WEBVTT

00:00:03.569 --> 00:00:06.530
What's up, Pursuing Jesus? Pursuers? Dudes and

00:00:06.530 --> 00:00:11.369
duets? I... Listen, no, no, no, no. I think pursuers

00:00:11.369 --> 00:00:13.910
is the word. Because I can't say dudettes. I

00:00:13.910 --> 00:00:17.969
know. Listen, I love the idea. It was brought

00:00:17.969 --> 00:00:21.609
to us. And I say dude a lot. In fact, I say dude

00:00:21.609 --> 00:00:24.510
too much. Dude, Mr. Tuttle was my fault. I was

00:00:24.510 --> 00:00:26.449
even having a serious conversation with someone.

00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:31.570
They messaged me. And my first draft... Luckily,

00:00:31.570 --> 00:00:33.070
it was my first draft and I didn't send it of

00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:35.509
my text. But I was like, dude, I'm so sorry.

00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.689
But it was like... What's wrong with that? When

00:00:38.689 --> 00:00:42.829
I read it, it didn't sound appropriate because

00:00:42.829 --> 00:00:46.270
this was like an older gentleman. Oh, I got you.

00:00:46.409 --> 00:00:49.020
And I was like, dude. And I was like... I should

00:00:49.020 --> 00:00:53.560
change that to sir or first name or something.

00:00:53.780 --> 00:00:57.420
So, um, I use dude a lot. I mean that, I mean,

00:00:57.420 --> 00:01:00.079
nineties kid, you know, early two thousands kid

00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:04.359
dude is definitely very much high up. Yeah. You

00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:05.560
know, it's so funny though. Talking, thinking

00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:07.659
about that. Like I remember, I think back to

00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:12.180
the slang that, that we used back then. So the

00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:14.659
two big ones that I remember, like I used a lot,

00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.310
which feels so stupid now. is one is it all does.

00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:24.510
That's the bomb, the bomb, DA, the bomb. That's

00:01:24.510 --> 00:01:26.469
the bomb because that that was big in the nineties

00:01:26.469 --> 00:01:29.629
and that that was not cringe back then. No, that

00:01:29.629 --> 00:01:32.090
was like, no, that was like you said that with

00:01:32.090 --> 00:01:35.349
your chest. Yes, but then the other one that

00:01:35.349 --> 00:01:38.250
I used a lot was once again, you got to get the

00:01:38.250 --> 00:01:42.430
pronunciation correct, but a but a not butter.

00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:46.269
It's the word butter, but b u t t a Butta. So

00:01:46.269 --> 00:01:49.209
it's something smooth. That's butta. Oh, dude,

00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.150
I've never heard that one before. Butta was a

00:01:51.150 --> 00:01:53.730
big 90s word. As I was coming up through middle

00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:56.489
school and high school, this was like classic

00:01:56.489 --> 00:02:01.049
Snapchat dog emoji era. You know, like the dog

00:02:01.049 --> 00:02:03.989
face where everybody was doing it. So like turnt

00:02:03.989 --> 00:02:07.250
and lit and things being on fleek. That was what

00:02:07.250 --> 00:02:09.729
we said when we thought we were so cool. On fleek.

00:02:09.750 --> 00:02:11.530
That was one that annoyed me as a youth pastor.

00:02:11.770 --> 00:02:13.810
I had a youth leader ask me if I had some turnt

00:02:13.810 --> 00:02:17.610
in my fleek. What does that even mean? That is

00:02:17.610 --> 00:02:22.710
a great youth pastor to use that in that way.

00:02:22.930 --> 00:02:27.669
For sure. I think a penchant for malapropism

00:02:27.669 --> 00:02:31.330
is a clear... What did you call me? I'll say

00:02:31.330 --> 00:02:34.250
it again. A penchant for malapropism. You're

00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:37.430
going to have to define this. Using funny words

00:02:37.430 --> 00:02:41.449
the wrong way. Okay, what word did you say to

00:02:41.449 --> 00:02:44.229
say that? It was two words. A penchant for malapropism.

00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.590
A penchant. I don't even know what that means.

00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:49.030
You have like a disposition. A disposition or

00:02:49.030 --> 00:02:53.210
a proclivity towards. Okay, a penchant for malapropism.

00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:56.889
Malaproposition? Malapropism. A proposition?

00:02:57.129 --> 00:02:59.469
I hate that you just messed with me on this podcast.

00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:04.210
Come on, dude. You know what? Forget it. We're

00:03:04.210 --> 00:03:07.349
moving on. That just made me so happy. I feel

00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.090
like there's only been one word that I feel like

00:03:09.090 --> 00:03:13.150
has stayed. Not in terms of words that have come

00:03:13.150 --> 00:03:15.550
back. People say rad and groovy again, and they

00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:17.710
say vibe again, which is from the 60s or whatever.

00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:23.110
But one word that I have consistently heard stay

00:03:23.110 --> 00:03:25.979
in people's vocabulary is yeet. Not like the

00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:26.979
way that kids would say it all the time, like,

00:03:27.020 --> 00:03:28.580
yeah, you know, but like, oh, yeah, I'm going

00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:30.379
to eat over there and do this. Yeah, he yeeted

00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:32.180
the ball across the room. I feel like that one

00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:36.199
stayed since it has shown up. Yeah, it's I've

00:03:36.199 --> 00:03:38.159
even used because that's that word is way after

00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.259
my time. Yeah, a hundred percent, but I've even

00:03:40.259 --> 00:03:43.120
been able to use that word and it didn't sound

00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:45.740
cringy because it became it started to become.

00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.259
It's a verb. Yeah. Yeet's a fun one. I like that

00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:52.099
one. Well, speaking of fun and good and hearing

00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:55.860
absolute nonsense past office slang, what are

00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.060
you going to be doing two or three days after

00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:00.919
this podcast releases, Sean? Man, so the church

00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:03.729
knows our people. They know. They know. It's

00:04:03.729 --> 00:04:07.270
been a crazy summer. It's been a crazy summer.

00:04:07.530 --> 00:04:11.090
And so recap before we move forward. We started

00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:12.830
out the summer with Mission Serve. Mission Serve.

00:04:12.930 --> 00:04:15.669
Salute to South Carolina. Incredible. That's

00:04:15.669 --> 00:04:17.750
the big one. Shout out to my man, Luke Berry.

00:04:17.949 --> 00:04:21.410
Over 50 people there. Luke Berry, construction

00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:25.430
coordinator, extraordinaire, amazing, amazing

00:04:25.430 --> 00:04:28.490
guy. And just the church that we hang out with.

00:04:28.490 --> 00:04:31.410
They're awesome. And then we had VBS the next

00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:35.509
week. It feels like a long time ago. Then I went

00:04:35.509 --> 00:04:39.029
to SLU 101 in Orlando, Florida. Smaller group

00:04:39.029 --> 00:04:42.129
of kids started the SLU 101 journey, took a week

00:04:42.129 --> 00:04:44.850
off, was in the office finally. Praise the Lord.

00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:48.470
And then last week I was in SLU 201, had a great

00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:50.709
time. Even smaller group of kids, but man, that

00:04:50.709 --> 00:04:52.959
one. Even though it was a smaller group of kids,

00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:54.980
I was definitely more tired from that one just

00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:59.279
because it was 6 a .m. to 9 .30, 10 o 'clock

00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.759
every day, Monday through Thursday. I have an

00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.060
alternate theory about that. What's that? I think

00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:05.879
you were tired because for once in your life,

00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:09.339
you actually wore a tie. I did. I wore a tie

00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:13.649
twice. A jacket and a tie twice. Wow. But then

00:05:13.649 --> 00:05:15.410
also with that, we were in a... That's youth

00:05:15.410 --> 00:05:17.370
pastor kryptonite, dude. We were in a hotel.

00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.029
We slept in a hotel room. Nice hotel room. But

00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:23.589
had to share a double bed with my son, Miles.

00:05:24.009 --> 00:05:30.009
No. A double bed with my son, Miles. He's getting

00:05:30.009 --> 00:05:32.610
to be a big dude. Yeah, he is. I mean, he's skinny,

00:05:32.750 --> 00:05:36.810
but he's a little bit taller than me now. And

00:05:36.810 --> 00:05:40.240
he's got some muscle on him. And we both take

00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.579
up a lot of room on the bed. That's hilarious.

00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.379
That was part of the issue, too. So caffeine

00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:50.540
was my friend, was my best friend last week.

00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:52.579
And so, yeah. So now I'm here. We're here. We're

00:05:52.579 --> 00:05:54.199
recording the podcast again. We're back in the

00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:57.139
office. However, this podcast comes out on Friday.

00:05:57.480 --> 00:06:01.519
Monday morning, I get to take our fourth through

00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.879
sixth graders to camp. Okay. Where are you guys

00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.139
going? And so this is our rooted student ministry.

00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:09.259
We also invited our fourth graders to come along

00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:12.279
with this. So it's like our preteen age. We are

00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.100
taking them to Ridgecrest Retreat Conference

00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:17.279
Center. It's in the mountains of North Carolina.

00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:20.939
Great location. But it's put on by Lifeway. It's

00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:23.699
an event called Centra Kids. So like centrifuge

00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.519
is like the whole idea of it. Okay. You put them

00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:28.860
in there. You spin them around really, really,

00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:32.829
really fast. And you get the Jesus. Okay. Yeah.

00:06:32.930 --> 00:06:34.709
Interesting spiritual model. There's just something

00:06:34.709 --> 00:06:36.670
there. I don't know. I don't remember. Anyways,

00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:39.569
what it's like, though, what this is like, because

00:06:39.569 --> 00:06:42.009
it's put on by Lifeway. Yeah. It is essentially

00:06:42.009 --> 00:06:47.949
a four -day overnight VBS. Oh, so high energy.

00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:52.410
High energy, tons of games. It's Lifeway, so

00:06:52.410 --> 00:06:54.910
there's a theme. There's a theme that they use

00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:58.240
in this camp every location. And I think this

00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.800
one's called storytelling. Oh, maybe. And so,

00:07:00.819 --> 00:07:03.240
but it'll have its own theme song, their own

00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:05.939
dance moves, like the whole thing. Wow. So this

00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:08.360
really is like, like overnight. No, this is overnight

00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.259
VBS. You know, let's kill two birds with one

00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:13.360
stone next year and just do overnight VBS. Like

00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:16.360
have all the kids sleep in the gym and have a

00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.259
morning and a afternoon and evening session.

00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:21.839
Let's just, let's just do it, man. Go big or

00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.819
go home. I love that you're going to be our new

00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:27.620
VBS director. I'm so excited for. this new role

00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.819
that you are taking on, and I cannot wait for

00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:33.339
you to find those overnight volunteers. You know

00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:37.459
what? I can't wait for the $500 ,000 raise it

00:07:37.459 --> 00:07:42.360
would take for me to do that job. That's wild.

00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:45.759
Oh my gosh. Yeah, no. So we are going to influence

00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:48.899
them in an incredible way this camp. For the

00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:53.170
Lord, right? Of course. I don't like the way

00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:55.689
you said that. What do I need to be aware of?

00:07:55.750 --> 00:07:57.769
We are going to be influencing them to the Lord.

00:07:57.889 --> 00:08:00.050
Okay. But also there's a little challenge that's

00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:02.649
going to be going on. Oh, goodness. Why am I

00:08:02.649 --> 00:08:06.790
not surprised, Sean? There's a lovely volunteer

00:08:06.790 --> 00:08:12.730
in our church who we needed another male chaperone.

00:08:12.769 --> 00:08:14.790
It's hard to find a male chaperone to go on a

00:08:14.790 --> 00:08:17.550
week -long trip, work, all that kind of stuff.

00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:23.329
and so I reached out to a new member of ours

00:08:23.329 --> 00:08:24.709
that we've been able to get to know really well.

00:08:25.209 --> 00:08:27.470
We background checked him and did all the things

00:08:27.470 --> 00:08:31.009
to make sure that he would be a good person to

00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:34.190
take, but a guy named Scott in our church, he's

00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:36.370
going to go on this trip with us and hang out

00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:42.230
with us. He's a little crazy in a good way because

00:08:42.230 --> 00:08:43.789
I think he's going to bring that high energy

00:08:43.789 --> 00:08:46.350
that's needed for an overnight Lifeway VBS camp.

00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.789
Aha. Right? But with that, me and him have a

00:08:49.789 --> 00:08:52.090
challenge. A challenge. That has nothing to do

00:08:52.090 --> 00:08:55.730
with camp. Okay. It's pure entertainment. And

00:08:55.730 --> 00:09:00.090
to see, we're going to test our manliness. Okay.

00:09:00.470 --> 00:09:02.889
And what we're going to do, as we've said, we

00:09:02.889 --> 00:09:05.590
are eating tacos at every single meal. Are you

00:09:05.590 --> 00:09:08.230
making your own food? No, no, no. There's a cafeteria

00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:10.169
there. So how are you going to eat tacos every

00:09:10.169 --> 00:09:12.590
meal? So I've thought about this. Is this going

00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:16.009
to be camp food in a cafeteria? Yeah. We don't

00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:18.740
know what we're going to get. But you know what

00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:23.539
I can bring with me? What? Tortilla shells. Sean,

00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:29.019
no. So when we arrive. Sean, no. And we get chicken

00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:31.600
nuggets and macaroni and cheese on the first

00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.379
night. You know what kind of taco I'm going to

00:09:34.379 --> 00:09:36.440
have on the first night? A chicken nugget and

00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:40.120
macaroni and cheese taco. Yes, sir. So me and

00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:42.059
Scott are going to do this. And you know the

00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:43.399
kids that we're taking with us are going to be

00:09:43.399 --> 00:09:46.990
watching us. I guarantee you the majority of

00:09:46.990 --> 00:09:48.909
our kids are going to be eating random tacos

00:09:48.909 --> 00:09:50.970
by the end of the week, and it's going to be

00:09:50.970 --> 00:09:54.950
glorious. I am. You know, all of a sudden, I'm

00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.929
so glad I'm staying here at the church this week.

00:09:57.990 --> 00:10:00.649
I'm more excited. Are you kidding me? I'm so

00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:03.809
glad. This is a taco challenge. I was born for

00:10:03.809 --> 00:10:07.730
this challenge. You so were. Scott, also, I can't

00:10:07.730 --> 00:10:11.070
remember the exact distance. I believe you said

00:10:11.070 --> 00:10:13.110
eight or nine miles a day is what we're going

00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:16.240
to have to run. to work off the tacos that we're

00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.929
going to eat. Best of luck with that too, my

00:10:18.929 --> 00:10:21.529
guy. That's definitely not happening at camp.

00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:23.409
I'm going to have to run this when I get back

00:10:23.409 --> 00:10:26.330
because this is in the mountains, and Sean running

00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:29.590
up mountains does not happen. I am a beach person.

00:10:29.789 --> 00:10:34.210
I'm a flat lander, and yeah, going uphill is

00:10:34.210 --> 00:10:38.929
not in my legs. Well, best of luck with your

00:10:38.929 --> 00:10:41.850
taco challenge. Thank you. As we pivot to our

00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:45.490
text because we need to, I got a question for

00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:50.710
you, Sean. Okay. I got answers. Who is the greatest

00:10:50.710 --> 00:10:55.870
actor of all time? Oh my gosh. That is such a

00:10:55.870 --> 00:10:59.049
good question. The greatest actor of all time.

00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:03.350
All right. I'm thinking of range here. Matt Damon.

00:11:03.450 --> 00:11:08.230
Matt Damon. Okay. So range. Mad range has done

00:11:08.230 --> 00:11:10.169
a lot of different things. Like the movie, the

00:11:10.169 --> 00:11:13.389
Martian. Phenomenal. Incredible room. Now, did

00:11:13.389 --> 00:11:18.330
you go see The Odyssey? I have not seen The Odyssey,

00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:19.950
so that's not what I'm... I'm not thinking of

00:11:19.950 --> 00:11:21.450
Matt Damon in The Odyssey right now, because

00:11:21.450 --> 00:11:22.690
I know he's in the movie, and I know he plays

00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:24.850
a... I believe he plays a big role in this movie.

00:11:24.929 --> 00:11:27.809
And so, anyways, yeah. And so, that's what I'm

00:11:27.809 --> 00:11:31.370
debating on, you know? We don't have IMAX here

00:11:31.370 --> 00:11:33.750
in Stanley County for some odd reason. There's

00:11:33.750 --> 00:11:36.190
not an IMAX theater. Rude. And everything I see

00:11:36.190 --> 00:11:38.190
online is like, you got to see this in IMAX and

00:11:38.190 --> 00:11:39.590
all this kind of stuff. Well, there's only 12

00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:42.929
theaters in America that show it the way that...

00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:45.210
Exactly. The way that Christopher Nolan filmed

00:11:45.210 --> 00:11:48.090
this and did all this. Yeah. I saw that same

00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:51.929
thing online. Only 12 theaters exist in America.

00:11:52.750 --> 00:11:54.830
that are going to be able to properly display

00:11:54.830 --> 00:11:57.190
the movie as he intended it to be displayed.

00:11:57.309 --> 00:12:00.710
Yeah. That's wild. It is. And like, I mean, we're

00:12:00.710 --> 00:12:02.830
going to go see it anyways, right? But it's like,

00:12:02.870 --> 00:12:05.250
is it that big of a difference? See, that's what

00:12:05.250 --> 00:12:09.269
I'm saying. Also, there's something else that

00:12:09.269 --> 00:12:12.429
you need to know about me. Okay. I'm cheap. Like,

00:12:12.450 --> 00:12:14.710
just straight up. This surprises me so much,

00:12:14.769 --> 00:12:17.950
Sean. I'm cheap when it comes to certain things.

00:12:18.529 --> 00:12:21.570
And when it comes to spending money in the movie

00:12:21.570 --> 00:12:27.070
theater, I love our Albemarle movie theater because

00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:30.149
it is cheap. I can take my whole family, my entire

00:12:30.149 --> 00:12:33.509
family, five people, and we can get popcorn and

00:12:33.509 --> 00:12:35.940
drinks and everything. and get out of there for

00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:38.320
less than 50 bucks. Let's go, dude. Okay. That

00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.159
actually is really nice. I mean, you think about

00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:42.039
it, you go to like just a date with like you

00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:44.240
and your wife in Charlotte. Yeah. That's 50 bucks

00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:45.779
for a movie theater. If you get all that stuff.

00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:47.980
A hundred percent. But yeah, I think I want to

00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:49.960
see it. Okay. Yeah. I like it. But so you would

00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:52.460
say Damon is the great is what you would call

00:12:52.460 --> 00:12:54.320
the greatest of all time on the top of my head

00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.379
without overthinking it and just thinking about

00:12:56.379 --> 00:12:58.620
that. Yeah. I think Matt Damon's a pretty, he's

00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:00.779
a good actor, man. I like, I like that example.

00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:02.759
I like that example. Who are you going to go

00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:05.460
with? Um, so, uh, Matt Damon was in the running.

00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:08.720
For me, it was between Matt Damon, Tom Cruise,

00:13:08.899 --> 00:13:14.019
and Mel Gibson. Oh, Gibson. There's equal degree

00:13:14.019 --> 00:13:16.899
of versatility there, but I would argue with

00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:18.580
you that Tom Cruise plays himself in every movie.

00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:22.159
That would be my only thought process. Listen,

00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:27.950
the dude, he knows his role. But then you go

00:13:27.950 --> 00:13:30.710
back to his movies in the 80s. Yeah. Great drama

00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:32.250
roles and everything. But I think he's found

00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.669
his lane as he's gotten older. Yes. And that's

00:13:34.669 --> 00:13:37.509
just kind of where he ends up. Yeah. But so the

00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:40.809
reason I bring this up, who's the greatest actor

00:13:40.809 --> 00:13:44.129
of all time, is our central text for today, sort

00:13:44.129 --> 00:13:45.690
of the one that you and I talked about beforehand

00:13:45.690 --> 00:13:47.529
and really wanted to zero in on. Yeah, absolutely.

00:13:47.809 --> 00:13:50.309
Because in a very real sense, this is the text

00:13:50.309 --> 00:13:54.370
on which many others rest, spoiler alert, is

00:13:54.370 --> 00:13:57.570
what commentators sometimes call the great commandment

00:13:57.570 --> 00:14:00.429
or the greatest commandment. Yeah. Where Jesus,

00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:04.669
you know. Who's the greatest? Exactly. So, Sean,

00:14:04.929 --> 00:14:06.830
do you want to jump in here? I don't know if

00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:09.570
you prefer the Mark account or the Matthew account.

00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:12.409
Let's do this. For the sake of simplicity for

00:14:12.409 --> 00:14:15.129
the podcast, let's settle on one of them. Let's

00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:16.769
just look at one. I think let's settle on the

00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:19.169
Mark 12 account. So it's Mark 12, 28 through

00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:21.429
34. Thank you. You mind if I go ahead and read

00:14:21.429 --> 00:14:24.809
it? By all means, please do. Hold your drink

00:14:24.809 --> 00:14:28.450
further away from the mic. Verse 28. And one

00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:31.009
of the scribes came up and heard him disputing

00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:33.200
with one another. And seeing that he answered

00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:35.879
them well, asked him, which commandment is the

00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:39.200
most important of all? Jesus answered, the most

00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:42.360
important is, hear O Israel, the Lord our God,

00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:44.620
the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord

00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:46.620
your God with all your heart and with all your

00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.360
soul and with all your mind and with all your

00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:51.419
strength. The second is this, you shall love

00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:54.960
your neighbor as yourself. There is no other

00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:57.120
commandment greater than these. And the scribe

00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.899
said to him, you are right, teacher. You have

00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:03.360
truly said he is one. There is none besides him.

00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:06.000
And to love him with all the heart and with all

00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:07.960
the understanding and with all the strength and

00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.019
to love one's neighbor as oneself is a much more

00:15:11.019 --> 00:15:14.200
than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.480
And then Jesus said, he answered wisely. He said

00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.779
to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God.

00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:23.379
And then after that, they did not dare to question

00:15:23.379 --> 00:15:25.750
him. further. It's a great passage, man. It's

00:15:25.750 --> 00:15:29.250
a great passage, and one of the few where, like,

00:15:29.250 --> 00:15:31.490
I feel like Jesus and the Pharisees get to, like,

00:15:31.490 --> 00:15:33.470
an armistice, you know? I mean, because, like,

00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:35.690
even in the context of these passages, like,

00:15:35.750 --> 00:15:37.929
Jesus is beefing with the Pharisees and the Sadducees

00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:41.610
as this question is asked. Also, like, one of

00:15:41.610 --> 00:15:44.509
the rare times that Jesus actually answers a

00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:46.370
question point blank, and not, like, answers

00:15:46.370 --> 00:15:48.450
a question with a question or a parable, but,

00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:51.399
like, he's just, like... I mean, it starts, the

00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:54.860
most important is. He just flat out answers the

00:15:54.860 --> 00:15:56.480
question. He does. And I feel like part of this,

00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:00.620
too, is where we sit in the Holy Week narrative.

00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.480
Because Jesus is less than a week from going

00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:07.080
to the cross. And you see him turn the temperature

00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:09.200
up in terms of what he says and what's important.

00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.759
Absolutely. I've wondered sometimes, as I've

00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:14.419
read through the New Testament narratives of

00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:17.559
Christ's... time on earth, like why he wasn't

00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:20.600
this direct throughout his time. But I believe

00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:23.320
it's because when he was, this is what happens.

00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.179
Like when Jesus gets direct, the Pharisees finally

00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:28.059
push to the point where they actually have him

00:16:28.059 --> 00:16:31.080
executed. Yeah. And I find it interesting, the

00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.960
response that he gives, right? I think there's

00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.700
some modern correlation here. Essentially, the

00:16:36.700 --> 00:16:39.980
first part of this, he responds with what the

00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:41.480
Israelites, the Jewish people, would have known

00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:45.500
as the Shema. And the Shema, you know, hero Israel,

00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:47.740
the Lord our God, the Lord is one. I mean, this

00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:49.879
was something they literally repeated to themselves

00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:52.519
all the time. Yeah. This was a very important

00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:57.179
part of their daily exercise of their faith.

00:16:57.399 --> 00:16:59.379
Yeah, like a parallel to today would be like

00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:02.299
a catechism or a creed from maybe a more Reformed

00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:04.079
church. It's something that they say every time.

00:17:04.140 --> 00:17:05.799
So I was kind of thinking about the Lord's Prayer.

00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:07.720
Yeah, yeah, yeah. For some churches. Yep, that's

00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:10.420
kind of where I was going with that. Where I

00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:11.900
find it interesting because they would have been

00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:15.599
extremely familiar with this passage. But a lot

00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:17.900
of times I see people kind of like this. They

00:17:17.900 --> 00:17:20.250
recite the Lord's Prayer. But they don't know

00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:22.369
what they're saying, right? And I'm wondering,

00:17:22.470 --> 00:17:25.089
Jesus is like, hey, you want to know what the

00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:28.130
most important thing is? You already say it all

00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:30.549
the time, but have you really thought about what

00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:35.069
you say? Isn't that an interesting concept? The

00:17:35.069 --> 00:17:38.630
truths of the gospel that you and I, day in and

00:17:38.630 --> 00:17:42.930
day out, try to build into ourselves, learn more,

00:17:43.049 --> 00:17:45.569
and share with our people every week are not

00:17:45.569 --> 00:17:52.880
new. or necessarily hidden, but sometimes they're

00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.599
hidden in plain sight. Yeah. And this is the

00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.359
curse of the youth pastor. The curse of the youth

00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:02.180
pastor. Yeah. The curse of the youth pastor is

00:18:02.180 --> 00:18:06.920
this. We minister to students every week, all

00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.720
of the really good youth pastors out there, that

00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:11.440
we are just preaching our hearts out, preaching

00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:15.500
the gospel. And the joke is that we'll go off

00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:18.750
to camp. the camp pastor will say the exact same

00:18:18.750 --> 00:18:21.769
thing that we do. And all of a sudden our students

00:18:21.769 --> 00:18:23.670
will come to us and be like, did you hear what

00:18:23.670 --> 00:18:27.430
he said? Oh my gosh, I love Jesus with all my

00:18:27.430 --> 00:18:30.170
heart. I'm going to read my Bible every day.

00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:33.049
I'm rededicating my life to the Lord. And like

00:18:33.049 --> 00:18:35.609
that initial reaction of wanting to shake their

00:18:35.609 --> 00:18:38.109
little head, be like, I said this last week.

00:18:38.829 --> 00:18:41.210
But it's because they're in this different location.

00:18:41.230 --> 00:18:43.509
It's a different voice, a different personality.

00:18:43.869 --> 00:18:47.930
And the Lord uses that. And so I remember truly

00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:51.049
being frustrated as a young youth pastor. Literally,

00:18:51.250 --> 00:18:54.329
I had a situation where I was like, dude, I just

00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:57.930
taught on this last week. And then I was getting

00:18:57.930 --> 00:19:00.369
offended, and you're young, and you got some

00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:03.049
pride there. And then as I got older, I started

00:19:03.049 --> 00:19:05.650
to realize the... benefit of having multiple

00:19:05.650 --> 00:19:09.309
voices speaking to my students. And now it's

00:19:09.309 --> 00:19:11.089
like, it's one of the things I'm constantly looking

00:19:11.089 --> 00:19:13.069
for. I'm constantly looking for other people

00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:15.609
to speak into the students because yes, they

00:19:15.609 --> 00:19:18.750
might say the exact same thing I will, but if

00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:20.670
it says it in a way that the students are going

00:19:20.670 --> 00:19:22.670
to respond to the Holy Spirit, praise God for

00:19:22.670 --> 00:19:25.869
it. I think there's a principle here that is

00:19:25.869 --> 00:19:29.339
bigger than just youth ministry. Oh, 100%. I

00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:32.400
think it goes beyond people who are young and

00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:40.180
to all of us. If the only place I hear scriptural

00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:43.599
truth is on Sunday morning for 30 minutes. Oh,

00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:47.799
keep going. After some singing. That will absolutely

00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:51.779
affect my life. I believe, like scripture says

00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:54.140
it, God's word does not return back void. As

00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:56.980
the rain falls down and it waters the earth,

00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:02.519
so is God's word. But if that is the only input

00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:05.759
I get that emphasizes my worldview as a believer,

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:10.480
I'm not going to grow all that much. And it doesn't

00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.440
mean that I should be listening to a sermon every

00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:14.819
day, but I do think that it means that the voices

00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:17.460
that we put into our lives really, really matter.

00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:21.470
Because sometimes the very same truth from a

00:20:21.470 --> 00:20:26.029
different source is what we need to ingrain it

00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:28.230
to understand. Because here's the deal. At the

00:20:28.230 --> 00:20:30.069
end of the day, it's the same source. Because

00:20:30.069 --> 00:20:31.710
it's the Holy Spirit that works in our hearts

00:20:31.710 --> 00:20:34.829
to make those things change in us, to show us

00:20:34.829 --> 00:20:38.970
those things, to change stubborn. hard -headed

00:20:38.970 --> 00:20:42.309
spiritual people into Christlikeness. Can I get

00:20:42.309 --> 00:20:45.430
off topic for a second? You just had my mind

00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:47.029
go to a couple of different areas, and I'm curious

00:20:47.029 --> 00:20:50.009
now. Okay. So you started talking about all these

00:20:50.009 --> 00:20:51.829
different inputs, and so my mind went to social

00:20:51.829 --> 00:20:55.769
media. Okay. Right? And how we sit in there and

00:20:55.769 --> 00:20:57.390
we listen. I was thinking about it. You said

00:20:57.390 --> 00:20:59.630
we listen to a sermon for 30 minutes, but then

00:20:59.630 --> 00:21:03.450
we can scroll on TikTok for three hours before

00:21:03.450 --> 00:21:05.450
we go to bed and not even realize it, right?

00:21:06.170 --> 00:21:08.130
And they design it that way, by the way. Oh,

00:21:08.130 --> 00:21:12.690
yes, because we are consumers. and we are ad

00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:15.089
dollars. And the longer they can keep us looking

00:21:15.089 --> 00:21:17.470
at that screen, the more ad revenue they're getting

00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:19.369
that we're consuming. We're consuming content

00:21:19.369 --> 00:21:24.390
for the sake of the companies. But with that,

00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:26.029
the content that we're consuming, we get stuck

00:21:26.029 --> 00:21:28.150
on algorithms. Sometimes we're going to be filling

00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.690
our heads with not good content and all this

00:21:30.690 --> 00:21:32.529
kind of stuff. And then once again, all right,

00:21:32.549 --> 00:21:36.029
so you've got 30 -minute sermon on Sunday once

00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:39.799
a week, and then for... probably for most people

00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:44.619
out there, a few hours a day of content that

00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:48.720
is not necessarily biblical unless you've really

00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.160
trained your algorithm to do that. But this is

00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:52.900
not my point. Here's my point. Here's the thought

00:21:52.900 --> 00:21:57.440
that I started to have. I'm wondering, is in

00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:01.180
the next decade, are people going to be able

00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:03.200
to sit and listen to a 30 -minute sermon? Because,

00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:05.839
I mean, we're already seeing the attention span.

00:22:06.609 --> 00:22:10.230
dramatically drop in teenagers that even so like

00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:13.230
most teenagers cannot go to the movie theaters

00:22:13.230 --> 00:22:16.170
without having their phone out and it's not they

00:22:16.170 --> 00:22:19.170
get bored too fast even with something that's

00:22:19.170 --> 00:22:22.210
built to be entertaining like a movie they're

00:22:22.210 --> 00:22:26.329
so used to 30 second storytelling or 30 second

00:22:26.329 --> 00:22:30.410
garbage that they can't process good storytelling

00:22:30.410 --> 00:22:34.150
anymore that takes three hours sometimes to be

00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:36.750
able to do without being able to have something

00:22:36.750 --> 00:22:38.509
else and looking at something else in their brains.

00:22:38.650 --> 00:22:40.609
So I wonder if that's going to affect church.

00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:43.329
So that was the direction I was going to go with

00:22:43.329 --> 00:22:46.769
this. So I'm not getting this off topic. No.

00:22:46.849 --> 00:22:50.069
Okay. So yes, but no. This is where I was going

00:22:50.069 --> 00:22:51.730
to go based off of what you were saying. Oh,

00:22:51.730 --> 00:22:54.309
cool, cool, cool, cool. I believe that there

00:22:54.309 --> 00:22:57.009
are realities that Scripture presents us that

00:22:57.009 --> 00:22:59.950
cannot be grasped either by a 30 -second story

00:23:01.690 --> 00:23:05.250
or a 30 -minute sermon. And so attention span

00:23:05.250 --> 00:23:09.970
really does matter, but I think not in the way

00:23:09.970 --> 00:23:13.569
of how long it lasts, but what you give your

00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:18.230
attention to. So many, like I'm on this own,

00:23:18.289 --> 00:23:20.990
like my own journey myself in terms of like,

00:23:21.009 --> 00:23:24.150
what does it actually look like for Ben to pursue

00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:28.289
Jesus, right? And what spiritually forms Ben

00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:30.470
and the way that he does it and the way that

00:23:30.470 --> 00:23:32.750
he reads the Bible and the way that he prays

00:23:32.750 --> 00:23:36.950
and all of these things, right? Yeah. But I believe

00:23:36.950 --> 00:23:39.869
that there are some realities that you have to

00:23:39.869 --> 00:23:41.829
pay attention to what's going on internally.

00:23:42.589 --> 00:23:45.829
And so for me, it's less of a how long can you

00:23:45.829 --> 00:23:48.349
sit through a sermon and more so how long can

00:23:48.349 --> 00:23:52.829
you sit with yourself? The TikTok culture, the

00:23:52.829 --> 00:23:56.410
30 -second storytelling, and for our previous

00:23:56.410 --> 00:23:59.750
generation, it was the three -hour movies, provided

00:23:59.750 --> 00:24:03.609
not just an attention span suck, but a distraction

00:24:03.609 --> 00:24:07.250
from your own internal reality. It's an escape

00:24:07.250 --> 00:24:09.069
that you don't have to deal with the issues that

00:24:09.069 --> 00:24:11.269
are going on inside of you. And it's rarely that

00:24:11.269 --> 00:24:14.450
intentional. No. You don't realize what you're

00:24:14.450 --> 00:24:15.670
doing. You don't realize what you're doing. And

00:24:15.670 --> 00:24:19.450
so I think either for the person who just sits

00:24:19.450 --> 00:24:22.329
behind the TV for five hours at the end of the

00:24:22.329 --> 00:24:25.589
day or the person whose screen time is in triple

00:24:25.589 --> 00:24:29.220
digits each week. If we don't pay attention to

00:24:29.220 --> 00:24:32.900
the internal reality of our hearts, it doesn't

00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:34.880
matter what we're distracting ourself with, whether

00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:37.480
it's a movie screen or the glowing rectangle

00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:40.559
in each one of our rooms. That's why Jesus says

00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:44.079
the most important commandment is not about what

00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:47.000
we do, but about what we love. Yes. Love the

00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.579
Lord your God with all of your heart and with

00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:52.640
all of your soul and with all of your mind and

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:54.660
with all of your strength. That's how he says

00:24:54.660 --> 00:24:58.619
that it says in the other text. All the other

00:24:58.619 --> 00:24:59.700
commandments that are given in the Old Testament

00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:03.599
flow out of those. And so I think when we're

00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.900
distracting ourself that way, whether it be with

00:25:05.900 --> 00:25:09.839
a movie screen or whatever size LCD you get on

00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:12.619
your phone. You know, one of the things that

00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:14.779
I've started to do in my life, probably within

00:25:14.779 --> 00:25:21.900
the last year. Hit me. Silence. It's been a discipline.

00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.480
I think I've talked about that, but I'll go work

00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:29.940
out in the mornings. I'll leave my house really

00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:32.660
early before work. I'll go to Planet Fitness

00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:36.880
and I'll go work out. And I've started to, both

00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.920
on the way and home, not turn on anything. Yeah.

00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:45.500
And sit in silence. Now, there's still distractions

00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:47.359
going on because I'm driving. Always, right?

00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:52.740
Right. However, I've been able to have a lot

00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:57.099
more contemplation about just life. spirituality,

00:25:57.599 --> 00:26:00.859
you know, even prayer. And I'm using that time

00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:03.700
that I would usually fill with, you know, I mean,

00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:05.980
I'd fill it with worship music or an audio book

00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:09.940
or a podcast and like positive things. But I

00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:13.440
have found that there is a benefit to sitting

00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:17.680
in silence. That's biblical. Isn't it though?

00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:20.740
Oh, my soul, wait in silence. Like Psalm 46 is

00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:22.539
there. And it's interesting that you bring this

00:26:22.539 --> 00:26:26.390
up. I have been experimenting with the spiritual

00:26:26.390 --> 00:26:29.650
discipline of silence as well. This started for

00:26:29.650 --> 00:26:32.359
me maybe about... I don't remember when we read

00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:34.500
this book as a staff. Um, and I will tell people

00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:36.440
about it until the day that I die. It's the ruthless

00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:40.700
elimination of her. It was so good. If you have

00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:43.720
not read that, um, there is an audio book. Um,

00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:46.099
there's a, there's a paperback book and I will

00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:47.960
come geek out with you about it whenever you

00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:50.119
would like. So just kind of pick it up and come

00:26:50.119 --> 00:26:51.700
to my office. I actually bought it for somebody

00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:53.000
on Amazon the other day. I just sent it to their

00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:55.380
house. I'm like, you need to read this. Um, but

00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:58.019
he talks about how silence is a discipline that

00:26:58.019 --> 00:26:59.799
we see in scripture and he goes to the, to the

00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:02.420
hit church history with like the, the old church

00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:04.359
fathers in the first, second, third centuries

00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:07.720
that said it was super duper important. Um, but

00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:09.559
I have found the same thing in my own life. It's

00:27:09.559 --> 00:27:11.940
looked a little bit different. Um, uh, I get

00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:13.519
too distracted driving and so I've got to have

00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:15.519
something. Usually it's my lunch break, dude.

00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:18.259
Um, if you drive by a memorial on a day where

00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:20.940
it's less than 90 degrees outside, I'm parked

00:27:20.940 --> 00:27:22.619
out on the front porch eating my lunch. Yeah.

00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:26.339
And I'll bring a book, but most of the time I

00:27:26.339 --> 00:27:29.859
eat and I sit there. And I watch the world go

00:27:29.859 --> 00:27:32.680
by and I watch the trees blow in the wind. And

00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:34.980
that is spiritually meaningful for me, not just

00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:37.000
that it's a second to breathe, although it is,

00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:40.200
but that is when I usually most clearly hear

00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:44.359
the voice of God. It's rarely about what I want

00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:47.880
to talk about. Maybe that's the season I'm in

00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:49.539
where I feel like the things that I want to talk

00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:51.519
about aren't the ones that are pressing on my

00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:55.559
heart for him. But man, I think that silence

00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:59.799
is so important. It is. And I hope we have encouraged

00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:04.430
some of our pursuers. to find time in their schedule

00:28:04.430 --> 00:28:06.150
to sit in silence. You know, I think an easy

00:28:06.150 --> 00:28:08.829
one is if you're someone that has to commute

00:28:08.829 --> 00:28:11.549
to work and you're by yourself, I think that's

00:28:11.549 --> 00:28:13.269
a great time. You know, that's a great little

00:28:13.269 --> 00:28:16.990
first step into silence. And it can be, I remember

00:28:16.990 --> 00:28:19.029
it being awkward because I'm so used to having,

00:28:19.150 --> 00:28:22.230
because we're constantly filling our lives with

00:28:22.230 --> 00:28:24.730
noise. But to have that discipline, where you

00:28:24.730 --> 00:28:26.670
have, there's a time in your life where you're

00:28:26.670 --> 00:28:30.779
just silent and you just, and as you said, Use

00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:32.839
that time, and you just listen for the Lord.

00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:35.660
And it's incredible. All of a sudden, you sit

00:28:35.660 --> 00:28:39.680
in silence, and the things that can begin to

00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:44.259
happen in your soul. I have found, for me personally,

00:28:44.619 --> 00:28:50.240
that that discipline of silence is very easily

00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:53.460
lost in my life, even on the front porch of Memorial

00:28:53.460 --> 00:28:56.799
Baptist or wherever else I do this thing. And

00:28:56.799 --> 00:29:00.829
it's usually painful every time. Not emotionally

00:29:00.829 --> 00:29:03.009
painful. There's been some of that. It's a different

00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:05.170
story. Like to not distract yourself with noise

00:29:05.170 --> 00:29:08.390
or something? I think even from a brain chemistry

00:29:08.390 --> 00:29:13.049
perspective, Ben is used to the 500 beats per

00:29:13.049 --> 00:29:16.789
minute pace that most of us function under. And

00:29:16.789 --> 00:29:21.069
so the practice of pursuing silence before Jesus

00:29:21.069 --> 00:29:24.450
is something that I had to build a distress tolerance

00:29:24.450 --> 00:29:29.869
for. What it doesn't mean is like, okay, today,

00:29:30.029 --> 00:29:32.089
this very day, I'm going to sit in silence for

00:29:32.089 --> 00:29:34.990
an hour. Dude, it's not happening. You live in

00:29:34.990 --> 00:29:37.690
the 21st century. Dudette, it's not happening.

00:29:37.750 --> 00:29:40.029
You live in the 21st century. Your cell phone

00:29:40.029 --> 00:29:42.170
will stand up and testify. It's not happening.

00:29:42.430 --> 00:29:46.569
But go five minutes. Set a timer. You'll check

00:29:46.569 --> 00:29:48.950
it around minute mark two. And with that said,

00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:50.970
put on do not disturb mode on your phone. Yep.

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.000
or set a timer on your microwave and then maybe

00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.180
go for five and a half and then maybe go for

00:29:58.180 --> 00:30:00.579
seven. And eventually you'll find that distress

00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:03.880
goes down a little. One of the interesting things

00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:07.119
about silence for me is that I don't just hear

00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:11.660
the voice of God, although I do at times. Often

00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:13.940
one of the things he uses that time for is to

00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:17.559
show me my inner realities. Like when I actually

00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:20.079
slow down enough to know what I'm actually thinking

00:30:20.079 --> 00:30:22.279
and feeling rather than I need to do this, I

00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:23.960
need to do that, I need to do this. Going from

00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:27.200
task mode to like, what's in the tank? It's like

00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:29.000
looking at an aquarium and shaking everything

00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:30.500
up. And it's like, yeah, there's fish in there.

00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:32.779
I can't see what they are. But slowing down,

00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:35.259
letting it settle to the bottom and seeing the

00:30:35.259 --> 00:30:39.049
pretty colors. So you've reminded me of something

00:30:39.049 --> 00:30:40.970
that happened to me in Argentina because we've

00:30:40.970 --> 00:30:43.569
been talking about this. I've used it as an illustration

00:30:43.569 --> 00:30:45.049
every once in a while with our students for different

00:30:45.049 --> 00:30:51.190
reasons. So the college that I was at was outside

00:30:51.190 --> 00:30:53.190
in the country, outside of Buenos Aires, the

00:30:53.190 --> 00:30:56.630
second largest city in the world. But we were

00:30:56.630 --> 00:30:58.049
out in the country outside that area, and that's

00:30:58.049 --> 00:31:02.730
kind of like northern Argentina. But in the summer,

00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:08.319
we took a bus and we went to the south all the

00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:10.880
way down towards the bottom, and we were in the

00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:13.519
mountain range. And so we were right on the border

00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:18.960
of Argentina and Chile, going down. And the college

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:21.740
owned a retreat center hotel down there, and

00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:24.160
it was called Pichi Traful. Okay. I don't know

00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:26.140
if that was the name of just a hotel or if it

00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:28.000
was the city or the mountain, but Pichi Traful.

00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:32.200
And anyways. Middle of nowhere in the mountains.

00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:36.900
And it was ran on generators. And so when the

00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:38.960
generators get off, and the generators would

00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:40.839
turn off at like 9 o 'clock each night or something

00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:43.960
like that, pitch black. I mean, pitch black.

00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:46.079
Could not see anything. There is no light pollution

00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:50.539
anywhere. Wow. So one night, we had a campfire.

00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:54.799
And we just sat by the campfire. Someone had

00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:57.420
a guitar doing worship songs. Classic. I mean,

00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:00.450
just really cool stuff. And then all of a sudden,

00:32:00.450 --> 00:32:03.609
naturally, as the campfire was dwindling and

00:32:03.609 --> 00:32:05.630
we were just chilling, all of a sudden, like

00:32:05.630 --> 00:32:07.529
everybody was just getting in this really cool,

00:32:07.569 --> 00:32:11.430
peaceful mood. We all laid down. The campfire

00:32:11.430 --> 00:32:14.930
was just embers. And we laid down and just looked

00:32:14.930 --> 00:32:19.069
at the sky. No one said a word. I don't know

00:32:19.069 --> 00:32:22.890
if it was two hours or 30 minutes, but we just

00:32:22.890 --> 00:32:26.089
sat there or laid there on the lean. Our heads

00:32:26.089 --> 00:32:29.400
are on the logs. and just looked at the southern

00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:31.660
hemisphere sky, which is cool because it's not

00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:36.099
what we're used to, and we just stared in silence.

00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:41.519
And that right there, those 30 minutes to a couple

00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:45.039
of hours, was one of the most impactful nights

00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.160
of my year in Argentina. That very thing right

00:32:49.160 --> 00:32:52.819
there, that relationship with God, that reflection

00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:56.779
of your love for Him, I mean, that's why when

00:32:56.779 --> 00:33:00.220
the Pharisee responds to Jesus and says that

00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:03.619
that love for God and love for others is more

00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:06.240
important than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices,

00:33:06.420 --> 00:33:09.799
which are like the biggest of like sacrifices

00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:12.079
that Jewish people would make. That's what it

00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:15.940
is right there. God only cares about what we

00:33:15.940 --> 00:33:19.359
do in so much as it reflects our internal spiritual

00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:24.069
reality. And we focused a lot on the Shema. But,

00:33:24.089 --> 00:33:25.670
you know, Jesus, and you just mentioned it a

00:33:25.670 --> 00:33:27.930
little bit, but Jesus added a little something,

00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:29.950
something to this. More than what they... Something,

00:33:29.950 --> 00:33:31.190
something. He added a little something, something.

00:33:31.210 --> 00:33:33.170
And, you know, he says the second is like this.

00:33:33.329 --> 00:33:36.329
So this is just as important. And he says, love

00:33:36.329 --> 00:33:38.089
your neighbor as yourself. There is no other

00:33:38.089 --> 00:33:41.069
commandment greater than these. And it's so important

00:33:41.069 --> 00:33:43.809
to remember because, you know, we shorten it,

00:33:43.829 --> 00:33:46.529
love God, love others. You know, we put these

00:33:46.529 --> 00:33:49.630
little tropes on it to help us to remember this

00:33:49.630 --> 00:33:53.170
idea. But really that idea of your neighbor,

00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:55.720
And, you know, he goes in and defines it with

00:33:55.720 --> 00:33:57.960
parables and other ideas of who is your neighbor,

00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:01.839
but basically it's everyone. Yeah. And so there's

00:34:01.839 --> 00:34:05.819
no caveat here. No. We are called to love God

00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:11.199
and love everyone. Like, that's what God wants,

00:34:11.300 --> 00:34:18.159
as ourself. Yeah. To love others as we love ourself.

00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:20.519
So here's a question for you. So you're talking

00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:25.869
about, like, God commanding love. how do you

00:34:25.869 --> 00:34:31.469
command love? Because if love is a feeling, right?

00:34:32.269 --> 00:34:34.329
Then, then you can't, I like, I can't conjure

00:34:34.329 --> 00:34:36.250
that up on command. You can show me things that

00:34:36.250 --> 00:34:38.650
I do love, right? For you to be tacos. I could

00:34:38.650 --> 00:34:40.050
show you a taco. You're like, dude, I love that

00:34:40.050 --> 00:34:42.750
taco. How do you command love? How does God have

00:34:42.750 --> 00:34:45.769
the right to command us to love certain things?

00:34:45.869 --> 00:34:49.190
Yes, he does. Um, because love is more than a

00:34:49.190 --> 00:34:55.309
feeling. When we try to define love as just an

00:34:55.309 --> 00:34:58.889
emotion, we are taking out so much from it. I

00:34:58.889 --> 00:35:01.449
mean, what is love? Baby, don't hurt me. Listen.

00:35:01.550 --> 00:35:08.710
Don't hurt me no more. C .S. Lewis wrote an incredible

00:35:08.710 --> 00:35:14.989
book that has become like the quintessential

00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:18.039
where pastors get their illustrations about love.

00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:20.519
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And in this book, he brings

00:35:20.519 --> 00:35:23.360
out that there are four types of love in Greek.

00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:27.059
Okay. Right? And there's four different words.

00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:31.860
There is storge, eros, phileo, and agape. So

00:35:31.860 --> 00:35:36.639
very, very quickly, phileo or Philadelphia, the

00:35:36.639 --> 00:35:38.940
city of brotherly love, that's what it is. City

00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:42.539
of bagels. It's a friendship -type love, phileo.

00:35:42.539 --> 00:35:45.070
That's what that type of love means, right? eros

00:35:45.070 --> 00:35:47.510
eros is where we get our word erotic so this

00:35:47.510 --> 00:35:50.349
is a passionate uh type of love this is the type

00:35:50.349 --> 00:35:52.670
of love that i have for my wife right this is

00:35:52.670 --> 00:35:55.469
that this is this is that and then you've got

00:35:55.469 --> 00:35:59.429
storge storge is just a uh familiar type love

00:35:59.429 --> 00:36:02.869
like i know camaraderie camaraderie exactly it's

00:36:02.869 --> 00:36:04.769
that kind of stuff and then you've got this word

00:36:04.769 --> 00:36:08.179
agape right and agape is what we would call Godly

00:36:08.179 --> 00:36:10.619
love. Now here's just to put this all in the

00:36:10.619 --> 00:36:12.500
nutshell and to go back of why I'm saying that

00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:15.039
love is more than emotion. Yeah. With the other

00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:19.119
three loves, basically those loves say I'm loving

00:36:19.119 --> 00:36:22.820
you, but you better love me back. Right? You

00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:24.599
think of all of them. You think of all those

00:36:24.599 --> 00:36:27.099
loves that we just talked about. They only work

00:36:27.099 --> 00:36:30.579
when there's reciprocal love. Yes. Camaraderie

00:36:30.579 --> 00:36:33.639
together, erotic love together. Yes. Filet -O

00:36:33.639 --> 00:36:36.139
together. Yes. That's what they all are. However,

00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:39.280
when we get to agape, Agape is the godly type

00:36:39.280 --> 00:36:41.800
love. This is what he's talking about in the

00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:45.820
passage we have. Agape love, we call it godly

00:36:45.820 --> 00:36:49.039
love or unconditional love, meaning I'm going

00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:53.400
to love you no matter what you do back. Man.

00:36:53.739 --> 00:36:57.320
So that is not reciprocal love. This is saying

00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:01.460
I am making a point to show love, to show compassion,

00:37:01.699 --> 00:37:07.440
to serve you. no matter what vial you put back.

00:37:07.699 --> 00:37:10.460
So Jesus is saying in the greatest commandment

00:37:10.460 --> 00:37:14.760
that you love God in the way that he loves you

00:37:14.760 --> 00:37:17.780
and that you love others in the way that God

00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:20.840
loves them. Yes. Wow. And so that's how you can

00:37:20.840 --> 00:37:23.820
command it. Yes. That's how you command it because

00:37:23.820 --> 00:37:26.219
that's what unconditional love is. Unconditional,

00:37:26.260 --> 00:37:28.739
it is a command because there are going to be

00:37:28.739 --> 00:37:32.119
people that come across in my life that Sean

00:37:32.119 --> 00:37:36.889
Griffin, does not want to love but the jesus

00:37:36.889 --> 00:37:40.550
inside of me is commanding me to love that person

00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:43.230
and moreover he will give you the strength yes

00:37:43.230 --> 00:37:46.230
to do so absolutely that's awesome well dude

00:37:46.230 --> 00:37:48.789
uh what a great way to kind of land the plane

00:37:48.789 --> 00:37:50.929
here just talking about like the love that god

00:37:50.929 --> 00:37:53.309
has for us and the way that and the way that

00:37:53.309 --> 00:37:55.869
we get to give that love to others and this is

00:37:55.869 --> 00:38:00.940
why this is why that in this podcast We can talk

00:38:00.940 --> 00:38:04.420
about how much we love God, how much we love

00:38:04.420 --> 00:38:07.719
our wives, and how much we love tacos. Because

00:38:07.719 --> 00:38:10.780
they're all different types of love. But they're

00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:13.880
all genuine. But they're different types, man.

00:38:14.679 --> 00:38:18.119
Oh, man. Well, I would love to land this plane.

00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:21.579
Let's do it. Let's do it. Oh, my goodness. Put

00:38:21.579 --> 00:38:24.480
down your funyuns. I'm Ben Smith. I held back

00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:27.179
the whole podcast. I had to eat a funyun. I'm

00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:31.679
Sean Griffin. We'll see you next week on Pursuing

00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:37.360
Jesus. Pursuing Jesus is a ministry of Memorial

00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:40.280
Baptist Church in Norwood, North Carolina. To

00:38:40.280 --> 00:38:41.320
learn more about our church,