to be grounded in that. And that was the greatest training I could have ever hoped to have is um, to serve, but also to be the survey, you know? And then the other thing that I learned is that I remember, uh, when my son was old now he's about five years old and uh, I was getting ready to go get on a bus. It was midnight. And uh, when the bus was in Nashville, takeoff and I was putting him to bed at eight o'clock or something at seven o'clock and he said, daddy, where you going? Cause my, my kids still have no idea what I do. And uh, they're 9, 7, 5, and two. They got no idea. They they're just like one time my song came on the radio and they were like free. And I was like, here's dad's song on the radio. And I looked in the rear view mirror and they were both asleep in the car anyway, uh, um, telling my son goodbye. And I'm saying, Hey, daddy's gotta go. But I'll be back in a couple weeks, you know? And he said, daddy, where are you going? And I said, uh, well, I'm gonna go do some concerts. And he said, what does that mean? And I said, well, I'm gonna go and encourage some families. And he goes, he just looked at me with this, look at his face. And he goes, well, why don't you just stay home and encourage our family<laugh> wow. And I was like, oh my gosh. And you know what? That was the last time I got on a bus. And so wow. What I realize now is time with my family is the most important thing. And my biggest calling is to be a great dad and to go do shows and, uh, continue to do that as well. But, uh, as my wife says, if we get to be, uh, 20 years from now and we don't have a great family, we've kind missed, we've missed it. We missed our calling. So we try to do intentional time with our kids every day, 10 to 15 minutes, no matter what each kid gets, 10 or 15 minutes, whatever they want to do, we do it. And I jump in and I'm, and I, and I do it. And that time is investment and adds up. And, uh, I'm hopeful by the time they're in their twenties. Uh, they'll come home when they don't have to. Hmm.
Speaker 2:And then we need to wrap up and I guess I'll just leave this open ended. Is there anything else you wanna talk about or anything else you wanna leave us with?
Speaker 1:Gosh, I don't know. I think we're just learning so much as parents and I, and I know you're you give a lot of tools for people that are, are our learning. My wife and I just started this thing called positive parenting, positive parenting. Amy McCrady is, is who teaches it and, um, positive parenting solutions. Gosh, it's been so great. Our family has just gotten so much tighter and, and, and it's, it's been really great and I would encourage people to do that. And the last thing I would say is we decided it's the new year, and I know everybody's seen this, but it's just made a huge impact. Our sermon, uh, a few Sundays ago was that idea. You've seen this, I'm sure where they have the vase or the, the, the clear glass. And they put the rocks in the, the big rocks, the medium rocks and the small rocks you see in this. Right? Yeah. And it just hit me. Oh my gosh, we're not putting our big rocks in, which are the most important things. We're letting the, Hey, I'm checking my Instagram or I'm checking, uh, Facebook or I'm checking CNN or whatever I'm looking at. And you know, that's the sand and the must dos is the, is the next layer of bigger rocks. And then by the time it's time for big rocks, like God and your family, you're just, you don't have room for'em. You put the big rocks in first and you get everything, you know, everything else fits in. And so my wife are just saying, Hey, it doesn't matter. What's going on, whether I'm traveling or whether I'm here, we're getting on FaceTime or we're here in the kitchen and we're reading the Bible. And then we're listening to how, how to be better parents. Those are the first things we're doing before. Any thing else takes over the rest of the day. And I think when you put those things first, then God comes in and, uh, puts, it, puts the rest of them together. Oh,
Speaker 2:I've loved this conversation. It was everything I hoped it would be. Uh, so thank you again for allowing this bucket list item to get crossed off and thank you for who you are more than anything else. Thank you for being all in with what God's called you and your wife and your to do. And thank you again, just for the impact that you've made on my family specifically. Uh, we spent a lot of time with you, uh, just listening and just worshiping and, and just, we're just very, very grateful for your ministry, mark. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Uh, thank you. Uh, man, it's important work that you're doing. I love listening to your podcast and I really am. I'm going back to, uh, uh, podcast number two and listening about how to reframe and, and think about my last year. So it's important work you're doing is great to see you in Pittsburgh and, uh, hopefully we'll get to see you again soon. I love
Speaker 2:That. Thanks mark. You got it. Oh, Hey leader. Thank you so much for listening to my conversation with Mark Schultz. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did. You can find ways to connect with him and links to everything the we discussed in the show notes@lthreeleadership.org slash 3 0 3 and leader is always, I wanna challenge you that if you really want to 10 X your growth this year, then you need to either launch or join in L three leadership mastermind group. Mastermind groups have been the greatest source of growth in my life over the last seven years. If you're unfamiliar with what they are, they're simply groups of six to 12 leaders that meet together at least one year in order to help each other grow, hold each other accountable, achieve their goals and to do life together. If you're interested in learning more about masterminds, go to L three leadership.org/masterminds. And as always, I'd like to end with a quote and I'll quote, Brian Houston, who said this? He said, friends will always go the distance with you. I love that friends will always go with you leader. Do you have friends in your life that will go the distance for you? Never take them for granted. Hey, I hope you enjoyed this episode, Lauren. I love you. We believe in you keep leading. Don't quit. The world needs your leadership.