1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,760 Welcome to Keep It 100 podcast with Sean and Christa Smith. 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:12,520 Join us in this space where we take on real issues with real insight and real inspiration. 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,840 This podcast is for those not looking for temporary relief to change circumstance, but 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,560 revelation to forever change lives. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:25,640 Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Keep It 100 with Sean and Christa Smith. 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:27,320 Hey everybody, welcome back. 7 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:32,760 Hey, we're so excited to talk about today's topic of Kingdom creativity because I tell 8 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:37,120 you what, being a creative person, this subject gets me really, really excited. 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,360 But since we've been with you last, we've actually had really some cool assignments. 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:42,360 We have. 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:47,280 We did three straight ministry network conferences, which for some of you that may not understand 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:51,680 the lingo, they're district councils for a Pentecostal denomination. 13 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:57,560 And so I did one that was for the state of Washington and it was actually in Corder Lane, 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:58,560 Idaho. 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:02,960 And then we went to Minnesota and then we went to Alaska and I'll just jump in Christa. 16 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:07,560 When I went up and it brought a good friend of mine and we went up to Corder Lane, Idaho, 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,600 it was just really powerful as the pastors of the Northwest and they were, they're seeing 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:17,520 like they were a good 800 to 1000 pastors that represent all these different churches. 19 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:22,120 So you're ministering to leaders and it was so awesome, they sovereignly on their own 20 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,880 came and fell at the altar before the Lord. 21 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,240 It was just a mighty time we had before God. 22 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:28,240 There were healings. 23 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,640 I've gotten some words back on that, but it was just this thing of us all saying together 24 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:39,480 that we want to tap back into the power of the Holy Ghost, that the whole COVID thing 25 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:43,160 was about delivering us from programs and getting us back to presence. 26 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:49,320 It really was powerful and you went to Washington, Idaho with Mark who's actually going to be 27 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,280 on this episode, which is awesome. 28 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,800 And I was able to be a part of the Minnesota and Alaska one and it was just, it was incredible. 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:01,640 Like you said, the hunger in the room was just tangible and what God did was really, 30 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:02,640 really special. 31 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:07,560 I would say both places where I was obviously in Minnesota and Alaska, we had leaders really 32 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,240 sovereignly respond to the altars like you're saying. 33 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:15,480 And I just see such a new hunger in pastors and leaders across the board and I see God 34 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:20,200 bringing all of us kind of back to our roots, our first love, just almost recalibrating 35 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:21,200 us to God's heart. 36 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,840 Once again, where maybe we've gotten a bit off track, maybe partnered with a bit of fear 37 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,520 from the last season, a little bit of PTSD from everything many church leaders have gone 38 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:30,520 through. 39 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,160 People are getting healed, re-envisioned, full of hope. 40 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:38,200 And that's just pretty exciting because I just feel like we're sovereignly watching 41 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:43,280 the hunger and people really move things in the spirit and things that I believe we've 42 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:44,440 been praying for for years. 43 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:48,840 So to be a part of that in a small way, I always find it such a privilege that we get 44 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,720 to go speak at these places and we get to connect with leaders because that just always 45 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:54,200 feels like such an honor. 46 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:59,640 And then it was really fun because we were in Alaska and we met a Keeb 100 tribe person, 47 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:01,320 Mr. Terry. 48 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:02,320 He was awesome. 49 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:03,640 He's like, Hey, I'm a part of the Keeb 100 tribe. 50 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:04,640 I thought that was so cool. 51 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:09,160 That is cool to think someone's in Alaska is listening to our podcast. 52 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:10,160 That was super fun. 53 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:14,880 And again, in Alaska, although it was cold, the fire of God fell. 54 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:20,680 And there was a good 400, maybe ministers there and leaders and they just leaned into 55 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,360 the Lord and just embraced and you did such a great job. 56 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:25,360 Oh, you did too, baby. 57 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:26,360 And the power of God. 58 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:27,360 And there was so much prophetic. 59 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:29,000 We even had people baptizing the Holy Ghost. 60 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Come on, come on. 61 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,000 So fun. 62 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Sean is so gifted this. 63 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,800 And I was telling him, like, man, he's so anointed at this and I love it. 64 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:40,280 He just felt a wooing in the room, called out anyone, not baptism, Holy Spirit come 65 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:41,280 up. 66 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,160 And because it was mainly leaders that were in the room, you would think a majority of 67 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,680 them, but I would say we had like 25 or so that responded. 68 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,760 And to my knowledge, all of them received the baptism Holy Spirit and it was just so 69 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:56,120 powerful and exciting to watch them get that for the first time. 70 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,400 You could see like the joy and the excitement and they were just wrecked. 71 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,200 I mean, they were just like weeping before God. 72 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,120 Cause I think it's that thing that just connects you with the father's heart in such a different 73 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:06,120 space. 74 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:07,880 Um, so it was just, it was really cool. 75 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,120 You did so well doing that. 76 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:11,160 Just you led those alters beautifully. 77 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:12,280 Really time of encounter. 78 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:13,360 Also keep your 100 tribe. 79 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,960 We just want to let you know that May 12th, we're going to have a momentum night in Oakland, 80 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:22,320 California, 42 92 Keller Avenue in Oakland, California. 81 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,600 These nights we're just inviting the hungry to join us to alter history. 82 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,680 Last time we did it, we had over 400 people. 83 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,400 It was capacity and there were deliverances. 84 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,280 There were people that got healed. 85 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,360 There were salvations, uh, people lingered. 86 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:37,360 I mean, lingered. 87 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:38,360 I mean, lingered. 88 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,920 And so we're believing that this is going to be super powerful. 89 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:45,520 So mark it down, get out there, join us May 12th, Friday night, seven o'clock. 90 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:51,080 It is a incredible opportunity to bring folks, get help us get the word out again, momentum 91 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:52,640 night, May 12th. 92 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:53,640 That's right. 93 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:54,640 It's a free event. 94 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:55,640 You don't have to register. 95 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:56,640 Just show up. 96 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:57,640 It's on our website. 97 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:58,640 It's on our social media. 98 00:04:58,640 --> 00:04:59,640 It's on our website. 99 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,120 And we're going to be talking about the power of God and how God is in the room. 100 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,520 Cause Sean and I always say there's something about when you get in the room, God encounters 101 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:07,520 in a special way. 102 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:08,520 And I'm preaching that night. 103 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:09,520 Yes. 104 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:10,520 So I'm going to go for it and I got the word of the Lord. 105 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:11,800 So get in the room, May 12th. 106 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:12,800 All right. 107 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:13,800 Let's dive in. 108 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,400 We are talking about some creativity with Jesus, you know, let's begin when we talk 109 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:21,840 about kingdom creatives and I really believe that the kingdom creatives are coming forth 110 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:23,580 and they've been coming forth for a while. 111 00:05:23,580 --> 00:05:26,560 And I think that this really ties into the fact of Joel too. 112 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,280 When the spirit of God is poured out, 113 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:30,320 obviously the prophetic begins to happen, 114 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,640 but I think we think of simply the prophetic 115 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:35,900 maybe as us speaking something forth 116 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:37,680 or us maybe having a dream or vision, 117 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,480 but there are other expressions 118 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,360 that we're seeing coming forth in this hour. 119 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,460 Let me just take a moment to define 120 00:05:43,460 --> 00:05:45,520 what we mean by kingdom creativity. 121 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,560 Kingdom creativity is the process 122 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,200 by which the nature of God flows through a vessel 123 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,640 in conjunction to the unique design 124 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:58,280 and it displays and demonstrates a beauty, a joy, a pleasure. 125 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:00,160 It carries with it revelation. 126 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,800 It often releases this beauty, but this refreshment 127 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,880 and ultimately it's for the purpose 128 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,680 of demonstrating his glory. 129 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,300 We know that God is not a once upon a time creator. 130 00:06:11,300 --> 00:06:14,680 That God has continually created sense genesis 131 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,440 and I think it's just so important that we understand that. 132 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:18,560 You know, I always kind of laugh 133 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,880 because I being a person that is creative, 134 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:22,340 I'm really excited about this topic, 135 00:06:22,340 --> 00:06:23,840 but I always kind of laughed when people are like, 136 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:27,040 oh, I'm not creative and I'm like, well, God's creative. 137 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:28,840 And if you and I are created in this image, 138 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,720 therefore there is some creativity in you 139 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,720 in some way, shape, or form, right? 140 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:34,280 Because if we're made in this image 141 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:36,360 then there's aspects of God within us. 142 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,720 So there is not a void of creativity in you. 143 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:40,800 It might look different. 144 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:42,580 It might be more dominant in some people, 145 00:06:42,580 --> 00:06:44,520 but there's creativity in all of us. 146 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:47,740 And so if God's the source of our creativity, 147 00:06:47,740 --> 00:06:48,920 then we have to really understand 148 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:50,480 that our ultimate creativity 149 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,720 has to be rooted and grounded in Him. 150 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,080 And that's really where our search for creativity begins. 151 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,940 That's really where it evolves in our life 152 00:06:58,940 --> 00:07:02,280 is really discovering the fullness of God's expression 153 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:03,560 in us and through us. 154 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,800 I think when we understand how creative God actually is, 155 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,520 how creative God's personality actually is, 156 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,640 it helps us think outside the box 157 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,100 and actually connect with God in not ways 158 00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:17,160 that are so connected to the way we think as humans. 159 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,560 We serve a God who is outside of our realm. 160 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,640 And so there's a creativity in everything that God does. 161 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,360 And so we understand that He is not within our boxes 162 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:28,880 or our limitations. 163 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,240 It helps you understand that He's gonna come at you 164 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:32,120 in different ways. 165 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:33,920 I think that really helps us understand 166 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,000 and connect with God at a deeper place 167 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,320 because He really is so creative. 168 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:39,960 Oh my gosh, you read the word of God 169 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,640 and it's like mind-boggling just how creative God is. 170 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:45,320 So when you begin to grasp 171 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,320 that you really are a unique person, 172 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,560 that's the creation of a unique God, 173 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,760 then you really begin to walk in a greater creativity 174 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:53,880 in all aspects of your life. 175 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,840 Cause you're like, whoa, God is incredibly creative 176 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,000 and He created me to actually create with Him. 177 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,320 Then all of a sudden you realize, wait, I am creative 178 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:03,840 because that's actually what it's created to do, 179 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:05,400 create with God. 180 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,880 I think I'm exhibit A exactly what you're talking about 181 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,120 because I would have never considered myself artistic 182 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,520 in any way or as we would define today a creative. 183 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:16,440 I wasn't good at drawing as a kid. 184 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:18,320 I wasn't good at art and painting. 185 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:19,600 I grew up in a different era 186 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,000 where there wasn't as much of a pro health, 187 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,240 anti-smoke or secondhand inhalation stuff 188 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:27,080 that was out there. 189 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:31,000 So whatever I made in art class always turned into an ashtray 190 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:32,280 cause you couldn't go wrong. 191 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,440 So I was the art kid that just was not great at art. 192 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,800 So I really believed I was non-creative 193 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:40,600 until I got saved and began to recognize 194 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,880 my creativity is with words. 195 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,680 And although I didn't do well in English throughout school, 196 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,560 wouldn't it be God to take something that you were weak at 197 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:50,600 and turn it around? 198 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:52,600 When we talk about kingdom creatives gang, 199 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,320 they're biblical examples of this. 200 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,840 And if you go into the Old Testament in Exodus 31, 201 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,480 it says, then the Lord said to Moses, 202 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,920 see I've chosen Bezalel of the tribe of Judah 203 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:04,960 and I have filled him with the spirit of God. 204 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:05,800 This is key. 205 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,440 He's filled with the spirit of God and skill. 206 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,320 And it says with ability and knowledge 207 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,800 and all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs 208 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:17,360 for the work in gold, silver, bronze to cut and set stones 209 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,040 to work in stones and to engage in all kinds of craftsmen. 210 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,080 So we have this guy in the Bible, a craftsman. 211 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:25,160 He's anointed. 212 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,560 He's a kingdom, pre-kingdom in terms of the kingdom of God 213 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:32,400 came through Jesus, but he's a pre-kingdom creative. 214 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,960 And I love the fact that this dude is basically an artisan 215 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:37,920 and anointed to do so. 216 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:39,080 You know, I love that. 217 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:40,720 Because when we began to really think about 218 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,120 what is creativity and we're seeing biblical examples, 219 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,200 and I remember reading that in my 20s 220 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,600 because I was in the fashion industry post college 221 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,000 and I minored in art in my university. 222 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:51,680 And I'm a natural creative. 223 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:54,280 Like I love to design, I love beauty. 224 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,520 Literally, I received a prophetic word from Shambles 225 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:00,080 in my 30s now, but it was probably one of my favorite 226 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,760 prophetic words over my life that I'd ever received. 227 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:04,520 He says, you have the gift of beauty 228 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:06,080 that you bring beauty wherever you go. 229 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:07,780 And I just love that because it's literally 230 00:10:07,780 --> 00:10:08,880 how I connect with God. 231 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:10,680 You know this about me, baby, of course. 232 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:12,280 Anyone that's close to me knows. 233 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,240 And so I think when we understand that it's actually 234 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,240 in the word of God, that we're the craftsmanship of God. 235 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:19,040 And I just think we're all doing that, 236 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:20,440 but in very different ways. 237 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,760 But I think it's all this expression of who God is. 238 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,120 Because when you look and think about creativity, 239 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:26,480 we go to the obvious, right? 240 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,920 We think, oh, art, of course, poetry, music, 241 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,200 and but really there's creativity in business, 242 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,180 how people design business, how people are super innovative 243 00:10:36,180 --> 00:10:39,480 in technology and engineering or maybe IT. 244 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:41,600 And in the medical world, think about how many 245 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,580 incredible medical inventions or innovations 246 00:10:44,580 --> 00:10:45,640 that have been created. 247 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,960 And we know personally, multiple testimonies 248 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,440 of people that love Jesus and they're in the medical 249 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,240 community and God's given them the download 250 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,380 and cures have been discovered, right? 251 00:10:54,380 --> 00:10:56,400 There's been like the creativity of God. 252 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,880 And of course we see this in like entrepreneurs 253 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,440 and people that begin with dreams and projects 254 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:02,680 and they build the business. 255 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,440 There's a creativity in all of which we do. 256 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:07,720 And we have to understand that God's constantly giving us 257 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,240 access to innovation, creativity, new designs, 258 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:12,440 new approaches. 259 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,320 And I think when we understand that we're actually 260 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,960 have an invitation through God to live in a creative realm 261 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,960 that it's actually a realm in which I think we can access 262 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,680 every single day of our lives. 263 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:25,960 We have to understand that we were created to create 264 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:27,760 because we serve the creator. 265 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:31,360 Our master, our savior, our refuge is the creator 266 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:32,360 of the world, right? 267 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:34,480 And so no matter what mountain of culture, 268 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,600 sometimes there's multiple spheres of influence of culture. 269 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:41,840 God has deposited within you some sort of creativity in you 270 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,480 to enable you to really deposit into that sphere of influence, 271 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:47,320 to deposit in that sphere of society. 272 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,080 And I really believe that every single one of us 273 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,400 have untapped creativity that we have to activate. 274 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,120 And I think there's an untapped thing that we really want 275 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,880 people to access even by listening to this podcast today 276 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:01,960 to really begin to take inventory in their own life 277 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:06,280 of like what in me actually is creatively connecting with God? 278 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,040 Not just like linear thinking, but actually like connecting 279 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,320 with God on a much greater grander scale. 280 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:14,680 And that's such a great point. 281 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:16,560 I was thinking about George Washington Carver. 282 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:18,240 He was an African-American. 283 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,000 I used to professor at Tuskegee Institute back in the day. 284 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:27,680 And I think he spanned at like 1800s to the mid 1900s. 285 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:29,360 This guy was so creative. 286 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:32,920 He literally got all these different ideas 287 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:35,120 in terms of what to do with a peanut. 288 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,840 Like I'm forgetting, but there is like dozens upon dozens 289 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:40,880 upon dozens of inventions. 290 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:42,600 And the guy was a scientist. 291 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:44,080 He was environmentalist. 292 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,120 But there's no doubt the creativity in that guy may not 293 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,800 have ever showed up on a canvas, but it showed up 294 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:51,720 in the area of environmentalism. 295 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,680 So to your point, there's creativity in all different areas. 296 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:57,600 I think when you talk about that creativity, 297 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:01,040 by its very nature, it bypasses mental logistics. 298 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:05,360 And I think that's why left brain logical people typically 299 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:06,440 score less. 300 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,160 And now when I say this, I'm excluding the God factor. 301 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,680 Like you put God in the equation, 302 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:13,360 the most left brain logistic person 303 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,120 could be the most creative person. 304 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,160 But typically left brain people aren't considered 305 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:19,160 the artistic people. 306 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:20,400 It's right brain people. 307 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,600 It's because I think creativity bypasses that mental logistics. 308 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:29,120 And it really, I think it's more of a spiritual aspect 309 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:30,880 of what God has created within us. 310 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:32,640 And I think art is like the prophetic. 311 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,320 It goes straight to the heart, spirit to spirit. 312 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,120 For instance, every time you create a piece of art, 313 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,040 someone produces something, someone designs something, 314 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,840 someone communicates in a way, it could be down to poetry, 315 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,480 it could be book writing, it could be movie producing, 316 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,120 it could be art, it could be music, entertainment, 317 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:51,960 whatever it is. 318 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,080 If you love the Lord, you're releasing the kingdom 319 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:56,200 in a creative way. 320 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,440 And in that, what happens is you allow the father 321 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,720 to flow through you with the Holy Spirit. 322 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:03,080 How often have we been in a movie theater, Tur? 323 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,800 For instance, recently, the movie Jesus Revolutionaries, 324 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,080 and they were put forth by Christians. 325 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:10,720 I found myself weeping. 326 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,000 It's because all the creativity in the movie 327 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,840 really was a vehicle for God to allow an expression through it. 328 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,360 And I believe through this art, through this creativity, 329 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,160 people get an opportunity to prophesy. 330 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:23,280 And that's why people listening, 331 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:26,360 it's so important that you discover your aspect 332 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,360 that God is breathing on for you to create something. 333 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,000 Because God, as Christ said earlier, 334 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,880 you've been created to be a creative. 335 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:35,800 And as you're able to release that, 336 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,800 God is able to use that to release His light, 337 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:40,480 His love to other people. 338 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,720 And your creative voice, I think like for many of you, 339 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,560 maybe your aspect of creativity is your testimony, 340 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:50,040 is your voice, it's how you speak to people. 341 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,720 It has the capacity to transmit and communicate 342 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,400 the light and life of God. 343 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,040 We know that creativity is designed by God 344 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,840 to go straight to hearts, spirit to spirit, 345 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,080 and God wants to use His children in Kingdom creativity. 346 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,000 We've certainly seen the opposite of that. 347 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,200 We've seen where people who were operating 348 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,200 under a demonic spirit go to the arts 349 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,160 and create something that you feel defiled when you see it. 350 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:16,440 You feel like something's wrong. 351 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,720 I've seen some of this art and I go, oh my God, 352 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:20,080 there's chaos in that art. 353 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,160 I don't feel peace in that art. 354 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,800 And so we know that this can be a spiritual communication. 355 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:27,040 You know, I think all the creatives 356 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:28,520 when I make this next statement, 357 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,680 they all go, yes and amen. 358 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,480 You know, creatives process the world 359 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,080 different than other people. 360 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,160 And I certainly know that's true. 361 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:37,440 You know, I live that. 362 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:40,600 You know, creatives, we see other things 363 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:41,640 that other people don't see. 364 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,120 And we hear sounds and we recognize things. 365 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,720 And we notice the nuances that other people pass by. 366 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,040 And we recognize kind of the little things. 367 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,520 We're just paying attention to those little like God moments 368 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,000 in the midst of like a day 369 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:56,680 that other people will simply pass over. 370 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:58,680 And what I love about creatives, 371 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,480 it is it helps other people slow down and stop 372 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,040 and have those encounters with God. 373 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:06,880 Like I remember, because I minored in art at my university, 374 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,080 there were many nights that I had projects that were due, 375 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,960 you know, and so me and some other creatives 376 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:12,560 were always in the painting studio. 377 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,760 And I loved it because I would put on like worship music 378 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:17,600 and I always found myself connecting with God 379 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,760 and then I remember watching Charites of Fire with my dad 380 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,200 and this man was his movie about a runner. 381 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,400 And it kind of put to verb it. 382 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:26,600 It verbalized something 383 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,640 that I hadn't necessarily consciously articulated, 384 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,160 but it was like the guy that was the lead of Charites of Fire. 385 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:33,320 It's based off a true story. 386 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:34,160 Very gliding. 387 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:35,000 Yeah. 388 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,040 He said that he could, he felt like he connected with God 389 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:37,960 when he ran. 390 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,280 And I remember like when that statement was made, 391 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,480 I thought, I feel like I connect with God 392 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:44,640 when I create beauty. 393 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,320 Like I feel like I connect with God 394 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,840 when I make something from scratch 395 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,520 and I make something that isn't existing. 396 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,360 There's a part of myself that connects with God 397 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,680 because he created, he's created so much from nothing 398 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:00,520 into something. 399 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,640 And there's that partnership in the creative process 400 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:05,080 that's really incredible. 401 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:07,280 But I've just noticed like for me, 402 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,440 that's just such a powerful place 403 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,680 when I understand that there's a attribute of God 404 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:15,960 that we can tap into through creativity. 405 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,040 All the more it makes me want to make sure 406 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:19,920 I'm really guarding that space of creativity 407 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,200 because it really is a place of connection. 408 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:23,240 That's so good. 409 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,440 And that leads us, speaking of a creative, 410 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,760 that leads us into our special guest. 411 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,600 Mark Afshar is an incredibly gifted 412 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:32,800 and creative young man of God. 413 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:35,280 And he's married and he's got three kids. 414 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:36,680 He's particularly dear to us. 415 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,960 I actually got a chance to officiate his wedding ceremony. 416 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:43,160 He is the campus director of CHI Alpha at my alma mater, 417 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:44,480 the University of Pacific. 418 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,200 He does a lot of chapel service for various sports teams 419 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,320 across the Bay Area and Sacramento area. 420 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,680 He's in demand as I guess you would call 421 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,240 a videography person or videographer. 422 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:57,080 He's incredible. 423 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,920 He's got Mark, Stevie visuals. 424 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,640 He creates some of the freshest reels. 425 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,400 The guy's an incredible, I mean an incredible Christian rapper 426 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,640 who has gone on tour and has written some 427 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,480 of the most clever bars I've ever heard. 428 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,640 But probably maybe one of the best ways I could introduce 429 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:17,320 Mark is that everything I've seen him do, 430 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,600 I've seen a creative expression where he's out of the box. 431 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:21,640 I love this guy. 432 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,680 So jump in this interview with us with Mark Afshar. 433 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:26,080 Keep your 100 tribe. 434 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:27,120 Oh my goodness. 435 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,320 I get a chance to have one of my favorite people 436 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,840 on the planet on Keep Your 100. 437 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,960 He is a mighty man of God. 438 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:35,760 He does so many things. 439 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:37,200 He's a spiritual son to me. 440 00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,840 But when we're thinking about this podcast 441 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,200 of kingdom creativity, 442 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,760 I couldn't think of a better guy to bring on the pod. 443 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,440 And so I want you guys to just give a warm Keep Your 100 444 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:49,440 tribe welcome to Mark Afshar. 445 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:50,280 What's up, Mark? 446 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:51,520 What's up, what's up, Sean? 447 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:52,560 Good to be on here with you. 448 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:53,400 Love you, man. 449 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:54,240 Keep your 100. 450 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,720 If you recognize the voice, you might recognize the voice. 451 00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:57,560 Hey, that's right. 452 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,520 In case you don't know it, Mark's on every podcast. 453 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,120 Mark literally is the one that does our intro. 454 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:05,640 He put together the music. 455 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,240 So anything you hear musically on the podcast, 456 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:10,920 our intro and outro, speaking of creatives, 457 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,520 this mighty man of God has done that. 458 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,120 The guy has his hands on so many different things, 459 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:18,200 but we're going to just jump right in this, Mark, 460 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:19,920 because I think this is so amazing. 461 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:22,520 First of all, I was thinking about kingdom creativity, man. 462 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,360 And this dude, they named the Hubble Telescope after him. 463 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:27,560 He came up with the Hubble Law. 464 00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:29,680 But basically, people have improved on it. 465 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,640 What they found out is God is not a once upon a time creator. 466 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,880 And man, some people listen to you need to let that just set 467 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:37,440 for a minute. 468 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,240 He's not a once upon a time creator. 469 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,880 They say the universe right now is ever expanding, 470 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,560 which means the creator is still creating at the end of the day. 471 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,800 They said, not only are we moving through space, 472 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,320 we know that solar systems and stuff they rotate, 473 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,360 but they've proven that not only are we moving through space, 474 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,040 we're moving in space. 475 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,640 And here is their conclusion that the universe 476 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,200 is expanding to eternity. 477 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,120 That's the words of scientists. 478 00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:03,600 It's crazy. 479 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:05,600 So I was just thinking this whole thing of creativity. 480 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,880 And I thought, man, we got to do justice to this. 481 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:09,120 So let's jump in this, Mark. 482 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:10,680 Let's begin here, man. 483 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,800 Tell me, man, coming up and everything, 484 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,360 how did Jesus make heaven real to you? 485 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,880 Man, I grew up in the Bay Area. 486 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,640 Family background, kind of Catholic, something like that. 487 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:23,960 Got water baptized as a baby, that type of stuff. 488 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,000 And you know, with the priests, closing curtains 489 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,080 when they had to go perform their duty on our behalf. 490 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,080 So that was kind of my grid for Jesus. 491 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:31,920 So heaven wasn't real at that point. 492 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,840 Just the priestly duties were, that's all I knew. 493 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:36,520 But I went long story short. 494 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,920 I got accepted into a college in Northern California, 495 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,720 UC Davis, and didn't know the Lord. 496 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,720 But I ran into, I was intercepted 497 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,080 by these Christian Jesus-loving college students, 498 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,320 which I never knew existed on a collegiate campus. 499 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:50,520 You know, in my mind, I'm like, all right, 500 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:51,520 where the frat party's at? 501 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:52,120 Let's get lit. 502 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:52,800 Let's turn up. 503 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:53,720 You know why I'm here. 504 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:55,840 You know, no parents in the house. 505 00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,200 But they so loved on me, introduced me to Jesus. 506 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:00,840 And I would attend their long story short. 507 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,840 I would attend their meetings, their worship services. 508 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:03,920 They would have some fun events, too. 509 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:05,080 That's kind of what pulled me in. 510 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,640 And man, I just started experiencing Jesus, 511 00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,280 like as if he walked into the room during these meetings, 512 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:11,360 I would feel his presence. 513 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:12,240 I would sense him. 514 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,360 I would know that, wow, like Jesus is real. 515 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:15,320 Heaven is real. 516 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,320 I mean, I'm here experiencing it right now. 517 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,240 I want to give my life this, like, I don't care 518 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:20,480 about my biology class anymore. 519 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:20,920 I did. 520 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:21,960 I graduated everybody. 521 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:23,880 But like still, like Jesus became real to me, 522 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,360 not like every other concern, kind of just sifted away. 523 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:28,160 And so, man, yes. 524 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:29,200 That is so awesome. 525 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,880 Now, when you say, Mark, you felt this presence, 526 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,440 he made himself real to you. 527 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:38,040 Was it just like you felt like this altogether otherness? 528 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:42,200 Did you see some specific miracles and some moves of God? 529 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,480 Did you experience maybe some sort of physical touch 530 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,280 on your body that you felt from the Lord? 531 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,040 Kind of break that down a little bit for us. 532 00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:50,320 Man, can I say all of the above? 533 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:51,640 I mean, really, it was an accumulation. 534 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:57,080 But I think the main moment that I had with Lord was, 535 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,880 I guess my whole life, prior to that moment where Jesus 536 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:02,000 became real to me in my eyes and heart, 537 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,080 was my heart was always searching for something. 538 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,040 And it was never at rest until the moment that Jesus, 539 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,320 I was introduced to Jesus in his presence. 540 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:10,800 I truly felt at rest. 541 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,040 My heart was no longer needed to search for whatever, 542 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,600 affirmation, accolade, success, a college degree, money, 543 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,040 whatever it may be, it was finally connected. 544 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:22,560 And so that was it for me. 545 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,880 Ever since then, I just have had that small heart. 546 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,040 And shout out to Jesus, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. 547 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,840 But along with that, I had that journey and that experience 548 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,400 was also, I was out of service early on. 549 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,240 Like I recently gave my life to Jesus. 550 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,480 I went to like a week long service retreat camp 551 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,880 where you go and donate your time and help out 552 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:42,960 build some of the church. 553 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,920 Well, anyways, here comes this guest speaker 554 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:45,800 at the end of the week. 555 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,080 And the whole week we were being fed and they took care of us. 556 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:50,880 And I couldn't eat the morning breakfast 557 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:52,560 that was serving us because it was cereal. 558 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,600 And I was just lactose intolerant at the time. 559 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,840 And so everybody was just kind of giving me a hard time. 560 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:00,000 Oh, I guess you're fasting breakfast or whatever. 561 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,480 And I was like, all right, whatever. 562 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,680 Here comes this guest speaker and at the end of his service. 563 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:04,800 I mean, just a fire service. 564 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:05,840 He's preaching fire. 565 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,000 I'm like, this is incredible. 566 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,360 He says someone in the room has a food allergy 567 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:13,080 and you're lactose intolerant, allergy, whatever. 568 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,240 And everybody just looks back at me 569 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,480 as if I'm that person because I was that person. 570 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:19,080 Anyway, I stand up. 571 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:20,440 I say, yeah, that's me. 572 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:21,280 I get healed. 573 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:22,600 I'm eating ice cream ever since. 574 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,560 Like salt and straws might, like, I mean, 575 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:26,840 I know we don't have like a brand shout out to them. 576 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:28,400 Like, we're not getting money from this, 577 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:29,600 but like salt and straw. 578 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,480 It's my go to, Sean, it's the best ice cream 579 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:32,440 in Northern California. 580 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,000 So anyways, man, I mean, just stuff like that, 581 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,080 like God would introduce himself like to me 582 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,600 in just new ways and like affirm his love for me 583 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:40,840 if something simple is that. 584 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,320 And, you know, gotta see just some awesome miracles 585 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:45,160 and healings on the college campus. 586 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,640 Gotta see students lives transform where maybe they walked 587 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:49,160 away from the Lord came to college 588 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:50,360 and walked away from the Lord 589 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,080 and then just see their hearts come back to Jesus. 590 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,360 Water baptizing college students in a recreation pool 591 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:57,560 on the college campus. 592 00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,920 I mean, seeing a whole fraternity infiltrated 593 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:01,840 because the president got saved. 594 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,440 He weak water baptized them all. 595 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,560 His brothers were high, smelled like weed, 596 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:07,240 but heaven came down, man. 597 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,080 Ain't nothing like the aroma of Christ, Sean. 598 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:10,480 You know what time it is. 599 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,000 Hey, hey, come on, bro. 600 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,400 You know, and I think one of the things that's so, 601 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,040 our listeners need to understand is that 602 00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,440 you had such an immediate hunger. 603 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,640 You reached out to me and we connected. 604 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,320 I couldn't even tell you how many years ago that's been. 605 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,360 I think it was like 20, 30, man. 606 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:29,560 It might be, I think it's 10 years 607 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,120 because that service that I was talking about, 608 00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:32,720 it's like that was Sean Smith Ministries. 609 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,280 If you guys didn't know, but I believe that was 10 years ago. 610 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,840 Wow. And you reached out to me and just, 611 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,360 I think you came to a meeting. 612 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:43,480 We connected. 613 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:44,520 We talked a little bit. 614 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,520 I immediately sense that level of hunger on you. 615 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,480 Immediately sense the touch of God on your life 616 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,840 and been able to see God do some phenomenal things. 617 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,640 You know, Mark, one of the things that you were sharing 618 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:58,720 just about receiving a miracle. 619 00:24:58,720 --> 00:24:59,920 I was thinking about what it's going to take 620 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:01,960 to reach and impact the generation. 621 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,440 Yes, 30 and under, but just people breathing air on earth. 622 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,960 And we can't be handing out old stale traditions. 623 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:09,960 If we serve a God that is, 624 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,120 ever we've established, he's still creating. 625 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,600 He's still innovating. 626 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,080 And you know, I think about Joel too, 627 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:17,360 when he says, God will pour on us, 628 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,240 spread on all flesh, sons and daughters of prophesies, 629 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,200 or men dream, dreams, young men see visions. 630 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,200 I think we think that the God point out 631 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,280 to spread on all flesh means everyone's going to jump 632 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:27,400 into pulpit and preach. 633 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,800 But I think what we've missed is that 634 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:31,240 when he part of spread on all flesh, 635 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,600 number one, obviously it's going to hit the streets. 636 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:34,880 But I think it's going to look different. 637 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:36,960 I think his spirit pouring all flesh, 638 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,440 it's going to raise the level of creativity. 639 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,720 We're establishing God as a creative God. 640 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:43,960 And so we're going to see creativity. 641 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,480 I think that's why we have so many 642 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,560 of the emerging generation into arts, into dance, 643 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,440 appreciative of the aesthetics of things. 644 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,320 Like, you're going to reach the emerging generation. 645 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:56,000 You can have some old, dead, tired looking, 646 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,520 religious building. 647 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,440 You need to give some thought and put it together. 648 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,680 Aesthetics, because there is this creativity. 649 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:05,120 At what point in your come up, Mark, 650 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:07,480 did you begin to discover that there was something 651 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,200 that God had wired you towards creativity 652 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:11,080 and being a creative? 653 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,080 Because we'll break this down in a minute. 654 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,760 Maybe you could share, but you are creative 655 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:16,880 in so many different ways. 656 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:20,320 But how did you begin to realize that that was on you? 657 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:22,640 You know, I mean, looking back in retrospect over my life, 658 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,040 I mean, I was like four years old in front of my mirror 659 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,240 in my room with a fake microphone in my hand just 660 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:27,760 performing. 661 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,240 But I just kind of always felt like I had that in me. 662 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:34,120 Just wanted to express myself, even the way I was dressed 663 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:36,240 as a kid and just kind of out there, 664 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,000 but just very expressive. 665 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,760 And I appreciated that. 666 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:41,840 I don't know if that was encouraged by my parents 667 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:42,600 or anything like that. 668 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:43,400 Maybe it was. 669 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,920 I least didn't discourage it. 670 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,120 But even in high school, I would 671 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:51,600 make these music mix tapes and I would sell them. 672 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,600 And just I would know what was in at the time. 673 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,720 Yeah, that was my side hustle, Sean, in high school. 674 00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:57,320 I was lit. 675 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:58,280 I was like a DJ. 676 00:26:58,280 --> 00:26:59,640 But not really a DJ yet. 677 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,200 So I would make these mix tapes and sell them. 678 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,040 Even on my high school basketball team, 679 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,320 everybody looked to me to control the music of what 680 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:08,600 we came out to. 681 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,240 Just so I always felt like I had. 682 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:12,200 I didn't know it at the time. 683 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,800 I just kind of felt like I had that creative insight that I 684 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,200 guess maybe not a lot of other people would be thinking about. 685 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,720 Maybe some of the basketball, they were better at playing 686 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:22,080 the game and they were kind of locking in. 687 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,640 And they didn't really have that concept of, no, 688 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,960 I want to feel like I'm coming out cool and swaggy and ready 689 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:28,560 to play. 690 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:29,760 And they didn't know how to channel that. 691 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:30,480 And I felt like I did. 692 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,640 And so then going into college and joining the campus 693 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,760 ministry, which was predominantly not cool. 694 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:39,560 The students in there weren't cool in the world's eyes 695 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:40,080 or whatever. 696 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,120 And so I felt like I got to help bring that factor 697 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:46,000 into the campus ministry and kind of brought some relevancy 698 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:47,320 to the campus at large. 699 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:50,040 We started seeing some influencers come in, some athletes 700 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,400 and stuff like that, which I felt like God was using me 701 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:53,560 as a bridge. 702 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,040 So yeah, and then now I'm like, man, 703 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,520 people like companies, businesses, brands, colleges 704 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,600 are coming to me because they want me to create stuff for them 705 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,360 that is competing in the world that shows them 706 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:05,520 as the way that they want to be shown, 707 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:06,320 but they don't know who I do. 708 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,200 So they're coming to me to make videos for them. 709 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,000 And so yeah, man, I'm kind of like finally coming into that 710 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,360 realization that God has given a gift and really just 711 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:16,600 to go at it with all I can and honor God and bring Jesus 712 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,040 with me everywhere I go, man. 713 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,440 I've been to some big Bay Area like rap concerts 714 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,480 where some big barrier rappers are not Christian, 715 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,560 but man, I got to lay hands on them, pray for them, 716 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:25,520 heaven show it up. 717 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:28,200 Like just some really cool opportunities as a result of, 718 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,200 you know, just the creative, gifting. 719 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:31,040 And that's so cool. 720 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,440 And Mark, you're such a humble guy. 721 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,120 Mark is a Christian rapper, but to be more accurate, 722 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:38,880 he's a preacher who happens to rap Jesus. 723 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:43,120 And so you, first of all, tell us how did you begin to spit 724 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:44,720 like the obviously you said you're in your room 725 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:46,840 and then you began to make mixtapes. 726 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,640 But to our listeners, Mark is travel on tour. 727 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,200 Mark has iTunes downloadable. 728 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:55,960 He is probably in my estimation, obviously he's anointed, 729 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,880 he lives for Jesus, but your bars, your lies, 730 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,200 your lyrics are so clever. 731 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:03,280 I love it and lifts up Jesus. 732 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,280 And it's like you said, it's something that I recognize. 733 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,120 You know, when Paul says I became all things to all men 734 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,080 that in some way I might win some, 735 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,440 I see you doing that and doing it uncompromise. 736 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,400 So how did the rap thing, first of all, tell us, 737 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,920 how many downloads have you had in this area 738 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,120 and you've had collabs with different Christian rappers? 739 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,680 I mean, folks, y'all need to look up Mark Stevie right now, man. 740 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:27,880 It's incredible. 741 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,080 But tell us how, what has that been like for you 742 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,960 and how has that been an expression of God's creativity? 743 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,280 Kind of tell us about that, bro. 744 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:36,760 No, I totally agree with that. 745 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,560 It's like I started doing chapels 746 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:40,600 for some of the sports teams on my university, 747 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,000 as it means to just connect with students and stuff. 748 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,960 But I'd start my introduction with a rap. 749 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,560 And you're right, it totally diffuses like, 750 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,800 oh, this like pastor dude is trying to come and talk to me. 751 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:52,800 Like I'm not trying to hear you, but like, oh, wait, hold up. 752 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,720 He's rapping and it's lit and it gets their attention 753 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:57,440 and you just kind of like just help connect 754 00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,520 a little bit more and so, man, it's been amazing. 755 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,320 Like ever since I was in high school, 756 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:03,040 you know, we would travel on the bus, 757 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:05,280 somebody would hit the back of the seat to create a beat 758 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:07,440 and we'd all just take turns freestyling, you know? 759 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:09,680 And that evolved into, you know, 760 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,400 getting my own equipment in my house, 761 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,680 my room and my computer and start recording myself 762 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,200 and with my friends, all for fun. 763 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:16,600 And, you know, when we were in high school, 764 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,120 we thought we were so lit and we'd pull up to house parties 765 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,600 and perform and, you know, we try to be like those dudes 766 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,720 and we had a really good, like it was fun, you know? 767 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,240 And we got a little buzz and then got to college, 768 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:28,160 gave my life to Jesus. 769 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,160 And so there was kind of this like, well, you know, 770 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:31,440 I still love rap. 771 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,080 It might not be as encouraged in the space that I'm at, 772 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,800 but let me bring that flavor in. 773 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,880 And so I made a anthem for my local ministry 774 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:41,880 and I got all these like kids that like don't, 775 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:43,320 like they probably listened to Taylor Swift 776 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:44,840 or something like that to all rap 777 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:46,400 and make this music anthem. 778 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,040 And like it went crazy. 779 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:49,760 And then I did one for the national 780 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,320 Cai Alpha campus ministry. 781 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,680 And then I just got all these texts and people like saying, 782 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,800 like, dude, we play that song like as the intro, 783 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,040 when students are coming in, that's our pre-service music. 784 00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,040 And then it just dawned on me. 785 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:00,560 I'm like, wow, like I feel like, you know, 786 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,680 rap can really help bring, you know, 787 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:04,600 be that bridge to these college students. 788 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,560 And so I started rapping more 789 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,400 and I met a really good close friend of mine right now, 790 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:11,920 named Mission, who is a veteran Christian rapper, incredible. 791 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,240 He kind of took me under his wing 792 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,360 and we really did some cool stuff. 793 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,800 We did some tours, did some really cool music. 794 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,280 I almost hit a million streams last year on Spotify, 795 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:20,160 which is insane. 796 00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:22,880 I mean, like, honestly guys, like that's not my goal, 797 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:24,960 but like, man, I got on a couple of playlists 798 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,040 that were like Christian rap. 799 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:29,040 And, you know, that exposed me to a lot of people that, 800 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:30,880 you know, Christian people that enjoy Christian rap. 801 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:32,920 And so, man, it's a lot of fun. 802 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:34,280 Like I love it. 803 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:35,240 I'm grateful for it. 804 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:36,760 The tool that it has become 805 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:38,520 and also just the creative expression 806 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,800 that I'm able to just kind of express myself 807 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,760 and man, if I could reach people with that, man, 808 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:43,600 I love that. 809 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:44,440 That's incredible. 810 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:45,360 Like, because I love to do it. 811 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:46,280 I love being clever. 812 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,360 Sean, me, you go back and forth on clever lines, 813 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,560 you know, even communication and like, man, 814 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,080 to be able to express that and be heard and impact, awesome. 815 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,280 Hey, keep it 100 tribe. 816 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,800 Probably have never heard me quote Jimi Hendrix, the rocker, 817 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:03,520 but he said himself, he says, music is spiritual. 818 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:05,400 He says, music is supernatural. 819 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,240 He says with it, you could preach 820 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,320 into the subconscious of people. 821 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,320 And so I don't know if we recognize just the power of that. 822 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,840 I mean, you think obviously Satan, we know him today, 823 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,280 was Lucifer, but Lucifer, according to you cross reference, 824 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,400 different places, Ezekiel, Isaiah, 825 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,080 he was an anointed cherub and there was musical instruments 826 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,960 built in the enemy and he still uses music. 827 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:29,320 But I mean, you know, he was created like that 828 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:30,640 to be creative. 829 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,080 I think nowadays we see that just emerging. 830 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:38,280 You and I have done outreaches together at universities. 831 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,400 And I remember one time we were in Texas 832 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,920 at one of the largest conferences, Mark currently. 833 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:44,520 Obviously he was a part of a CHI Alpha 834 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:45,960 in terms of when he got saved as a student, 835 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,400 but he's a director of a campus ministry now. 836 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,360 It's at Spiritfield, outreach to secular universities. 837 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:53,040 But we brought you to Texas. 838 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:54,960 You did many concerts each night. 839 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:56,520 I'm telling you, there's some kids 840 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,640 and we weren't in like urban center Dallas. 841 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,080 We were in another place, 842 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,640 a little more like Texas walking rangers up in the air. 843 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,200 And man, they jumped on and started dancing, 844 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,480 started going for it at night, preach, prophesied. 845 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,560 We had so many people get saved in those meetings. 846 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,280 So many students get baptized in the Holy Ghost. 847 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:17,360 It was so awesome. 848 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:20,920 Mark, how do you access new levels of creativity? 849 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:23,160 Cause man, you're a preacher. 850 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:26,600 You have had incredible and still do favor 851 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,120 with reaching out to sports teams. 852 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:29,680 You're in Christian rap. 853 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:31,960 You make videos and your reels. 854 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,000 I don't know if anyone better, you know, Instagram, 855 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,640 you see reels are such a thing. 856 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,240 To me, you're the king of reels. 857 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:39,040 Like people need to hire you, reach out to you. 858 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:41,120 I don't know if they'll be able to get time with you. 859 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:46,120 But now even your photography, even your consulting, 860 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,400 people are bringing you in, flying you across the country. 861 00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,320 I mean, how do you tap deeper levels of creativity? 862 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:56,160 I'd be one that I falsely labeled myself non-creative. 863 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:57,480 I didn't think I was very creative, 864 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,280 but God made us all creative 865 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:00,760 and I began to discover, you know, 866 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:02,280 I'm not trying to compare myself 867 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,000 to someone's else's creativity. 868 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,280 I need to locate what the all creative God in me has put. 869 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:10,560 How do you tap into new levels of creativity? 870 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:11,400 That's so good. 871 00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:12,400 I love that. 872 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:15,320 Yeah, I think right now it's like sometimes, 873 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,120 well, like I guess the creativity 874 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:19,800 that I've been able to express and put out in the world 875 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,080 so far has landed, man. 876 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,960 And you know, a couple of gigs, you know, 877 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:24,960 especially like mentioned, like for video work. 878 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:26,520 And it's sometimes it's a challenge 879 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,480 because it's like come to a place where like, you're right. 880 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:30,560 Like I need to go deeper in my creativity 881 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,080 because right now I'm just churning out kind of things 882 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:34,480 that, you know, people enjoy still, 883 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:35,960 like, and it's still creative work. 884 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:37,800 But lately I've been searching for like, yeah, 885 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:39,480 how do I go deeper? 886 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:41,400 And so what I've really been trying to tap into 887 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:42,960 and think about lately is like, 888 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:45,800 I don't think it's so much the result of the creative, 889 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,120 like what you're creating. 890 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,840 It's more so the state that the creator lowercase is in 891 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,440 at the moment, you know, when they begin to create. 892 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:56,680 And so I feel like, man, like when I'm more at peace 893 00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:57,880 with the whole, I mean, 894 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:59,040 you're always at peace, you know, with God, 895 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:00,440 but like, if you're like, just have it, 896 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:01,360 don't do that, you'll be at God. 897 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,640 But like, if I'm in a better state, 898 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,280 like if I'm being fed more by the Lord, 899 00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:08,840 if I'm, you know, my consecration time, my devotion time, 900 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:11,040 like I just feel like if I'm in like, 901 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:14,200 in that better state than like my creativity 902 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,480 is going to be like just worlds apart, you know, 903 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:17,880 as opposed to if I'm busy, busy, busy. 904 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:19,920 And so I just feel like new ideas blossom 905 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,920 when I'm like in a more like just like non-busy state, 906 00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:24,120 I'll make space for God. 907 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:27,200 And you know, for him to speak to my heart and, you know, 908 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,000 I think it's that, and then, you know, 909 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,840 on the practical level, I think it's seen 910 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,680 what other people are doing and be inspired by them. 911 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,640 I think it's also putting yourself in situations 912 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:36,880 that you maybe you're unfamiliar with 913 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:38,840 and you have to have to make something happen. 914 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:41,480 And oftentimes I go into these video shoots with no plan 915 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:43,480 and I just want to like, you don't know how it's going to go. 916 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:44,680 And I think you need to be open to that. 917 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,440 And I think that unlocks creativity, 918 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,520 the certain, you know, sense of spontaneity 919 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:50,560 that you need to be okay with and comfortable with 920 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,400 to achieve greater results of creativity levels. 921 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:55,360 Because like you just can't, with creativity, like, 922 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:56,520 you know, Sean, you've mentioned it before, 923 00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,560 it's like, it's not a science, it's a art, you know, 924 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:02,720 it's a dance and there's no formula to this 925 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:03,800 because you're right, you're, 926 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,360 how could you judge your creativity 927 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,080 based upon somebody else's creativity? 928 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:08,880 And it doesn't work like that, you know? 929 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,800 And so, man, I think just keep opening yourself to, you know, 930 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:14,920 new methods or try new, you know, 931 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,120 talk about video, new angles or, you know, 932 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:20,080 why don't you instead of capturing the action of the game, 933 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,480 what about people's reactions to what's occurring, you know? 934 00:36:23,480 --> 00:36:26,760 Yeah, I mean, it's just, I think it's all of that, you know? 935 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,960 You know, you did a reel for me one time we were in, 936 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,840 we were in Texas, but in a different place. 937 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,720 You do this cool thing, you have me walking into the plane 938 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:37,200 and then all of a sudden you went out of the portal 939 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:39,240 of one of the windows of the plane, 940 00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:41,200 I've never seen anyone else do that. 941 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,880 And I thought, wow, that is super creative. 942 00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:46,800 I mean, you're not only spitting rhymes over here 943 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,560 and then getting words of knowledge and creative thoughts 944 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,040 to evangelize people that, you know, 945 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,920 don't have a propensity towards the gospel per se, 946 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:56,440 but then it's even coming out here. 947 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:57,680 And the more I'm thinking about it, 948 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:58,720 I think I'm arriving at something, 949 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:02,560 I think in the same way that you prepare yourself 950 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,160 and grow in prophecy, because the more I'm thinking about it, 951 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:09,400 I think, okay, why is this emerging generation? 952 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:12,000 There's such a higher level of creatives, 953 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,760 there's such a draw to the aesthetics of things. 954 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,080 And I think it's twofold, I think one, we touched upon it. 955 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:19,440 I think God has pouring out the spirit of creativity, 956 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,440 you'd be honest, you know, even in the Bible, 957 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,840 there was these artisans that were in the temple, 958 00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:28,040 the spirit of God came on them and they began to work 959 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,280 as obviously an art and a craft. 960 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,120 But I think the other thing too is, you know, 961 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,040 Mike Bickle talked about the seven longings 962 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,680 of the human heart and one of them is a longing 963 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:37,800 to be fascinated. 964 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:39,800 And I think in this generation, 965 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:41,760 there's a longing to be fascinated. 966 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,360 And when you look at God, you look at the sky, 967 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,840 you look at the sunrise, you look at the birth of a baby, 968 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:48,200 you recently, not too long ago, 969 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,400 you had a beautiful baby girl, your third child. 970 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:54,120 Those things bring an awe that I think in a world 971 00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:56,640 where a generation has come up with so many things 972 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,440 that are crisis, toxic, traumatic, 973 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:01,960 I think there's even a greater desire 974 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,000 for that beauty of the Lord to be seen 975 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,440 and it's seen through creativity. 976 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,200 And I just so love the way you do it. 977 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:09,720 So anyway, back to this thought, you know, 978 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:12,520 you were saying you get around creativity, you get still, 979 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:14,760 I think that's the way you grew on the prophetic, right? 980 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,560 Saul, King Saul in the Old Testament got around the prophets, 981 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,320 he began to prophesy, so there's association, you know, 982 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,360 that Elijah said, bring me a musician, 983 00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:24,840 and he began to play and he got still, 984 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:26,040 he began to prophesy. 985 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,400 So I think there's so much to it in that area. 986 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:31,280 You work with university students, 987 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:33,200 and I just want you to speak to that. 988 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:35,720 Tell me, what are some of the things you're seeing 989 00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:39,200 about this current generation of university students 990 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,640 and what has been your journey from the time 991 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,760 that you were a student and kind of what you saw 992 00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:47,400 from a university minister perspective, 993 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,240 and now that you're directing a campus ministry 994 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:51,080 yourself? 995 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:52,960 Yeah, that's a great question. 996 00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:55,560 I'd say, you know, I think when I was coming up, you know, 997 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:57,880 like in college ministry and just being a student myself, 998 00:38:57,880 --> 00:38:59,640 I think a lot of it was, you know, 999 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:01,520 being inspired by the front, you know, 1000 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,920 whoever was at the front preaching, you know, 1001 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,600 man, let's lead, you know, a Bible study, you know, 1002 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,720 that was like very attractive to me during that time. 1003 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:10,920 And I think, you know, I don't know, like the college students 1004 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:12,680 that I'm, you know, encountering on a daily basis, 1005 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,360 you know, are they're more inspired by like, man, 1006 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:16,960 the works of the Lord, you know, like, 1007 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:18,560 and not to say like, you know, preaching isn't like, 1008 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,400 I think that's fundamental, obviously, so, 1009 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:21,240 we do that on our campus. 1010 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:23,880 Like, you know, man, like they want to be activated 1011 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:24,720 into something. 1012 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:27,680 They, like I got this one kid who like goes to a Baptist church 1013 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:29,280 and I've been discipling them and he's like, 1014 00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,040 I have no idea how to reach, you know, 1015 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:32,400 these students that I'm befriending 1016 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,040 that are of other faith walks. 1017 00:39:34,040 --> 00:39:36,360 And, you know, he's like, man, what knowledge can I share 1018 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,160 with them that might convince them that this is the truth? 1019 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:40,000 He's like, I'm having a hard time like talking to them 1020 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:40,840 about it. 1021 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:43,760 And so now it opened up this whole idea of like, you know, 1022 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:47,400 he, you know, he wants to start walking in the supernatural 1023 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,840 and he wants to begin to engage in the prophetic 1024 00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:52,280 because, you know, countless, you know, time, 1025 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:53,920 man with countless testimonies of walking up 1026 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:56,240 to a college students on campus and just reading their mail, 1027 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:58,240 you know, just asking God, what do you have for this person? 1028 00:39:58,240 --> 00:39:59,080 And, you know what I mean? 1029 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:00,840 God's speaking, you know, God wants to speak to these bull. 1030 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:04,280 And so, you know, I say it's gone from, you know, 1031 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:05,880 maybe like a front-based ministry 1032 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,720 to a more like action-based, you know, hunger from students 1033 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,080 that like they want to learn, absorb information, 1034 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:14,240 but they also want to be used of God, you know? 1035 00:40:14,240 --> 00:40:16,240 And so like, let's get out there, you know, 1036 00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,120 and they have such an affinity for that. 1037 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:20,360 Like they are craving for that opportunity. 1038 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:22,080 Like, and so, but they value both. 1039 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:23,400 Like, you know, so I think it's great. 1040 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:25,640 I think it's, I think it's blazing new trails, you know, 1041 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,520 for this next generation of Christians that are just on fire 1042 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:30,080 and want to partner with the spirit of God 1043 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:31,320 and what he's doing in the earth. 1044 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:34,000 And so, man, I say that as the biggest thing, you know? 1045 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,760 Hey, that's so good, man. 1046 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,120 What do you feel is the biggest challenge you see 1047 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,480 as ministering to university students right now in this year, 1048 00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:45,520 this season, this post-COVID years now? 1049 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:47,760 What do you see as the biggest challenge you face 1050 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:49,920 or the biggest challenge they face? 1051 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:52,960 Yeah, I think right now, I think a lot of, you know, 1052 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:57,080 like good ideas are sometimes like kind of merged 1053 00:40:57,080 --> 00:40:59,920 into the idea of truth nowadays, you know? 1054 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:03,000 Like, yeah, you know, all these, you know, 1055 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,440 like on my campus particularly, they try to merge in 1056 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,160 all the kind of faith groups as, you know, 1057 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:09,720 let's try to be one, you know, and, you know, 1058 00:41:09,720 --> 00:41:12,440 just different buzzword ideas that are like positive 1059 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:13,720 in the world today, which are great. 1060 00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:15,000 I mean, nothing against it, you know? 1061 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,000 But I think, you know, like, especially talking 1062 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:18,960 with my students, like, they're like, ah, I mean, 1063 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:20,840 those are all great ideas, but I know that Jesus 1064 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,760 is the way the truth, you know, like, and so, like, 1065 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:26,640 how do we, you know, continue to demonstrate 1066 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:28,720 that that is the one true king, you know, 1067 00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:30,120 that is the one true reality? 1068 00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:31,240 He is the truth, you know? 1069 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:33,520 And so I see like sometimes my, you know, 1070 00:41:33,520 --> 00:41:34,840 as I mentioned with that no kid, 1071 00:41:34,840 --> 00:41:36,880 I'm discipling him, sometimes I struggle with, you know, 1072 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:39,840 how do I navigate this absolute truth in a, you know, 1073 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,400 where all these other, you know, good ideas are 1074 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,880 at the forefront of my university speed on, you know? 1075 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:46,840 So, you know, I say, I think that's the challenge 1076 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:48,920 to fold for us as campus ministers 1077 00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:50,280 and also as students coming to that. 1078 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:53,520 Man, what has it been for you so far? 1079 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,240 There's been like the most enjoyable outlet 1080 00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:58,400 of creativity that you've experienced, 1081 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,760 obviously preaching the gospel and leading people to Christ. 1082 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,920 So that aside, what has been, 1083 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:04,320 because you're in so many different things, 1084 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:07,280 I'm wondering what is the most life-giving, 1085 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:09,640 what's the most exciting for you and why? 1086 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:13,160 Man, I mean, I'll say, filming Sean Smith 1087 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:15,400 was a close second, but being up close 1088 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:16,720 and personal with Steph Curry, man. 1089 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:20,920 I mean, being able to film him on multiple accounts, 1090 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:22,960 like just, he's such a cool dude, by the way. 1091 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:24,880 He's just, you know, he's a regular guy, man. 1092 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:25,720 He's incredible. 1093 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:26,880 He's about to win his fifth championship ring. 1094 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:27,720 Like, let's be honest. 1095 00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:28,560 Amen. 1096 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:31,680 But, you know, I think just being around 1097 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,480 like some really high level people, 1098 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:35,800 like and be able to just capture for them, like, 1099 00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:36,720 I mean, it's just inspiring. 1100 00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:39,200 I was at the Warriors game and got to film 1101 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:40,720 some of their game at the Chase Center. 1102 00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:42,960 And I was like in tears, you know, as I was shooting, 1103 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:44,640 because how cool is this? 1104 00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:47,680 You know, like, I mean, security guards made a way for me 1105 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:49,480 to be on the floor so I can get better footage 1106 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,320 because they didn't want me to be a couple rows back, 1107 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:52,760 which I was just trying to be courteous 1108 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:53,800 and not be too close. 1109 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,840 But, you know, just how cool, you know, people that I, 1110 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,000 you know, that the world looks up to as, you know, 1111 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:02,480 the people that are, you know, world leading icons, man. 1112 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:04,080 And just, you know, getting to serve them, 1113 00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:05,240 I think it's been incredible. 1114 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:06,200 So yeah, don't get it twisted. 1115 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,560 Sean Smith, documenting Sean Smith 1116 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,000 is a very close second to Steph Curry. 1117 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:11,840 You're awesome. 1118 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:14,640 You've made some of the most amazing, 1119 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:17,400 if anyone follows our Instagram or our stuff, 1120 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:19,640 when we've done special events or anything, 1121 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,480 Mark is the guy that we go to that does it, 1122 00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,560 to think that dude is married, got three kids, 1123 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:27,600 is directing the campus ministry, 1124 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:30,600 entrepreneur because of the creativity of filming. 1125 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,160 And hopefully you're not hanging up the mic. 1126 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:33,800 You got to give us at least another rap. 1127 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:36,960 What's, one, I need a Sean Smith collab, man, 1128 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:37,800 on the rap side. 1129 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:39,960 That's the only way I'll drop another song. 1130 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:43,360 I think I told our listeners on our earlier podcast, 1131 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:45,840 back in the day, I used to be a rapper and a DJ. 1132 00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:47,640 And the interesting thing is, 1133 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:49,760 there were no Christian rappers that I was aware of. 1134 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:52,160 I never, at that time, I didn't hear of any, 1135 00:43:52,160 --> 00:43:54,240 but I used to do raps back in the day. 1136 00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:56,400 I pledged a fraternity, so we would march. 1137 00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:58,320 In fact, we came to Davis for Black Family Day 1138 00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:00,760 and we marched and we came in third, we got shafted. 1139 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,120 But there were a lot of different fraternity. 1140 00:44:03,120 --> 00:44:05,760 But what made ours innovative and it was funny, 1141 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:07,560 it got a little bit of clap back, 1142 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:09,320 is that we're doing our march, right? 1143 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:13,000 Our whole thing and I wrote up a rap for all of our guys. 1144 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,400 So our entire line, and it was personal, 1145 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,040 it was telling who their name was, but there was rap. 1146 00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,040 But I was in safety at the time, 1147 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,920 I would include a diss on a particular fraternity. 1148 00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:24,440 So there's one fraternity, they always brag, 1149 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:25,520 they were the first. 1150 00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:27,400 So my line was, you're the first that begun, 1151 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:28,520 but you're still not number one, 1152 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:29,600 you're fourth on the list. 1153 00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:31,200 Why did you persist? 1154 00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:34,120 You have no reason to exist like cookies by the batch. 1155 00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:35,320 I record that as scratch. 1156 00:44:35,320 --> 00:44:38,240 And I mentioned the name of fraternity, you are no match. 1157 00:44:38,240 --> 00:44:41,200 But I didn't be where, oh, but then the judges said, 1158 00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:44,320 well, this is supposed to be a stomp contest. 1159 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:46,600 But now the crazy part about it is, 1160 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:48,720 a lot of these shows are here in Atlanta, 1161 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,840 they'll march and they'll do some rap and stuff. 1162 00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:54,240 And so it's funny, but I got saved. 1163 00:44:54,240 --> 00:44:55,760 And then I would share my testimony 1164 00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:58,320 and I was reaching out to youth and so my campus pastor, 1165 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:01,440 said, hey, you know, share your testimony, 1166 00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:03,160 but you know, give the kids something you think 1167 00:45:03,160 --> 00:45:04,000 would bring them in. 1168 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:05,720 And the only thing I thought of is, hey, I used to rap. 1169 00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:07,120 So I wrote some Christian raps, 1170 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:08,800 I know we're near like you, 1171 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:11,560 but I remember people were recorded on cassette 1172 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:14,440 and Mark, amen, what would you, this is going so good. 1173 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:15,960 I just got to throw one more question, man, 1174 00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:17,600 cause it's so awesome. 1175 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:20,360 You're a young man, but what would you tell 1176 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:23,440 your 20 year old self if you could go back, 1177 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,960 do one of them, Ant-Man and Quantamania things or whatever. 1178 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:29,480 And you could go back and tell your 20 year old self, 1179 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:32,320 what advice, I know it's probably 101 things, 1180 00:45:32,320 --> 00:45:34,560 but what do you, if you had to say one thing, 1181 00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:35,880 what would you tell yourself? 1182 00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:38,400 Trust your, there's a popular phrase out there. 1183 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:39,360 Oh, I don't know how popular it is, 1184 00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:41,040 but like I say like trust your dopest. 1185 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:44,000 And I think at the time, like I would kind of second guess 1186 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,360 myself, I was unsure about myself. 1187 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:46,440 Maybe that's part of adolescence, 1188 00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:49,840 but like man, if you have something that you're just like 1189 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:52,840 passionate about, like be proud of it and put it out there. 1190 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:54,760 Like even if it's different than, you know, 1191 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,440 what other people are doing at the time, like go and do that. 1192 00:45:57,440 --> 00:45:59,440 Like what God puts on your heart, like be proud of that. 1193 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:00,920 And I think oftentimes in my 20s, 1194 00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:02,960 I was a little insecure about, you know, 1195 00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:04,080 not that what people would think, 1196 00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:06,360 but just like what I would see, especially like in the church, 1197 00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:08,240 you know, like, oh, maybe, maybe I'm like too, 1198 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,280 I got to turn down my swag a little bit, you know? 1199 00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:12,880 But like nah, like you shouldn't, you know, 1200 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:15,360 like completely be yourself and God himself. 1201 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:16,480 I would say, man, encourage that. 1202 00:46:16,480 --> 00:46:18,920 If you got a gift and go crazy and lead, 1203 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,240 don't be afraid to like be a leader in the world, 1204 00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:22,360 amongst the world. 1205 00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:24,320 You know, I think us Christians need to be the most 1206 00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:27,800 influential, most impactful creatives to lead the world. 1207 00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:28,640 Come on, bro. 1208 00:46:28,640 --> 00:46:31,120 Hey, we are to be light in the world. 1209 00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:33,200 And the bottom is pretty clear. 1210 00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:36,680 If you hide light, it ceases to reach the purpose 1211 00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:37,640 of its functionality. 1212 00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:38,880 Light is meant to shine. 1213 00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:40,520 Light is meant for darkness. 1214 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:41,520 Like the beam. 1215 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:43,520 They don't do that in Sacramento anymore. 1216 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:44,520 I'm sorry, Sacramento. 1217 00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:46,440 We love you, but yeah. 1218 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:47,840 We'll light the beam for Jesus. 1219 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:49,240 Come on, bro. That's right. 1220 00:46:49,240 --> 00:46:51,360 So tell us, man, how can we stay in contact with you? 1221 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:52,880 How can we support what you're doing? 1222 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:54,560 Yeah, first of all, you have to go through my manager. 1223 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:57,360 It's Chris Smith at SeanandChristaSmith.com. 1224 00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:59,400 So that means you guys have done a good job. 1225 00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,320 But nah, you can hit me up on my Instagram, 1226 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:03,920 StevieVisuals, that's kind of like my main account. 1227 00:47:03,920 --> 00:47:05,880 And then I'm Mark Stevie account. 1228 00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:07,880 If you know, it's got my own music and stuff like that. 1229 00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:11,200 But man, you can connect with me on social media, 1230 00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:12,800 Instagram and whatever you need. 1231 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:14,560 Like I really love helping people, 1232 00:47:14,560 --> 00:47:16,960 love helping Sean like get out there, you know, 1233 00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:17,800 just to help. 1234 00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:18,640 I want to serve. 1235 00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:20,520 Like that's like my main focus in my creativity. 1236 00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:21,360 So yeah. 1237 00:47:21,360 --> 00:47:22,600 Come on, man. That is so awesome. 1238 00:47:22,600 --> 00:47:24,960 You got anybody got any students at the university 1239 00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:26,240 of Pacific? 1240 00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:29,440 You need to be looking for Mark Afshari's out there. 1241 00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:32,680 And you do some amazing chapels as well with sports. 1242 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:34,240 I love all the things that you're doing. 1243 00:47:34,240 --> 00:47:35,680 Hey, bro, we love you. 1244 00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:36,520 We love Nat. 1245 00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:37,840 We love Natalie. 1246 00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:39,680 That was his wife. 1247 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:41,120 We love the kids, man. 1248 00:47:41,120 --> 00:47:41,600 Give him our love. 1249 00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:44,640 Thanks so much for taking time to pull up to keep it 100, 1250 00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:45,200 man. 1251 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:46,080 Blessings, son. 1252 00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:46,920 Man, sure appreciate it. 1253 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:47,480 Love you, man. 1254 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:48,040 Love you, pops. 1255 00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:48,800 You're the man. 1256 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:49,680 All right, bro. 1257 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:50,360 All right. 1258 00:47:50,360 --> 00:47:51,800 Oh, I love Mark. 1259 00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:52,920 I love who he is. 1260 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:54,360 And like, I just love his heart. 1261 00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:56,760 Like he's just, he's a legit creative, you know? 1262 00:47:56,760 --> 00:48:00,080 So I just love him sharing his heart, his process, who he is, 1263 00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:01,680 and just how he connects with God through that. 1264 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:03,160 I just think it's so awesome. 1265 00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:06,000 We're going to revive just for this episode of Keep it 100, 1266 00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,360 Take Away, because we really feel like this could be something 1267 00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:09,280 that could help you. 1268 00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:12,400 So Kristen, I just want to give you two keys to creativity 1269 00:48:12,400 --> 00:48:15,000 on following the interview that we just had with Mark. 1270 00:48:15,000 --> 00:48:18,320 And the first thing is you need to sanctify your imagination. 1271 00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:20,200 And when you sanctified, what I mean by that 1272 00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:22,640 is set it apart to the Lord and build it up. 1273 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:23,120 Why? 1274 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:26,880 Imagination is really the first step in creativity, 1275 00:48:26,880 --> 00:48:30,720 because I believe the imagining is where the creative process 1276 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:31,720 begins. 1277 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:34,720 When the Bible speaks of imagination, God, the word 1278 00:48:34,720 --> 00:48:36,760 their heart is translated imagination. 1279 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:38,760 So we're talking about imagination. 1280 00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:40,440 We're talking about that place in your heart 1281 00:48:40,440 --> 00:48:42,040 where God meets with you. 1282 00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:43,840 And that imagination of that heart 1283 00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:47,120 has the capacity to interact with the Holy Spirit. 1284 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:49,320 And it's thin that we process it. 1285 00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:51,800 And whatever the inspiration is, the experiences are, 1286 00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:54,200 the understanding, we begin to allow 1287 00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:57,080 that to become some sort of manifestation of art 1288 00:48:57,080 --> 00:48:58,080 and to create something. 1289 00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:01,880 But creatives are people that have set their imagination. 1290 00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:03,520 We're talking about Kingdom creatives. 1291 00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:06,360 They've sanctified their imagination. 1292 00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:08,560 And I think that there are some practical ways to do it. 1293 00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:11,400 I think one of the big things is praying the Spirit. 1294 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:16,120 I think another thing, ask God to give you pictures and ideas. 1295 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:18,520 Meditate on His word. 1296 00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:21,520 And I think one of the things you have to know who you are in Christ. 1297 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:24,280 Acknowledge and worship God as Creator. 1298 00:49:24,280 --> 00:49:25,840 And acknowledge the Holy Spirit. 1299 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:27,320 Spend time in worship. 1300 00:49:27,320 --> 00:49:28,840 And just spend time in His presence. 1301 00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:32,280 And as you do these things, you'll sanctify your imagination. 1302 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:36,680 Because before you ever create something with your hands, 1303 00:49:36,680 --> 00:49:40,200 it's because God first began to create something in your heart. 1304 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:42,800 The second key to creativity is cultivating, 1305 00:49:42,800 --> 00:49:44,880 hearing God's voice within you. 1306 00:49:44,880 --> 00:49:47,880 You know, for creative people, and really for people in general 1307 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:51,440 to really tap into the creative aspect of who they are in God, 1308 00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:55,960 connection really is the secret ingredient for creativity. 1309 00:49:55,960 --> 00:50:00,640 Participate in activities that really bring life to you. 1310 00:50:00,640 --> 00:50:03,640 Whether it's a walk in nature, taking that time to journal, 1311 00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:07,200 to worship on your own, to write the spoken word, 1312 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:13,360 to play with the illustration, to just express or have pain or art 1313 00:50:13,360 --> 00:50:15,920 or do the poetry or the pottery or whatnot. 1314 00:50:15,920 --> 00:50:20,400 Or the graphic design or whatever it may be. 1315 00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:22,200 Really begin to play around with that. 1316 00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:26,160 Because it's fun when you just begin to access the creativity 1317 00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:29,000 within you of what it unlocks within you. 1318 00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:32,040 Because as you give yourself mental and emotional space 1319 00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:34,480 to really breathe and connect with God, 1320 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,920 it's amazing the ideas, the innovation, the pictures, 1321 00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:41,680 the concepts that you'll begin to just form naturally. 1322 00:50:41,680 --> 00:50:44,440 And you'll find yourself more creatively connecting with God 1323 00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:48,120 because you've actually had space to actually create. 1324 00:50:48,120 --> 00:50:50,440 I notice I'll be in really busy seasons. 1325 00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:53,480 And I'll just notice that my creativity has dwindled quite 1326 00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:55,000 a bit because when you're really tired 1327 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:58,160 or you're running really hard for a period of time, 1328 00:50:58,160 --> 00:51:00,720 your creativity will take a back burner. 1329 00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:02,640 But as soon as you get a little bit of rest, 1330 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:04,120 get a little bit of that down day, 1331 00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,080 get some breath around you, some space around you, 1332 00:51:07,080 --> 00:51:09,200 all of a sudden, boom, that creativity just pops up. 1333 00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:10,640 And all of a sudden, I find myself 1334 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:12,960 wanting to work on something creative or bring beauty 1335 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:17,080 or fix that wall or decorate that room that I've been wanting to. 1336 00:51:17,080 --> 00:51:18,760 And all of a sudden, I'll pour myself into something creative 1337 00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:21,280 and I really feel energized. 1338 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:23,560 Because sometimes being re-energized 1339 00:51:23,560 --> 00:51:25,600 from a season of tiredness isn't about doing nothing. 1340 00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:27,600 It's actually about doing something that fills you up, 1341 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:29,520 that connects you with God. 1342 00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:32,080 And so I think for creativity, a lot of people 1343 00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:34,480 having what is viewed as slowing down 1344 00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:36,520 is actually giving space to connect with God. 1345 00:51:36,520 --> 00:51:39,880 So to me, really that secret ingredient for creativity 1346 00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:41,720 is space and connection. 1347 00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:43,880 Just lastly, I think we understand 1348 00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:46,400 that the Holy Spirit, it's not just 1349 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:48,800 imagining what could be, it's imagining followed 1350 00:51:48,800 --> 00:51:52,080 by stepping out in the context of our creative expression. 1351 00:51:52,080 --> 00:51:55,320 Seeing what Holy Spirit gives us, agreeing with that, 1352 00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:56,920 and then seeing what God is showing, 1353 00:51:56,920 --> 00:51:59,320 sensing what he's doing, feeling that he's moving, 1354 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:02,240 hearing what he's saying, and then really giving it our yes, 1355 00:52:02,240 --> 00:52:04,320 partnering with it, and seeing what comes out of it. 1356 00:52:04,320 --> 00:52:08,200 It's this beautiful expression of this co-laboring partnership 1357 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:10,800 and creatively expressing through ourselves. 1358 00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:15,400 And so I think for me, I've really learned that connection, 1359 00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:20,560 but also at times quietness, and kind of slowing down, 1360 00:52:20,560 --> 00:52:24,040 and disengaging, and disconnecting from the busy world. 1361 00:52:24,040 --> 00:52:28,240 When I give my brain, my heart, my spirit, my body space 1362 00:52:28,240 --> 00:52:30,920 to just kind of be, all of a sudden that creativity 1363 00:52:30,920 --> 00:52:32,120 surfaces again. 1364 00:52:32,120 --> 00:52:35,080 But one of the best ways to either tap in for the first time 1365 00:52:35,080 --> 00:52:36,440 for those that are like, I'm not creative, 1366 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:37,960 or for those that are like, I'm creative, 1367 00:52:37,960 --> 00:52:39,640 but I haven't been creative in a while. 1368 00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:42,960 Slow down, disconnect, and really engage with God, 1369 00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:44,800 and allow your imagination, your mind, 1370 00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:47,520 to connect with Holy Spirit, see what happens, 1371 00:52:47,520 --> 00:52:49,080 and then begin to follow that leading 1372 00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:50,520 and how Holy Spirit connects with you. 1373 00:52:50,520 --> 00:52:52,120 That is so true. 1374 00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:53,840 You know, as we just kind of summed this up, 1375 00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,480 I think it's so important that God put you here on the planet 1376 00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:58,320 to be a reflection of who he is. 1377 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:01,360 He is a creative God, and that you need to take time. 1378 00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:04,440 We need to take time to find out what are the things we're 1379 00:53:04,440 --> 00:53:05,320 meant to create. 1380 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:07,120 Because whatever it is you're meant to create, 1381 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:09,160 on the other end of that, that will either 1382 00:53:09,160 --> 00:53:13,280 be an inspiration to someone, or a solution to something. 1383 00:53:13,280 --> 00:53:15,600 So you need to take the time to find out, 1384 00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:18,560 God, what have you created me to create? 1385 00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,520 Because we are in His image, and you will create something. 1386 00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:25,200 I will create something, but we want to create that God thing. 1387 00:53:25,200 --> 00:53:26,800 And when we're creating that God thing, 1388 00:53:26,800 --> 00:53:28,360 we were purpose beforehand. 1389 00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:31,240 The Bible says that we are the workmanship of God, 1390 00:53:31,240 --> 00:53:33,680 prepared beforehand for good works. 1391 00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:36,920 The word workmanship is a word poema, which is really 1392 00:53:36,920 --> 00:53:38,640 where we get the word poem. 1393 00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:42,520 So the creativity is even found in Ephesians 2 and 10. 1394 00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:44,320 And so we just want you to know right now 1395 00:53:44,320 --> 00:53:47,560 that we believe that some of the best creativity is 1396 00:53:47,560 --> 00:53:48,680 about to be expressed. 1397 00:53:48,680 --> 00:53:52,640 There's no way that a secular world or a fallen world should 1398 00:53:52,640 --> 00:53:54,560 out-create kingdom people. 1399 00:53:54,560 --> 00:53:57,600 Thanks so much for tuning in to the Keep It 100 podcast. 1400 00:53:57,600 --> 00:54:00,320 Make sure to rate, review, and refer us to your friends. 1401 00:54:00,320 --> 00:54:02,280 And be sure to click that subscribe button 1402 00:54:02,280 --> 00:54:04,760 so that you're alerted as soon as new episodes drop. 1403 00:54:04,760 --> 00:54:05,760 Help us get the word out. 1404 00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:07,920 Share this link on your social media platforms. 1405 00:54:07,920 --> 00:54:10,800 And check us out at SeanandChristasmith.com. 1406 00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:12,920 You can also find us on Facebook at Sean 1407 00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:14,400 and Christosmith Ministries. 1408 00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:16,480 We would love to hear from you on how this podcast 1409 00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:17,520 has impacted you. 1410 00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:19,400 So be sure to show us some love. 1411 00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:21,520 Hey Keep It 100 Tribe, you do not want to miss our next 1412 00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:25,480 episode as we're going to be bringing to you some live topics 1413 00:54:25,480 --> 00:54:29,240 and just fresh conversation around things that we know 1414 00:54:29,240 --> 00:54:31,760 that God is breathing on in this season. 1415 00:54:31,760 --> 00:54:34,200 And remember, relief may change your circumstance, 1416 00:54:34,200 --> 00:54:35,960 but a revelation will change you. 1417 00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:40,720 We hope you enjoyed today's episode of the Keep It 100 podcast 1418 00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:42,520 with Sean and Christosmith. 1419 00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:44,400 Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram 1420 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:47,400 and SeanandChristasmith.com, where you can discover 1421 00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:48,320 more resources. 1422 00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:51,280 If this podcast has impacted you, please subscribe and review 1423 00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:52,880 wherever you listen to your podcast. 1424 00:54:52,880 --> 00:55:09,360 Keep it 100.