Dirt to Dollars
Agriculture, farming, and rural issues in central Kentucky.
Dirt to Dollars
Episode 31 - Easter Episode with Pastor Mike
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Thanks to Pastor Mike Davis with Mutiny Crop Performance for sharing with us this week.
This week's episode sponsor is Advanced Crop Care, a local Mutiny Crop Performance Dealer. Call them at 270-299-5879 or contact them on Facebook or Instagram at Advanced Crop Care.
Thanks also to our studio sponsor Biotech Innovations. Learn more about them at www.biotechinnovationsag.com
Welcome to Dirt to Dollars, where we cover everything from the dirt on your land to the dollars in your hand.
SPEAKER_01We're talking all things agriculture instead of technical from the field to the farm office.
SPEAKER_02Join your hosts Daniel Carpenter, Matt Adams, and Mark Thomas as we dig into current ag news, practices, and more. And now, coming to you from the Biotech Innovation Studios, here's Dirt to Dollars. Now let's get innovative.
SPEAKER_03Hey everybody, welcome to this week's Easter edition of Dirt to Dollars. I want to thank our sponsors, Advanced Crop Care by Farmers for Farmers, is your local mutiny crop performance dealer in central Kentucky. Farm Different is a great approach to take in its current farming environment. They build recommendations for your farm from the ground up, focusing on balanced crop nutrition and utilizing biologicals. Call them up at 270-299-5879 for questions or contact them via Facebook and Instagram at Advanced Crop Care. All right, let's get started with our interview.
SPEAKER_01Our guest today hails to us from a company where everyone has cool nicknames like Rooster, Maverick, Jay-Z, Teen, Fruck Norris, and even Mom. If he's not sharing information about liquid litter, revival, or moat, you can almost certainly find him spreading God's word or eating the Lord's chicken. Or more specifically, God's own hand-picked and blessed Raisin Cane's chicken finger. From mutiny crop performance, Pastor Mike Davis.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I love that. You just did something there. Didn't even realize you do it. See, we call Justin JC. But I think what you just no, no, I think what you just did is gonna spin. It's gonna happen. Like when we finish this up, we wrap this up. I'm gonna reach out to the team. We've got a we've got an internal group text, and I'm gonna say you're officially Jay-Z, not JC. So that's awesome. We're glad to help. It just wraps them up. Dust them shoulders off. You can't undo what was just done. It's stuck and it ain't coming off. It's like at that if you guys ever been to Mississippi, southern Mississippi, uh, maybe central, they've got dirt down there. It's like CECs of like 28, 29. And that mud, when it sticks to your car, it's there unless you pressure wash it off. And they call it buckshot. So that nickname's like butt shot, it ain't going anywhere.
SPEAKER_01Hello, glad I could, glad I could help that make that happen.
SPEAKER_00So good deal. I'll introduce myself, that's okay. Yeah, yeah. People that are getting on here. Uh, my name is Pastor Mike. That's authentic. Uh, when I came to work for Mutiny Crop Performance, they wanted to call, I wanted to be just known as Mike. And they said, no, uh, you're a pastor, and and that's a uh there's a reverence behind that. And so we want to honor that and honor the Lord. So with that being said, I have the opportunity to serve faithfully uh through our church, but also uh in the mission field every day as I work with farmers and and come along side them and what they're doing and meeting them where they're at. So I surrendered the ministry uh December, I'm sorry, August 28th, uh 2019. Uh it was right before COVID hit, if y'all remember. I surrendered the ministry, and then about that about eight months later, nine months later, COVID become a thing. And then it wasn't that long after that I got called to serve at Lamasco Baptist Church in Ediville, Kentucky. Pastored that church faithfully for about four and a half years. Uh God was calling me out of it. Um, don't want to get into a whole lot of details tonight. That's not why we're on here, but I was being faithful. I didn't want to leave. Uh I love that church family. My family cried. We we uh wept tears of joy. Um and it was tough to walk away when you know you're serving the Lord faithfully. Looking back onto the year now that it's been since we've left, I needed to focus on my family. Uh God instituted the family before he did the church. And so with everything I had going on in my life at that moment in time, I needed to focus on what was most important. So that's where we're at. We serve faithfully still at a local church, three miles, or not even three miles, five minutes from our house. Uh probably, probably, yeah, probably about three or four miles, I guess. And so we're serving there faithfully, uh, serving in the bus ministry this month, uh, helping with the youth, plugging in where we can. And when there's a church without a pastor for the weekend, I get to go preach still. So that's kind of what's going on. I live in Princeton, Kentucky. I'm married to my beautiful uh bride, Bethany. She only made one bad decision in her life. You can guess what that was. But I got three wonderful boys. I got an almost 19-year-old on the 21st of this month, Hayden. And then I've got a seven-year-old, which is going to be Drew Davis. Uh, we named him actually Andrew after one of the disciples. And then my youngest one is uh Luke after the gospel of Luke. So that's kind of a little bit of what I do in the nutshell. But there's a big need, Mark, um, especially in Kentucky. I I don't know what that landscape looks like throughout our country, but I often talk to many guys that I come in contact with, and they say, yeah, it's the same thing here. Um, I don't know, but like I said, I don't know how widespread it is. But here where we're at in West Kentucky, there are churches that if they didn't have a called man of God willing to serve by vocationally, their church doors wouldn't be open. Meaning they can't financially support a pastor full-time. Therefore, he must go out and still feed his family another way. And so that's where I come in as needing to serve the church, but also working for meeting crop performance. And if you think about it, I I y'all slow me down or I'll go down these rabbit holes. What did what did the apostle Paul do when he was in the ministry field? He was a tent builder by trade. He came back from his all from his childhood, he was taught that trade. So when he was in the mission field, uh he essentially provided for his own way by tent building along the way. So I believe there is a call for called men to be bivocational.
SPEAKER_01I I think you're spot on, and and you're exactly right. There, you know, we're blessed here in in central Kentucky with a lot of churches. Um, the church we attend has um several pastors on the payroll. Um but there are a lot of smaller churches on the outskirts that that heavily rely on volunteerism, and and I think it's a it's a great thing what you're doing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we got a good friend that probably listens, Ricky Arnett. He's an extension agent and and a pastor as well. Uh and Caleb Smith. Caleb Smith Smith listens, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, you're you're not alone in the in the ag field and and doing what you do. So and and that's kind of why why we brought you on here is we kind of just want to tie agriculture um and and the Bible together.
SPEAKER_02And you know, but yeah, before we get too far into that, explain a little bit, Mike, about how you uh kind of what your involvement in the ag industry has been and and uh how you ended up there at Mutiny and uh and what you do there.
SPEAKER_00Well that's a good question. I could always say how how much time do we have, but you know, I I will try to give a brief synopsis uh of what's going on. I'd spent pretty much my entire adult years in the retail industry, and not ag, okay. Uh so up in in Farmington, Kentucky, okay. Everybody I knew or was a friend or a contact or maybe even a distant relative was involved in form farming of some sort. Tobacco was huge in Grace County. Still is a big part of what they're doing over there today. As you guys know, I don't have to go into detail. That landscape is changing rapidly uh yearly, but you know, so you didn't have to go very far where I grew up at that there was somebody farming row crop, corn beans, wheat, that was that was the staple. Um you had a lot of dairy farms back then. I know that looks different today than it did then. Also, you had a whole lot of yet, so there's a lot of opportunity to cut hay, bale hay, and put it in the barns. I did a lot of that. Um, and then also, you know, like I said, the tobacco was keen there. So I had an opportunity to be exposed to all of that, and I knew what things were as far as regarding agriculture, what a tractor was, what a combine was. I knew the language and all that. But uh after I grew up, so to speak, I probably didn't grow up fully, um I had an opportunity from Murray State, uh, graduated from there, and I just fell into the life of retail. Um give me some grace on the days, man, the years. It was somewhere probably 25, 26 years, if you count it all. I felt like that I was in that industry. Uh, and if you've been in retail, that feels like probably 50 years. Uh so I I feel like when I got out of it, uh I I got some of my youth back. You know, my my hair's starting to come back a little bit, maybe. But so there's hope for me. There can it come back? There's hope. There's hope.
SPEAKER_01You might be too far gone. I think I'm too far gone. Uh you know, I think that's go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's one thing that set you apart a little bit is is you came into this um knowing ag but not having worked in ag before. So for lack of better terms, you didn't have any bad habits to get out of the way when when you came to work for Mutiny and when you came to um become you know a an ag retail salesperson. So you know, I think that that makes you, in my opinion, uh, you know, a better representative. And you know, you have you have knowledge, you had knowledge of of years of retail and was able to apply that without the the bad habits of working with farmers for 20 plus years to you know that set you apart.
SPEAKER_00Well for me, yeah. For me, it was just uh, you know, I gotten to a point and I'll share this will be a little bit of my testimony, guys. I shared with you guys, I didn't grow up in church, okay? I hadn't shared that yet. Uh I got saved uh December 14th, 2010. Uh I was 32 year old, 32 years old when I got saved. So I was a late bloomer spiritually and uh really didn't mature into my faith until I was 35. And and so we could go into that conversation another day. But so you fast forward to me surrender to the ministry. I went down and spoke to my pastor in 2016 and told him I was being called. And it was probably late 2016, and uh brother Mark Fawny told me if you can run, run. I was like, well, that's not very encouraging for a man that wants to surrender his life to the Lord. So I did. I I did exactly what he said. I tried to run for three years. And what I will tell you in those three years is God made every aspect of my life a challenge. There was no peace or comfort in anything that I did in any of the decisions that I made outside of my marriage and my wife. Um, so there was a lot of things that I could see the writing was on the wall. And I finally made that decision to surrender August 28, 2019. And from that point on, everything fell into place. And I started seeing the writing was on the wall, but it took a couple years. And I woke up one morning and I told my wife, and this give me grace on the year time frame. Uh, don't hold me to it. Don't ask me to testify. Somewhere around 21, I woke up one morning and told my wife I couldn't do it anymore. She said, Well, she got a little nervous, like, what do you mean? I said, We've been pastoring in this church for two years. Uh, God's called me to this. I'm ordained to do this, but I can't be in retail anymore. And she said, What do you mean? I said, My witness is more important than me providing for my family in this outlet, meaning that I was more concerned about the witness for Christ, the ambassador for Christ, than I was that that was the means I had to financially provide for my family. Because when you're in something for so long, like I was for 26 years, you often hear the same things over and over again. And there can be a frustration when an employee or or somebody that works with you comes to you with something and you've told them multiple times how to do it. And and when I say multiple times, I'm talking five or six times, and then they still do that thing they shouldn't do. And your response may verbally be the right way, uh, but physically your face turns red, maybe a little blood vessel that pops. Y'all have never done that with any of the guys. Never ever once. And so I told my wife, if they look at me in that moment and they say, that's what uh a pastor of Christ of the gospel looks like, then I don't want that. I don't need that. I'm better than that. So for me, my witness was more important than the field that I was working in. Does that make sense? So at that age in life, what do you do? Uh she said, What are you gonna do? I said, I don't know, we'll figure it out. So Justin and I started talking. Uh uh, we'll call him Jay-Z now. And he said, What are you gonna do? And I said, Man, I have no idea. I said, I got an interest in Kentucky Farm Bureau uh because of the things that they do and stand for as a company. This was his words. I don't think you'll like it, but go try it. We're working on something that's pretty cool, and if it don't work out, I'll have a space for you. Fast forward about a year and a half later, I'm sitting there in my room about six months prior to the end of my contract with Kentucky Farm Bureau, because the first three, four years you're under contract with them, and I'm watching these mutiny videos, and I'm laughing, and my wife said, You're gonna go work for them, aren't you? And I said, Yeah. And so fast forward six months later, I'm working for these guys, and and I've been like a sponge. Prior to surrender to the gospel, I hated to read. But once I surrendered the gospel, I could not read enough. And so that's kind of what it was when I started watching what Justin and them were doing with Mutiny Crop Performance, is I couldn't get enough of the information. And I'm talking with a guy that works at church with or is a deacon at church with us, Jesse Gray, and and I'm asking him questions. And it's one of them things like I couldn't get enough information. So it just aligned. I've been in it for two years this July, and I learn every single day, and and I'm it's a blessing to get a stewardship of the guys that I work with. So that may be longer than we intended to spend on that, but I want to people have people understand how did a guy land where he is and doing what he does. And so my role with mutiny crop performance is I work in uh we're in approximately 35 states with about, I don't know, somewhere around 70 dealers today. And I cover from probably the West Coast to the East Coast below Kentucky, Kentucky and below. That's kind of I've got some stuff that goes up into Kansas and Nebraska, but without showing you a calendar, that's uh a map, that's kind of where I cover. And so it's a blessing, man. It's I get emotional when I talk about it because I don't feel like I deserve to be in the position that I am. Justin and I talked about it when he hired me, and he said, you don't understand what a ministry field this will be. And guys, y'all know the environment we're in this year. You know how tough inputs is. I've had some uh conversations at dinner tables with people, and we're not even talking about products. We're talking about how are you doing physically, mentally, and spiritually. So that's where we're at. That's that's that's the blessing that I get to be a part of this every day.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's awesome. I've uh, you know, we just came off a commodity classic a few weeks ago and we were talking off the air some that uh we'd swung by the booth for a little while. Uh my my wife was with me and she had no idea about your old company, didn't know anything about it or whatever. Uh, but we stopped and talked with some of the guys there, and then uh Kirby Green and I go way back. We were regional FFA officers together 20 years ago. So uh but we left that booth and she was kind of asking some more about you all, and I I told her, I said, you know, you just get that this feeling when you're around them and and you see what they do and see what they share on social media and stuff, and they're just just a good group of people, and they're uh just Christian-minded and Christian Christian-based. You can you can get that feeling without uh without you all just coming out and saying it that uh that that's what's at the center of what you all do.
SPEAKER_00So well, I appreciate that. The the founder uh there's two founders, Justin and Patrick, and Hunter's been with him from day one as well. He's part of that that leadership team. And when Justin told Jay-Z, see, I gotta quit it, I can quit calling him Justin, it's Jay-Z. When Jay-Z told Chris Clark, his dad, what he was gonna do, and and I call him brother Chris. Brother Chris is also a bi-vocational pastor, and so been a big influence on my life, um, more than he will ever know. But when he told him what he was doing and what they had in mind, his dad told him to do the right thing for the right reasons at the right time, and it'll all work. So for us, it's important as a company to share our faith with other people and to live it out and apply it to their lives. And so I have a we have a platform as meeting crop performance. While we want to use it to help farmers and and and walk alongside them rather than just sell them a product, I think what separates us is that we are vocal about our faith. We recognize where uh the things that we have come from, but we also want to share that faith with others because that's what the gospel of Matthew, uh, chapter 28, verses 16 through 20 commands us to do. But we also we're doing life with people, we're not just selling products. We want to figure out what works, how it works, and make sure it works in the right places. So it's uh I appreciate you saying that. Um, it's very humbling. Uh he's the reason why we get to do what we do.
SPEAKER_02Well, and that's great, like you already mentioned there, especially in an economic time like this, to have people uh that that's the reason they do what they do and and not just to sell a product or to try and push their own interests, but uh uh care for God's people and care for God's caretakers. That's right.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_01So that's kind of you know uh again, like I said, why you're here and and I think maybe you prepared a couple uh Bible verses for us to talk about, talking about tying agriculture and and the Bible together.
SPEAKER_00So if you want to Yeah, we guys, if we get tight on time, just tell me. Uh I've got these pages and notes that I had the opportunity to dive in today, and you you could you could say um to me they're familiar scripture when I look at them because I've read them again and again. But if there's people that's tuned in and listened to them, they it may not be as familiar to them as it is us. That's why these are here for us to read. That's why they're it's profitable for us to read his word again and again and again, regardless of how many times we read it. But I'm gonna share this scripture and I'm gonna read it out of King James. Uh so forgive me if I misspeak, because we don't talk in the language that King James is written in. Um I study out of the NIV Bible and the King James Bible because sometimes words can be lost in translation. Um, so it's important that whatever version you you uh use try to get back to the most original version as possible. So we're gonna read out of the King James version because when I read this, there's some things that just stand out to me a little bit differently than the other translation. So this comes out of the book of Genesis, OG, just right off the bat, you know, the first book in the Bible. And so it comes out of 2 Genesis, uh Genesis chapter 2, verse 15, and this is what it says. And the Lord, I'm sorry, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden and dressed it up and to keep it. So right off the bat, we could we could dive into this, and and as I look at the notes that I have from this, there's so much meat right there. And how many verses was that, Daniel? That was just a one or two, right? Yeah, one verse, yeah. It was just it was it was uh yeah, Genesis 2, uh verse 15. So it's it's one verse, but there's so much meat in there. And I got to reading it and studying it this week, and I'm like, man, there is okay, okay, that's real. So there's some things for the farmer that it just I'd like to get through all three of these, but I don't know if we will. But when you think about this, I break it in a couple different categories, and I've got several different commentaries that I worked through through, and and then I try to correlate it to what's happening today. Because if I just go as a pastor and I share scripture with someone, but I don't relate it to something that makes sense to them, then then is it lost, lost information? Does that make sense? The Bible was intended for that time, uh ahead of time, and and then for the time in the future. So it's it's it's an infinite word, it keeps going continuously. It's not like it's pertinent to that day and it's done. That's not the case. So when I think about this, I think about two different categories here. I think about keep, okay? The word keep was mentioned in scripture. So think about for the farmer, what's their responsibility in this? So Adam was designed prior to Eve coming, he was given this designation. Uh, essentially, we could call he was designated as a farmer because he had responsibilities and stewardship over the Garden of Eden. So the keep, when we read in scripture, the think about. Guard, protect, and be a steward of it. Sounds like what we're called to do as farmers, right?
SPEAKER_01Daniel, how many times do you have to guard and protect your sheep from doing something they're not going to be able to do?
SPEAKER_03I'm going to introduce myself. I am a shepherd and a carpenter. But anyway, who's keeping track of all those similarities? But uh yeah, it's it's a it's a true calling, and uh, you know, I think it's I think it's what we're made for.
SPEAKER_00And then if you look at the the next word that was in there, uh dress, uh, or or maybe it was the the the the pointing to, you know, but it would not was there. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. So we talked about keep it. So next dress. What what is what is ultimately God asking Adam to do in this stewardship role? And this what's his responsibility in it? So to cultivate and work the land, right? We're called to do that as farmers every day. So when I think about this, I think, okay, God give this responsibility over to Adam. I don't think Adam in the moment, based on what we know is to come next, not to ruin the story, but but Adam and Eve kind of mess up, right? Uh, you know, Adam's the the head over Eve as far as being head over the family. Now, this is this is something that we get in a whole lot of conversation. This is not a situation where it means that Adam is is dictator over her life, okay? But he is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, you know, and that comes out of Ephesians. So it's in a in a situation where Adam was supposed to be head over the household and and he did not fulfill what God had called him to do. And we know to ruin the rest of the story, uh, we know what happened, and that's the reason why sin exists in the world today. But I want to go back to the whole thing here that this responsibility was given to Adam prior to Eve coming into the work. And so we could really get into a deep conversation and some theology and think, well, okay, not saying, okay, not saying to put your farming above your wife, guys, okay. But it's important that prior to jumping into marriage, that you have your responsibilities in place. Your your business is in order, your house is in order. Does that make sense? Yep. God designed Adam and He gave him a purpose, and then He gave him his wife. So once you understand what your purpose and your motivation in life is, then you can take on more responsibility. Does that make sense? Absolutely. I don't want to get chased into a rabbit hole, but this can get a whole lot deeper. So I'm thinking, okay, Adam was was to work the ground and to pull out its hidden potential. What are we as all as farmers right now? Um, Mark, what are we trying to figure out?
SPEAKER_01Why do we're trying to make more with less?
SPEAKER_00Because there's because there's hidden potential there, right?
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00Um, we can talk about many different farmers. I've got some guys there that are that that are in your area, Mark, that that, including yourself, that think differently and try different things. And then you've got a standard in this industry, is like, why would I do that? Why wouldn't I do what I've always done? Well, what's the definition of insanity? Keep doing the thing over and over, expecting different results. So when we Yeah, go ahead, Mark.
SPEAKER_01We've had so many conversations with with different people since harvest was over last fall. And leaning towards the I'm I'm gonna call it maybe the new way of farming or the new way farming is going. And and when you ask a question, uh we had one guy tell us like, well, you're thinking you're you're still thinking the old way. You're not thinking you you'll get your old thinking out and and think new, and you can wrap your mind around this.
SPEAKER_00So Yeah, and so this is this is incredible because this is exactly what Adam was called to do. He was tired, he was at repeating myself, he was called to work the ground and to pull out its hidden potential. So you translate that to where we're at today. We've got to figure out where that hidden potential is. We can go on conversations about uh P levels, we can go on conversations about uh K levels, we can go on conversations about pH and all that. But what we have to do is we always have to continue to do better than what we've done in the past. Does that make sense? Um and because to find it's something's hidden potential, that means who knows when it'll end, right?
SPEAKER_04That's right.
SPEAKER_00There's a guy in Virginia that's figured out how to grow 623 bushel corn, right? And he believes that with genetics that the potential could be a thousand. So we have a responsibility to him, meaning Lord our God, our father, that's put us in charge of these stewardships. We've always got to be a good steward of the ground, and if we can increase it twofold, we've got to figure out how to unlock that potential. Does y'all follow me with that?
SPEAKER_01We don't. What is it they say we don't own the land, we're just renting it for a little while?
SPEAKER_00That's right. And and we'll get to that. I got that in some other scripture. I mean, I would I want to hear I want to hear y'all's. Ooh, don't get me started. We're gonna have to be careful because we might step on some toes. But I've got some I've got some theories on that too. So, but but just think about it. God, God wants to make him it it's apparent in what we do in the in these local situations. Okay, so not everybody's called to be a farmer, right? Not everybody's called to be a missionary, not everybody's called to be a pastor, not everybody's called to be an engineer. But in this scripture, we can also understand it to apply this to local situations. Whatever position we've been placed in, do it to the best of our ability, find out what those hidden potentials are, and do it in a way that honors and glorifies our Lord and Father. And that's what Adam was asked to do when he was to not eat of the tree, right? All right. So that's just something to think about. And so I'm gonna leave us with this last thing out of a commentary that I read. God won't do the work for you. He wants to do the work with you and through you. That corn's not gonna grow itself, it's not gonna plant itself, it's not gonna increase bushels on itself. God wants to work through you with the tools that you have available. Now we could get in another conversation, Mark and Daniel and Matt, and y'all might laugh, like which one works, right? If we, I think me and Mark had this conversation in his shop not long ago. If I used every product that every ag salesman that brought to me that said I would gain five bushel here, three bushel here, six bushel there, I ought to be it, I ought to be up there with that guy in Virginia, right? Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_04That's right.
SPEAKER_00So, anyways, that's what I'd share. Any more thoughts on that? Because I do have a few more scriptures I'd like to look at. Yeah, let's hear some, let's hear some other ones. So the next one's gonna come out of Leviticus. So, have has anybody ever read the book of Leviticus? Not in depth. Not the whole book. Notice, guys, that are listening to this, nobody got excited about talking about Leviticus. I've never went into church and I've never got in the pulpit and said we're gonna read Leviticus today and take a deeper dive, and nobody's just jumped out and said, Amen, hallelujah. Um, but we should, it's important, right? But it's a tough read. So we're gonna look in Leviticus. Uh I believe it's in chapter 19, and we're gonna look at verses 9 and 10. I believe I've got my spot here. Oh, I have two different places here. So we've got two verses that we're gonna read out of Leviticus. This one's 19, and it's gonna be verses 9 and 10. And it says, And when you reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy fields, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. So I'm gonna do to you guys like I do the the folks in Sunday school, if I if I when I do teach or get the opportunity to teach, is what's your first thoughts when you hear that?
SPEAKER_02I actually have heard that verse before, and the first thing pops in my head was those guys must be running with a gleaner combine because they're spitting half of it out the back. That are bad or they got some wildlife pressure on the outside of that field.
SPEAKER_01That's that's where you just leave in the wild that eat the outside 24 rows no matter what you do. If you if you held those 24 rows in 500 foot off the off the fence row, I think they'd still eat those 24.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's a guys for the I believe that God has truly blessed farmers across the world. And and for us where we're at, God has blessed the American farmer. It's hard to understand that in the environment that we're in right now, right? It's difficult. But when you look at the totality of how long you've been in agriculture and how long you farm, I think God has given the American farmer a platform to share the gospel. And so when I read this, the the thing that jumps out to me after diving into it is that farmers have a social responsibility. And what does Pastor Mike mean like that? What can you get out of social responsibility based on what we just read? Okay, what's he asked them to do? The Israelites were asked to leave some of their crop in the field. Mark, if I come to you, okay, let's let's get real right now. Or not me, let's not even say me. Let's say that you go to sleep tonight and and in your vision, you get a division from the Lord our Father, and he sends down the one of the angels, and they tell you, I need you during harvest season this year on that that that the biggest field you have. Let's say, what's the biggest field you have, Mark?
SPEAKER_01Um 100 acres.
SPEAKER_00I want you to only harvest 50 of it and leave 50 of it in the field.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna worry, I'm not gonna get any sleep at night because I'm gonna be worried what my neighbors are gonna be talking about me that I didn't that I left 50 acres out there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's it's tough. We can't comprehend that in our our modern day mind. Why would that be possible? Why would they do that? Well, the Israelites, that was the way of life then. They they were commanded to do that. And while they weren't always faithful, I from my understanding, those who follow the Lord were faithful in this. And the thought process is they were to leave, and the number wasn't half, okay? The Bible doesn't clearly define what that amount was. Does that make sense? So don't go back and say that Pastor Mike said that the Israelites were called to leave half of their grain in the field. No, we don't know what that number we don't know what that number was.
SPEAKER_01If we left half of our crop in the field, what crop we did take the bins would be worth a lot more.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
SPEAKER_01Silver lining in here.
SPEAKER_00It's all supply and demand, right?
SPEAKER_01That's right.
SPEAKER_00So the thought process behind this was so think about throughout the New Testament, and you can find it throughout the Old Testament too, is that we're called to care for certain groups of people. So I don't want to put anybody on the spot, but but we're we're called to care for the widows, right? We're called to care for the orphans, right? And we're called to care for the poor, right? Can we all commonly agree to that based on our knowledge of the Bible and and and what the Bible teaches us? Yeah. And so that was left behind for those people who uh need to be fed that didn't have the ability otherwise to provide themselves. So your travelers that came through, that was their source of food. Okay. Your widowed, that was their source of food. Your elderly, if they didn't have a way to provide, hopefully they were provided for, but that would be a source of food. Uh, as well as the children that were orphaned. Does that make sense? So it's basically left behind for people that weren't able to provide for themselves. But what's interesting in this, what what do you guys notice about that? Did the farmers they were they were called, the Israelite farmers were called to leave it, that portion in the fields, in the corners and wherever. Why? Have y'all thought about that?
SPEAKER_02The was it because it was the easiest to get to?
SPEAKER_00Good thought. Um, I would I would go. Anybody else want to take a stab at it? I I know this ain't fair. I've read it, y'all haven't. You know it the the the reason is because it's it's not a charity, okay? What do God what does God call everyone that's able to do to do? Work, work, work. Yeah, so if you go to 2 Thessalonians and you go to chapter 3, verse 10, this reinforces what God's saying is all the way back in Genesis. This Bible in unison with each other is absolutely incredible. And the more you read it, the more that you can make connections. So I won't go down this road today, but what I say is that when people take scripture out of context and use it to justify sin, that's a problem. The Bible is within unison of each other. So when you read Genesis and you see that, and or Leviticus, I'm sorry, and you see this hat this conversation in Leviticus chapter 19, verses 9 and 10, and then you come back and you see it again in Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 3, verse 10. It matters. And here's what verse 10 says, guys. It says, For even we were with, I'm sorry, for even when we were with you, we commanded you that if you that if any would not work, neither should they eat. See, this is this is K KJV. See, this is why I preach out NIV. You get tongue tip twisted pretty quick. I'm gonna read it one more time. Yeah, it's I'm gonna read it one more time. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he eat. So God, while he wanted there's a social responsibility for the farmers that they were to leave that behind. Those that were able to and willing to needed to work for it. Does that make sense? Absolutely. So that just man, we could go in a whole conversation about the let's not do that for today. We we might get some hate emails about that, but God essentially commanded anybody that is physically able to, mentally able to, physically able to, they have to work to be fed. Does that make sense? So to see that so early in the Bible in Leviticus, so there's a social responsibility for farmers to help those who can't be helped. I thought, man, when I read that for the first time, I was like, you know, that's almost like the reason why our U.S. military exists, right? To defend those who can't defend themselves, right? Well, biblically, the the farmers have been given a huge responsibility because God has entrusted them to be stewards of this land, he's allowed them to inhabit that land, he's asked them to cultivate it and get the most potential out of it, but it's not all for you. It's for the others as well. So is that not the same today? While we may not leave that half-filled empty, Mark, there's a social responsibility that when when wealth is given, when responsibility is given, that we're to share that for others and provide for the others that can't do, whether that's through the church or whether that's through uh your family resources if possible. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And so by by y'all unlocking that higher yield potential, the the world's growing and no more land is growing with it, right? That's right. So, in order to continue to feed those people, we got to figure out how to be good stewards of the land. So that's that's just man, it sits it, it really just I hang on to that, and it's pretty incredible to think about this. Israelites were not to be greedy, they were not to wring every penny of profit out of the fields, they were to leave some to produce behind as provision for those less fortunate. The crucial principle here, guys, and and this comes out of some commentary that I read, is that the clarity, though it's required to the receivers to work for it, they had to gather it and get it and it provided opportunity to work so that they could gather things for themselves. So the American farmer is providing an opportunity for those to come work. Does that make sense? A little bit of unclearity right there. I didn't stumble through that very well. But by doing that, they were a blessing to the less fortunate because the less fortunate could find value, and I get to go gather and I get to collect and I get to clean it and I get to make it into food. So there's a blessing and honor that comes from working and earning something. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely does.
SPEAKER_00There is self-worth and self-value in that. So, like I said, I'm gonna leave it there because I can go on another conversation about people who have this entitlement that I'm not to work for what I get. Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01Yep. Sure does. Sure does.
SPEAKER_00Man, I I get fired up about this.
SPEAKER_01So you've done that's you've done great. Um I think we're uh we're running a little tight on time, so we may not get to your to your third one, but I feel like this is gonna be uh a very good episode, a very well-listened episode, and hopefully a popular episode. So we may have to to get you back on and hope to get you back on someday and and continue on.
SPEAKER_03I know one one topic that me and Matt have mentioned before too is that we were we really want to talk about why the Bible refers to people as sheep or livestock so often. And uh it's I think there's some a lot of things you could get gather from that, but uh uh but anyway, what that was something that we've talked about. So it would be a neat episode is to break that down and and talk about some things there and why why there's some comparisons made throughout the Bible.
SPEAKER_00What a blessing that would be. Let me share this last verse, okay? Perfect. And and and I want y'all's input on this. And and this is the one that I told you guys, we could step on some toes with this, okay? And and that's not my intentions, okay? But I I'm not gonna go into full depth with this, but I am gonna touch on it, okay? So if you look at Leviticus 25, verse 23, uh this this is what it says the land shall not be sold forever. The land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me, meaning that we are stewards of the land. I know on paper here on earth we we physically have deeds and titles to property, correct? But ultimately the Lord has reminded us it's always his. Okay. It it was never yours. I put you in that position and allowed you to be in that position to be the steward of the land. Please, in the things that you do, honor, honor and glorify me uh through the things you do. So I could get fired up here, Mark, but I'm not going to. Um Daniel, you have no idea. Uh I almost got started in at church tonight and I said I got to back out, guys. Here's where I would challenge the the American farmer. Okay. I understand there's situations where sometimes you have to let go of land, okay? That that is just the reality of life. God understands that, but we have a responsibility as landowners to manage it. And to who we leave it to or sell it to, there should be a huge responsibility and stewardship in that. And so that's where I said you I see Mark's Mars, I see Daniel, I see you guys thinking where I probably don't want to go with that today, but we have to be very careful. I don't think we just sell land to sell land. I think if you look at it biblically, there can be an argument made right there in the scripture that we just left that if we do need to move the land, okay, God's gonna understand that, but it needs to be to the right people. Not necessarily, and this is unpopular, guys. It's not always to the it's not always to the highest bidder. So I've got I've boy, I gotta be careful. Um anybody that owns land, make sure that you're working with people that want to do things the right way for the right reasons at the right time. And I think I better leave that right there. I think I think it's very well stated.
SPEAKER_01Very well stated. Uh I've got a lot of thoughts too. Um, but we we could go on for hours, I think, if we if we went too deep into that.
SPEAKER_00So this is the part I'm talking about. My face is getting a little red right now. But really, I really want to say more, but the good Lord has given me restraints. And and and and when you look into Hebrews chapter 5, verses 13 and 14, it talks about being uh spiritually immature in the faith, and you need to be fed milk. And then verse 14 talks about being mature in the faith, meaning that you're exercising, you're reading it, you're applying it to your life uh daily. So you have this discernment for good for evil. And I have that discernment right now, so I'm not gonna get too in depth today.
SPEAKER_01And and I will say for those who who are tied to the land, in most cases, those who are tied to land and worked that land for years. And if they do have to sell it someday and it and it may be or forced to sell it and and not to stay in production agriculture, that's not easy for them. It's much easier for for someone who doesn't have a tie to the land and didn't spend every day out there. So you're right, those are things that that landowners got to look at and and work through and what's what's best for them, what's best for their family, and and what's best for the future.
SPEAKER_00So Yeah, there's so many different angles to look at that. And at the end of the day, uh if a debt's got to be settled, you've got to do what you got to do, and God understands that. But I think there's uh there's a calling of biblical stewardship because you were entrusted with something and and and and no doubt you were entrusted with that land on God's authority. The scripture we read tonight says that. Uh you may think that it's because of the lineage you've inherited it or you came into it, but all that happens on God's authority. Does that make sense? If you read into Job as quick as you took it, it can be taken. Does that make sense? So I just think there's a high responsibility that if we we we approach that situation, or if we're a landlord and we're looking to rent it out, that we need to make sure that's the right people.
SPEAKER_02Well, I think we appreciate you being on here, and I think we're I think we're definitely gonna have to have you back on to go over this last point a little more. We can go on for a whole episode on that. But uh, I know if people out there listening want to hear more, I know I have tried to catch your you do some Sunday morning devotionals that are posted on the Mutiny Facebook page and social media. Uh is that a weekly, do you do that?
SPEAKER_00Are you able to do that every week? Or so we try to be consistent with it. Uh I try to do it every week. I've I've gotten where I'm missing a few weeks because of travel or because like right now I'm serving. So this last Sunday I had to get up at, I think I got up at 4 45 a.m. Don't feel bad for Pastor Mark. I got up and I'm reading God's word. I'm studying because I had to teach for our Sunday school teacher that was a part of Discipleship Now at the church. So he'd been up for probably 24 hours at that point. So I had to teach. And not only did I have to teach, but I also had to get to the church at 8 so I could drive the church bus. So in the midst of all that, I crashed at the end of the day after church and I didn't get my devotional. But what we've got to do is is it matters. People tell me it matters. Um, so I've got to get to where I'm two or three sets ahead. That way it is weekly and we don't miss.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I know I look forward to that and look for that uh all I can since I discovered it a few weeks ago. So yeah, if if uh if y'all want to hear more, be sure to follow the Mutiny Facebook page and uh look for those videos, and they're on Sundays, correct?
SPEAKER_00That's right. It's it's usually released every Sunday. And I don't know why, man. I was nervous about this tonight, and I think it's out of reverence. I I know it's out of reverence for the Lord. Anytime that you have the honor and privilege to share his words with others, man, there's no greater responsibility when you're called to that as a pastor because while we're not perfect, you honor and revere him so much that you want to get it right. And so I was like, man, I don't know what we're gonna talk about for 15, 20 minutes. Here we are. Here we are, 50. I said, Mike, we love you, but please shut up.
SPEAKER_01No, you you've done great. And again, thank you so much for being on here. We'll do it again soon.
SPEAKER_03Yes, that was good stuff there. All right, thanks to Advanced Crop Care for sponsoring this week's episode. They're your local mutiny crop performance dealer in central Kentucky. If you'd like to get a hold of them, you can give them a call at 270 299 5879. Look them up on Facebook and Instagram at Advanced Crop Care. Thank y'all for listening. Happy Easter. See y'all next week.