Youth Ministry Mentorship & Beard Tips w/ Jacob Dunn

What if your life took an unexpected turn, leading you from a planned career in medicine to a rewarding path in ministry? From career work to calling?

Special guest alert! This week Jacob Dunn, family pastor at Valley Creek Baptist Church, joins us live from #ETCH24 Tune in for a lively chat about the power of  friendships, the unexpected paths our lives can take, and the ultimate soda. 

Our chat takes a more reflective turn as we explore the transformative power of mentorship. Jacob shares stories of those who guided him, like a youth leader named Jill, who saw potential before he did. 

In this episode we talk about the mechanics of mentorship in ministry, emphasizing the need for guides to aid newcomers by sharing their wisdom and experiences. The importance of networking, finding the right mentors, and planning for long-term impact is highlighted, painting a picture of how mentorship can shape a more effective ministry journey.

Whether you’re here for the ministry insights or the beard care tips, this episode offers a thoughtful mix of serious reflection and lighthearted banter. 

Join us for an episode filled with laughs, learning, and a few unexpected twists.

Transcript

The Right Soda

Speaker 1 0:19

A snap, but an old friend. Ladies, gentlemen, jacob dunn with us. Live on the yellow couch thumbs up, you gotta get thumbs up, thumbs up, bro. How are you? Welcome to edge?

Speaker 2 0:29

welcome to the podcast man, I'm good, I'm good.

Speaker 1 0:30

Yeah, thanks for having me, thanks for letting me be here, dude, so jacob, you are the family pastor at valley creek baptist church in kentucky, yeah, but more than that, you've been youth ministry booster for several years, I didn't know.

Speaker 2 0:47

I think close to that Seven, I think seven is it From the very earliest of beginnings?

Speaker 1 0:54

Man dude, glad to have you here Finally. I feel like we talk all the time. We don't get to hang out all the time, the true power of internet friendship or whatever.

Speaker 2 1:05

I feel caught up and yet I also feel like I only get to see you once a year, and that's not enough. Conferences it's one of the best things to get to see the people that you do communicate with a lot. Then you just be in person and you're like, ah, your face, it's right there in front of me. It's great no-transcript.

Speaker 1 1:29

Number one we've been asking folks Chad's not here. We miss him. We love him. God rest whatever state he's in. If you were going to guess why Chad wasn't around, what would you guess is?

Speaker 2 1:40

the reason keeping him away, a reason keeping Chad away, or what would be more important than this to him?

Speaker 1 1:46

What would he value more? What would he?

Speaker 2 1:49

value more. Yeah, yeah, I mean you know, I think he would probably value a good like cup of tea. Okay.

Speaker 1 2:02

A little morning chess game. Yeah, a morning chess game with a cup of tea. He's still working on chess puzzles, yeah man, he, they're doing it.

Speaker 2 2:08

I watch those guys every now and then like I guess just being friends with him yeah has caused like chess to enter into my like social media algorithm.

Speaker 1 2:16

It's not a world I've influenced you?

Speaker 2 2:17

I think so he is an actual influencer and so now, every now and then, like those chess matches and the guys and like what? They're doing oh yeah, oh yeah, and I can tell from the reel like something happened.

Speaker 1 2:26

I don't know what it was. It seemed big. Everybody gasped, it was huge.

Speaker 2 2:29

I can't believe it. Or the guy that's like playing, like they make a move, and the guy's like what a dummy that he didn't see that. Yeah, I don know that that your algorithm had been influenced by his probably probably one of his like a fourth or fifth priority in his life but it's certainly it's there isn't that how friendship works?

Speaker 1 2:49

I love it. I love it. Well, man, you've been a youth ministry for a long time and we're gonna talk about some topics, but there's none more important than jacob dunn. What is the most? You bought a lot. What is the most superior soda as a youth minister that's buying pizza, buying tacos, buying soda. What is the best soda?

Speaker 2 3:07

oh man, best soda, I mean, if I'm going personal taste, okay, you know, and and I'm a real, I'm a, I'm a deal, a deal looker you gotta find a good deal you know. I don't know if your kroger does it you're. You're bargain shopping. So well, not bargain shopping for the soda.

Speaker 1 3:21

Waiting for the good deal to purchase the soda, oh, so, like I don't know about your stocking up, yeah, okay, oh, yeah, okay, okay. So name brand, but at coupon prices. Okay, smart so our uh, I don't know how big it is that's a seminary class, right, oh, it should name brand at coupon prices yeah, that's seminary, the things they don't teach you like. That's the book. Right, that's the book.

Speaker 2 3:41

That's it, yes, uh but I, you know our kro, like hey, every now and then it's like buy two, get five for free or something, yeah, which doesn't make any economic math whatsoever.

Speaker 1 3:52

No, it's like well, it's $17 for one. You're like can I buy one and get two free? Like no, you got to buy two to get five free. And so they put the you can only buy 10.

Speaker 2 4:01

But it's like well, that's 10 per visit, so I'll just visit seven times and stock up. So we're getting the name brands, but we're getting them like.

Speaker 1 4:07

So do you have like a dedicated soda fridge? We have like a commercial A soda storage unit.

Speaker 2 4:14

We have a commercial fridge because we have a basketball concession.

Speaker 1 4:18

So we do this when we have basketball leagues. So you're stocking church, maybe a little bit of home too, All of it.

Speaker 2 4:22

And then locking it.

Speaker 1 4:24

You're not just stealing out of that thing. What are you stocking, man? You've got name brands in the mix. What are you stocking?

Speaker 2 4:28

I'm a big Coke guy.

Speaker 1 4:30

Coke-Cola. Shout out Not a sponsor, could be a sponsor, Yep.

Speaker 2 4:34

But Coke Zero, man, you've got to have the Coke Zero.

Speaker 1 4:46

Okay, zero, the best coke. Like even more than coca-cola. Oh yes, like, take sugar out of the mix, like it's the best. Yeah, better than diet, better than uh. Whatever other versions like they have perfected it yes at zero calories, zero sugar and and coke zero.

Speaker 2 4:56

Here's what I'm so thing. I've noticed like if you're a diet coke person, yeah, you're angry at everybody.

Speaker 1 5:01

That's not a diet coke person like you're, like I'm not. There's a certain tribalism oh yeah like there there is a protective like fold of folks that are not coke drinkers. Yeah, but I think they'll eat others, yeah coke, zero people.

Speaker 2 5:12

They're peacemakers. They like they. They're bringing people together.

Speaker 1 5:15

They're like we're not we're not hating on, it's just everything. Yeah, yeah, right, so so I'm a coke zero guy. Okay, uh, I value the cherry vanilla. Are you? Are you? Do you have flavor in? Uh?

Speaker 2 5:27

a little bit of a purist, but I do love a good cherry coke zero okay cherry coke zero uh, so I'm having that um.

Speaker 1 5:33

Dr pepper is big you gotta have the doctor full flavor.

Speaker 2 5:36

Oh yeah, I mean again, I'm zero, I'm trying to be healthy. I'm clearly not healthy, but I'm trying to be healthy. So always zero. But for the kids, you do it for the kids, do it for the kids, it's straight up full sugar.

Speaker 1 5:47

If I want a DP, I want the full flavor.

Speaker 2 5:48

If we're making that choice. I want all 23 flavors. I want all the sugars, all the calories. I get it, I get it. We talked last night, though.

Speaker 1 5:56

The other surprising diet fave versus full flavor fave Diet Mountain Dew.

Speaker 2 6:06

Yes, diet, mountain diet Mountain Dew yes, diet Mountain Dew holds up way better than it should for being a sugary concoction. It's great. More I I don't see a ton of people that are just like I love Mountain Dew. There's a lot of diet Mountain Dew people advocates there's, there's like there's probably a foundation.

Speaker 1 6:15

Yeah, that's out there doing the work. Yeah, for sure, yeah for sure so. So we're bringing them all in brother, we're glad to have you here atch. Uh, you're talking on student leadership while you're here. Yeah, talking on a conflict while you're here. A little bit, yeah, a little bit.

Speaker 2 6:27

A little bit of that. I don't think there's a whole lot of people to deal with that. It's a little bit of a niche thing. It's a lot of Diet Coke drinkers is what it is. That's right.

Unforeseen Path from career or calling

Speaker 1 6:40

I, you. Why in the world did you wind up in student ministry, now family ministry? What got you into it? You've been doing it for a minute. Obviously, you had the look of a man that probably could engage in a lot of industrial arts. How did you end? Up in, if you told me that you upholstered or did leather work. I'd believe you.

Speaker 2 6:58

That's one of the skills that I'd love to have in life Woodworking.

Speaker 1 7:08

If you had a pencil right now behind the ear, ready to go, I'd believe you. Yeah. Well, unfortunately I don't have those skills.

Speaker 2 7:11

Um, but you have skills, yeah, or just a calling I mean just yeah, yeah, uh, we, we could call them skills or we could call them just you know, something that you've crafted over a long period of time, okay, a lot of work, okay, earn it.

Speaker 1 7:20

we call that experience. That's a good sweat equity. That right, youth ministry has a sweat equity.

Speaker 2 7:24

It does, oh for sure, for sure I mean I've been doing it for man. We're running in 20 years now which?

Speaker 1 7:30

is a weird thing to say. Start saying it in decades, yeah. It lands different on the tongue. Yeah, as much as you want to say. Two decades.

Speaker 2 7:39

Yeah Right, so, man, it started way back, and you know I think about it. It's funny because that was never my plan. I mean, most guys out here would probably say like, oh yeah, ministry was never my plan.

Speaker 1 7:53

They had the other plans.

Speaker 2 7:55

And you know I was going to be a doctor and I look back and go that was ridiculous, like no, nobody wants me as their doctor. But that was kind of where I was going. But I remember the first time anybody ever leaned in and said I think something's different for you. It was one of our youth leaders. It wasn't the pastor, it was just a youth leader and we were sitting in church and I don't know if your church still does it, I don't know if any church still does it, but this was back when all the students sat together.

Speaker 1 8:26

You had those two pews that were like all yeah, you could sit with us. It was all the kids that, like the other adults, are like is he on his phone? Yeah, I love. My favorite in those sections is when I would get texts during service from somebody about a student that was on their phone. Yeah, the irony was holy, yeah.

Speaker 2 8:40

So we were all sitting together, like away from our parents, but together, and it's always like a front, two rows or whatever. And we're there and we're just kind of being silly before, and this leader her name was Jill she turned around and looked at me and she goes you know what? You're going to be a teacher or a pastor.

Speaker 1 8:57

Oh, just called it out here.

Speaker 2 8:59

Just turned around like right in the middle of it and I just laughed I'm like no way.

Speaker 1 9:02

Like no, that's not happening.

Speaker 2 9:03

Yeah, that's not, there's no way uh, I was, you know, I was, you know, a senior. Like I knew my plan, I knew where I was going to school, like I knew the path, like no, we're going to this college, we're gonna get this degree all mapped out, and uh, and so it's one of those things you just kind of put it behind retire, nice little working thing yeah yeah, right and uh, and then you know big, but you know, go to college and my plan is clearly not working, like where I want to go and what I want to do, like it's not clear, like this is as far as, like, the work that's got to get done.

Speaker 1 9:33

I don't know if you know this, but becoming a doctor is hard.

Speaker 2 9:36

Uh like there's a lot of work and a lot of stuff. You talk about sweat equity, yeah you trade 10 years for 30. Yeah, it's a lot of a lot of really small detailed things you got to know and uh, and I'm like just in the beginning of that process, not even like med school or anything like we're not talking, we're talking like yeah we're like pre-pre-bed we're like hey, here's your like not high school, but still pretty basic college classes and I'm struggling.

Speaker 2 10:00

And I'm going hold on a second here. I was pretty confident this was the good plan and the right plan for me, A noble pursuit, yeah. But that's not working. And so what's going on here? And the Lord really started bringing to my mind these people like Jill, who had kind of stepped in and said hey, I think there's something different for you and you don't see it yet.

Speaker 1 10:18

Okay.

Speaker 2 10:20

And so then I started reaching out and going. Man, who can I grab to kind of start having conversations with?

Speaker 2 10:24

this and other guys are just thankful that the Lord had put kind of in proximity to me guys that were on the football team with me in college, that were also walking a path towards ministry, and guys who were doing ministry but were just like secular. Like one of the craziest voices was a guy who was a doctor for the football team, who was leading Bible study, and so you're seeing like okay, and they're starting to just kind of pour in and like man, can I ask you some questions?

Speaker 1 10:48

Can I?

Speaker 2 10:48

talk to you about these sort of things and it was through those people that God revealed like, hey, I have a different passion for you and really started growing that in me and I realized, man, it is into my sophomore year Like God is calling me into ministry through this, like he's revealing that my path isn't going to work, but his path is better.

Speaker 1 11:08

We're going to talk some more about that, because there's something about the path laid by the people along the way that is critical, it's hard and it's so funny because it's hard to know what's happening Right Like, I'm sure in that very moment you're like, oh, something's up. But now when you look back it's like, well, yeah, the bread come trail backwards. It's such a curious like well, there could have been no other way, right that's exactly how.

Speaker 2 11:32

this is the way it had to be.

Speaker 1 11:34

Yeah, it was these people along the way that I met, that informed, that challenge, that like literally, like at the crossroads, at the turnstile yeah, okay, absolutely okay well that's some of the things we want to talk about even now.

Speaker 1 11:46

So part of your journey into ministry, through the mentors along the way, the people that poured into you on the way, is something that we talk about a lot as guys that are measuring ministry in decades and so may like tell us a little bit about on the ministry side of life. The calling is such, but in the 20 years of ministry that follows like who are those mentors? Did you find them? Did they find you? And if you want to name names, feel free to shout out whoever. I mean, that's one of those like let's give attribution and flowers where they're due. Yeah, absolutely.

Community Mentorship in Ministry

Speaker 2 12:19

There's some man. I look at some great guys. So fast forward a couple years back from so feel that calling into ministry, obviously man, life is going to be different. What I'm studying is going to get different. Kind of putting myself, positioning myself around is going to be different and leaning into some people and then, fresh out of the gate, I'm at just a secular liberal arts college.

Speaker 2 12:43

I'm not like at a ministry school where it's like oh well, yeah, clearly that's the path, here's the opportunities that are in front of you. So you just kind of got to start looking, you know. And so it's like, well, where's the first place? Well, I'm going to go work at a summer camp, like a Christian summer camp and just kind of. I mean, they're not even like counseling or anything like that, I'm just maintenance, you know, I'm I'm a lifeguard and I'm a, you know, toilet cleaner and I'm a mulch mover and that sort of stuff.

Speaker 2 13:04

But just to be around ministry and find people, because then you find people who are doing it like right there, and so I think of guys that were early in his kind of work ethic around what ministry looks like in that particular context. And this is work and we treat it as work because it's important. And then to the end of college, when I step out and I go, well, I'm going to go find just whatever job I can find. Where is it? Who's going to hire me, this fresh out of college, never done any ministry, never even had any ministry training? Who's going to hire me, this fresh out of college?

Speaker 2 13:39

never done any ministry never even had any ministry training. Who's going to do that? And I'm thankful that the first season of ministry was back in my hometown in Orangeboro, that there was a group of youth pastors that met together, and so they were in it and they met every Monday. They had lunch, if you wanted to come grab lunch with them.

Speaker 2 14:00

And they would sit and they would talk, and it was just. You know, was it planning the big events and the D-NOWs and the Sea of the Poles? Sure, but more than that. It was like hey, we're sharing some wings and we're talking about how was yesterday?

Speaker 1 14:11

Yeah.

Speaker 2 14:12

And what's going on.

Speaker 1 14:13

Talking about yesterday with folks who understood it, come what may, yeah, yeah, the the wins, the losses, the pitfalls, um, the pit stops that, the parents that pull you over in the passing lane nobody else understands it better.

Speaker 2 14:27

That's right, yeah, so they're there and and there's guys that have been doing it five years, 10 years, 15 years and so, uh, to be able to just sit around the table and you know, and I can think of all these different names of those guys, but in that moment it was really great that it wasn't just like one-on-one.

Speaker 1 14:42

And I can have those one-on-ones for sure.

Speaker 2 14:44

I can think of Toms and the Mats and the guys that were there, that I could sit down with, that were willing to not just like, hey, here's this young guy, like hey, let me talk to him about church, but also like, hey, why don't you and your wife come over and hang out with me? And my spouse and we can hang out, we can eat meals and that sort of stuff together, but also the man. Here's what's going on.

Speaker 2 15:03

I know, the past and the history of your church, I know where you're at and how your church is different than my collective knowledge.

Speaker 1 15:09

Yeah, like I knew before you. Yeah, and I know I knew the last guy. Yeah, I know, like here's, here's what you want to watch out for.

Speaker 2 15:16

Yeah, right, well, and, and there's just the beauty of that collectiveness in that that we can work together in these things. We're not enemies, and I want to help you Like I want to be there with you and I want to help you walk through those things.

Speaker 1 15:30

And that collective work. That's one of those. It's always curious to me Maybe it's the tension of what youth ministry is is that we've always got young people that are going through things for the very first time. Yeah, right. So, like you know, all these 14 year olds are like I'm about to be 15, 16, or a bunch of sophomores that are like should I go to college? It's always fresh for their eyes, yeah, but the longer that we do it, we can see and I think this is the lived in wisdom of like man I have seen a lot of kids graduate like how much more do you minister differently now? Oh yeah, for students that are like anxious, apprehensive about college than you did when you were 24, right 23, and you're like well, I just finished it and this is what it is right.

Speaker 1 16:12

And now you're like well, let's take a beat yeah, yeah, some of that slow down that wisdom that comes from doing it, but in the shared wisdom of the community leadership, because that's man. No, wherever. Wherever you're serving, unless you like, help plant the church. There was people that were there before you and hopefully there'll be people that are long after you. And if there are community voices to help educate and illuminate, that actually is a resource better than you discovering it on your own effort and it's.

Speaker 2 16:40

it's a gold mine to be able to kind of lean into guys. And I mean you know you're young and we all make mistakes and we all like learn, and we're all so gung-ho.

Speaker 1 16:49

This will not be the end of you.

Speaker 2 16:51

Yeah, yeah and it's like, oh man, I'm going to do this and you know, oh man, this thing has to, I'm going to kill this event. And for somebody to step in and say, hold on a second here, let's talk about how important that is to your church, I don't know why you might think it's it matters so much to you.

Speaker 1 17:05

but institutional memory the phrase this has been tried before should not be as crushing as it should be lifting and clarifying.

Speaker 2 17:15

So that was that season where it was like a lot of guys kind of around the table and I could learn from a lot. And then we stepped out of that after a few years into kind of the seminary world and Kim and I were really intentional about looking around at a church that would be able to provide more specific help in that way. And so we stepped out and again know we're talking at that point 20, 26, you know.

Speaker 2 17:44

Just it's still man, I'm, we're still a baby you know, in this world still learning, uh, but I was thankful to to be able to step into a church with some guys that had they had walked a really clear mentorship path and been mentored well and saw the importance of that, and so they were doing a lot of really good work to try and continue that pathway of mentorship and say man, this is what it's done for me, I want to pass it on to the next guy so that they can pass it on to the next guy. And so we thankfully found that group and found some guys that were willing to just kind of like pour in and say this is what we want and all that goes with it.

Mentorship in Ministry Dynamics

Speaker 1 18:22

So help our folks out a little bit Like how? So? Mentoring has meant a lot to you. It's one of the things that we practice now. It's part of the ethos of what, like, the booster setup is about. What would your wisdom be for those that are either looking to mentor or be mentored Like? What is the need, what's the way?

Speaker 2 18:41

What's be mentored like?

Speaker 1 18:41

what is, what is the need, what's the way, what's the find, yeah, I mean, I think um, I think boldness, yeah, it's probably a good one, like don't be afraid to go look for it, go, go look for, go, ask for it if you're looking for it go ask yeah, don't be weird about it.

Speaker 2 18:50

Yeah, you know, like, like, there's a lot of us will you be my mentor? Yeah, like we want, let's go grab coffee, yeah, yeah, right, right right like the, there's a way to ask.

Speaker 1 18:59

Will you attach your life energy to my yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 19:03

Right, I've seen those guys and they don't end up getting mentored a lot. Yeah, because it's like hey, yeah, we can do some stuff, but that's cool Because it needs to be a little bit of an organic or natural hang Because, again, it's mentorship.

Speaker 1 19:17

It's not a program. That's one of the things that we talk about a lot. There are some really intensive coaching programs for all kinds of disciplines, but mentorship is just somebody who's a little bit further ahead than you that you'd like to end up like man. You've been doing this for 20 years. I've been doing it for 10. I like how you lead. You seem to still really enjoy your family and what you're doing. Why do you still like it? You know it is some of those like kind of podcasting questions.

Speaker 2 19:44

Yeah yeah, why are you still doing it? Yeah, yeah, and it is. It's just, it's a cup of coffee, I mean, that's one of the easiest things to do.

Speaker 1 19:55

I think is like pick your brain. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 19:58

And then just allow that relationship to form in a way that's like man, I'm thankful for you. Can I continue asking?

Speaker 1 20:05

Can I reach out to you, and if it doesn't form you're not done. Maybe somebody else.

Speaker 2 20:09

Don't just try once, right, no, no no, keep looking, because that's the thing you might find a. I appreciate this guy. I appreciate their ministry. They're in such a different place.

Speaker 1 20:19

Or they're in a schedule right now.

Speaker 2 20:21

Exactly. They would love to, but they just can't. It is what it is at that point.

Speaker 1 20:26

Well, that's one of the things I think for conferences. It's really great Every time we get a chance to break us or whatever, to try to be a little bit almost intrusive of like man.

Speaker 1 20:37

Everybody picked this one. So clearly we're all a little bit interested. Let's connect and just see there's a little bit of just like. Let's let's just sprinkle and see. Um, because I want to ask you, like as someone who's a couple decades into it now how do you go about? Are you looking for? Who are the folks that you're mentoring? How did that happen on the other side? Because I do think there's an onus. Yeah, the other way. Yeah, young youth minister, uh, men and women that are new to serving in their church for the next generation of people. Please go find somebody.

Long-Term Vision and Mentorship in Ministry

Speaker 2 21:05

But if you've been doing this for a while, it's kind of on you also right, there's a little bit of responsibility like so, beyond just your, your title and pay or whatever. Yeah, right, I mean it's a part of. I mean we understand, like my ministry is better, yeah, when all of our ministries are better, like we're in this together. So for me, I've been blessed to see that in a way that I never thought when I was 25, 26, 27 years old, early in ministry, that God is given to me the ability to grow in wisdom and understanding and an experience in doing this, that to be here 20 years later and still be doing it.

Speaker 2 21:42

I mean there's not a lot of people that are saying that. I mean there's a lot of people that have just through life, gone in different roles and different ways, and so there is that ownership like a part of what I'm called to do to reach students. I mean, and I'm called to reach students, but a part of the way that I'm called to do that is to broaden that influence out to other people that are also reaching students and to see them, and so I need to be looking around me and seeing. So for me now, on the other side of that, I'm blessed to be able to be at places like this and be able to teach and stuff like that, and I need to be looking at who's that guy that's hanging around a little bit longer Lingers Look for who's the learners and the lingerers?

Speaker 2 22:17

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 22:18

Questions up from the ones that hang in the back. Yeah, those are probably your person, right?

Speaker 2 22:26

Well, we talked yesterday, and when we talk about student leadership, when we're looking for people who are ready to be led to become leaders, they're showing up early.

Speaker 1 22:30

Yeah, they're staying late. Yeah, they want to be there around for more than just a bit. Sometimes it's the student council president.

Speaker 2 22:41

Other times it that's just always there early and doesn't know exactly what to do. Yeah, so. So if you're in a context where you know we're in your community, you have a guy who's like every now and then reaching out going, hey, yeah you know about this thing, what's going on here? Like that's a chance for you to lean into that yeah man, can I pour into you some wisdom that I've learned? Yeah, because I was you, yeah, not too long ago. Yeah, I mean 20 years is a long time. Yeah, grand scheme, it's not.

Speaker 1 23:01

Yeah, like man, it wasn't too long, it'll slip up, yeah one of the things we would always do when I was serving on staff in tulsa is there was enough of us that kind of met that if we ever got wind of like hey, trinity's hiring somebody new, we would go make a little gift thing and like put the first step on us if we put it out there like hey, this is us, this is what we do, here's our phone numbers. And if they did never call, we at least we took the awkward step first. Right, like like those, those that have been responsible for longer, uh, were willing to take the first awkward step of like hey, ty, you don't know me, but me some of these guys meet or whatever. Just know, you've got other brothers and sisters that would love for you to hang out with us or call us about anything, and then again they choose not to.

Speaker 2 23:48

That's all you do. But you're there doing it Right, right, and so I make sure that I mean in Baptist world. You're our local association guy the associational word. Our denominational.

Speaker 1 24:00

Kentucky guy Shout out Matt Flanagan, awesome dude.

Speaker 2 24:04

But they know that here are the guys that not just that have the ability but the desire. We want to impart that, because I mean big scheme. When you have the guys like us that have been doing it for years, at some point we have to pass that along to the next group, the next generation.

Speaker 1 24:19

Again, such is the nature of youth ministry. So the youth minister and the seasonality of it is you will not be doing this forever and the hope is that you would leave outdoorsy stuff, leave it better than you found it, which means that you were leaving behind others, either from your own ministry or again, if the call is to the next generation, widening that base and I get it, there are some seasons where you're crazy busy, oh sure. But some of this, I think, is important because it keeps us less busy, because it keeps some of these priorities in check too, like it's not just everything that I can do at my local church, but to have some big c church interest, even at the ministerial level. Yeah, because they need it, need it, you need it Absolutely.

Speaker 1 25:01

One more question, man, I want to know what are some of the lessons you learned along the way. Spout some wisdom. If folks are listening to this and they're feeling encouraged but maybe they don't feel, like man, what would I even talk about? Teach about? What are some of the big things that have maybe not been seminary or conference learnings but have?

Speaker 1 25:17

come from the community have come from the collective wisdom of brothers, sisters and ministry.

Speaker 2 25:26

Man, I think the first one, the big one and this is I think it's big just because it's been something that has been on my heart, but something I've talked with a lot of guys about recently is just, man, we need, we need a big picture of ministry that is, that is longer than just what's right in front of us. Like I mean, sometimes it's good for us to kind of go up on that mountain to see how long that road is in front of us and know like here's where it's going to go, go up, to go out.

Speaker 1 25:52

Yeah, that's good.

Speaker 2 25:55

And when we look down that road and our picture of what our ministry is going to look like is more than a year yeah, but it's, it's five years yeah, it's seven years, it's 10 years, which can feel overwhelming, and yet also it's a little relaxing right, well, because, man, if, if my picture is a year, yeah, how much do I have to get done to get to the goal? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah everything done by camp.

Speaker 1 26:17

Right, dude, slow down like no, no easy. Like you have so many more camps this comes around every year. Yeah, like, and that's great, that's the best part, right exactly so.

Speaker 2 26:27

So then suddenly I go man here's, here's what I want this to look like here's where I'm trying to get our group.

Speaker 1 26:32

Here's kind of the culture I'm trying to build I have time, yeah I really do have time to get there. It feels crunched because we know that we only have students at best for four, five, six years. So that feels crunched, but that's because you were measuring their faithfulness inside the time frame of just when you have them. It is like all of youth ministry all of the time that you have all your students right now is but one season of their bigger life, and that's good perspective.

Speaker 2 27:00

Right, and so I think that's a big one. Take your time, slow down. I think, in that there's so many opportunities in that, like I mean, when we slow down, we can start studying culture, and when I mean that when I talk about this specifically, like your specific culture at your church where you're at. Yeah, yeah, your specific culture at your church where you're at. Yeah, yeah, like, okay, my context is I'm in a rural church.

Speaker 2 27:26

That's slight mostly rural slightly suburban, we're two to three hundred people. We've had this. Okay. Now part of that culture is what have the last 10 years been like? Yes, yeah I'm I'm thankful, I'm blessed to have our pastor, who's been there for you know me 20 years, so I can sit down with him and say, hey, let's talk about what the last? Five years was like. The last 10 years was like let's talk about what the last guy did and what were his priorities and what?

Speaker 2 27:46

kind of ministry did he build so you can study culture? When you do that, study the soil.

Speaker 1 27:50

Right, I mean, if you're going to get that woodworking and that garden going we're going to get it.

Speaker 2 28:03

I mean grew up family of farmers. We've got a retirement plan in the works. We'll figure it out. Just buy some land five acres.

Speaker 1 28:08

That's it, man. And a mule Work the soil too.

Speaker 2 28:14

Now you're talking more Now hold on, I'm going idea of it. So I think taking time is a big one. Just take your time and move slow. And then I would just say, I mean, in that mentorship vein, just have as many conversations as you can, be the guy, be the guy that sticks around. There's a lot of times when I've thought to myself I don't want to bother that guy, I don't want to pester him.

Speaker 1 28:42

He's here, he's got so many people.

Speaker 2 28:44

I'm on the other side of it now going bother me. Please Come talk to me.

Speaker 1 28:47

These are my favorite conversations, actually. That's why I'm here.

Speaker 2 28:52

I mean I'm thankful that all the conferences now they're providing everything digitally and like hey, I know you can only make it to three breakouts, yeah well, now I'm going, man, if I don't make that, that's okay, I can catch that later, because the conversation you and I are going to have is probably going to be more uplifting for me and for you, fill your cup and and it's going to be more productive for what's going to happen, because we can get really specific and talk about where you're at, what's going on in your life and then so.

Speaker 2 29:16

So I think that's big be. Be okay with just stepping into people in a good way, in a healthy way.

Speaker 1 29:21

Well, man Jacob, thank you so much for sharing today, brother, I appreciate our years of friendship and let's do it again sometime.

Speaker 2 29:26

And yeah man.

Speaker 1 29:29

People are going to ask it's going to be in the thumbnail on the way out. Any beard tips for those that are aspiring. You're a mentor in many ways, but for some you are a mentor in one specific way.

Speaker 2 29:40

Yeah, we can talk about that Number one. No, no, no, here's a big one. To camera two yeah, a healthy beard, hear me on this.

Speaker 1 29:52

I think it's spiritual.

Speaker 2 29:53

A healthy beard starts with healthy skin.

Speaker 1 29:56

Oh.

Speaker 2 29:56

So you don't want to. It's the soil I wish a beard, was that's right, so you want. You want that skin to be healthy right, uh, and then number two if you can't grow it, you can't grow it like we all have to understand who we are genetics and dna.

Speaker 1 30:11

Did you just make this an identity issue? Oh wow, I mean it's not an identity issue, but it points true, that's right. It helps us understand no, like you're true, I don't know like a lot you know, there's seasons in life, you know.

Speaker 2 30:23

Okay, sometimes it just takes a while.

Beard Care Tips

Speaker 1 30:25

If you got it, you got it, you got it. I have a dear friend. He has an incredible chin beard. The stache isn't there but he rocks a chin strap and it's solid.

Speaker 2 30:35

Hey, a little bit of balm in the morning oil at night, A little bit, a little bit, a little oil Shampoo in the morning, but it's all again. It's oil that goes on. It's good for the skin. It's good for the skin.

Speaker 1 30:44

Like you gotta get it down there in the skin, which is hydration, and yeah, it's good, that's right. This and more next time.