WEBVTT - This may offend you. (Hope it doesn't) 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.479 What's up, everybody. Welcome to the channel, Welcome to the podcast. 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:06.920 I've been wanting to do this episode for a long time. 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:08.879 I didn't know if it was actually going to happen. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.920 And I want to do something on this podcast and 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:14.239 i'll show you a little bit later that I've never 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:19.639 done on any of my channels. And in a way, 0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:24.360 it's a bit risky. Some of you might get offended. 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:29.240 My hope is that all of you stay for the 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:34.240 whole thing, and that all of you are receptive to 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.879 what I'm going to talk about. So bear with me. 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.960 I know that's quite the intro I have with me today. 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:48.239 A good friend, a such a genuine guy. This is 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:53.040 the senior pastor to Celebration Church, which has several campuses 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:58.240 in the Austin, Texas metroplex, and there's one in Italy 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:05.319 and one in Africa's online and he's changed lives all 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:09.840 across the world. I'm lucky to have him today. His 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:15.880 name is Joe Champion. We met a terrible, terrible way 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:22.120 that we met at my son's funeral. That's the first 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:26.600 time I met Joe and the first time I saw 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:31.560 his heart. Since then, we have become friends and you 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.240 could see me on Sunday mornings on the front row 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:39.360 of his congregation. I respect him his knowledge as a pastor, 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:46.520 I respect his wisdom, and you can't punch holes in 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:48.680 this guy. It's good to get the guy as solid 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:52.280 and I think he's the perfect candidate to come sit 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:55.400 here with me on this podcast and go through some 0:01:56.280 --> 0:02:00.560 life questions. And the guy has quite the rest. I mean, 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.960 he grew up son of a football coach. He is 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.400 one of three brothers, just like me. His other two 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.960 brothers go off into the military, one as a former 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:15.400 general and one is a former fighter pilot. And he 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:19.239 is the black sheep of the family, if that term 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:23.720 is appropriate when you become a pastor. But he has 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.560 such an energy to him, such a the an ability 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.799 to lead that you could you could see with all 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:33.560 three brothers as he grew up and with a dad 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:37.079 as a football coach, you could see how he fit 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.120 right into that category, but used his calling in a 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:44.720 very different way. This podcast, I'm grateful that it is 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.320 partially sponsored by a ship station. And the holiday season 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:50.680 is here. Holiday shoppers are buying more stuff online than 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:54.320 ever before. 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So microphone 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:49.280 top page, type in Granger shipstation dot com make ship happen. 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:55.960 And I've led you into this, this curiosity of what 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.479 we're going to talk about. And I've led you into 0:04:58.560 --> 0:05:01.640 me saying this is going to be something I've never done, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:04.480 and it might offend some of you. Hopefully you're curious. 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.120 I want you to be curious. That's what I said it, 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:08.159 and that's why I'm trying to clickbait you into listening, 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:09.760 because I want you to go all the way to 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.159 the end to hear what I have in store without 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:52.720 further ado Welcome to the podcast. Yee mon Tis and 0:05:54.839 --> 0:06:12.400 long Line. I'm fool up and down go back Rangeyation. 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:21.400 So you're cruising down I thirty five seventy miles an 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:28.240 hour going south, heading from Georgetown, Texas, cruising almost a 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.640 round rock right before the outlet mall, and you look 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:34.000 over on your left and there's a big hill and 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:40.719 there's a beautiful cross, a big white building, and I 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.279 know a lot of you guys have seen this in 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:47.280 Central Texas. I'm sitting next to the gentleman that is 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:50.039 responsible for it, and then he will probably say that 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:54.520 he is not responsible for it at all. Pastor Joe Champion, 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:58.840 I've been looking forward to this day. I didn't know 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:02.000 if I would ever actually get you booked on this podcast, 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:07.720 but I'm so excited to have you and to tell 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.400 a little bit of your story and to dig in 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.680 a little bit to people's questions. I've had so many 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:15.880 questions come into this podcast to people all over the world, 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:23.520 asking life, love, God questions. It's gonna be nice to 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.800 sit next to a brain as good as yours and 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.440 a heart as full as yours to help me with 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.720 some of this stuff. And I want to start with 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:36.480 your story on the church that I just explained on 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:40.600 I thirty five. It's an amazing story. I got my 0:07:40.600 --> 0:07:43.000 brother Tyler sitting in here. He hasn't heard it. Have 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.560 you heard this, Parker? The story? Okay? Great, at least 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.560 we have a two person audience. At least here you 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.560 go tell us a little bit about where this church 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:55.600 came from. Yeah, well, my dad was an NFL football 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:59.160 coach and not raised in church and had zero clue 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:03.520 about God and church and even the even the idea 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.400 of being a pastor in our family would be the 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:10.520 biggest waste of a God given talent. In fact, my 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:13.000 family has said, you're gonna waste your God given talent 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:17.640 on God. You're gonna do what? And that was when 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:21.880 I came to Christ at LSU. And but it was 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:25.920 in two thousand after leaving LSU, moved to New Orleans 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:28.880 to go to seminary, thinking I was going to be 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.319 a chaplain in the military, and then realized quickly that 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.200 the chaplain see was going to be a pretty narrow platform. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:37.440 And then my wife and I we get married, and 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:41.680 we pastor in Louisiana, in New Orleans and then in 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.880 the home of Swamp people, pure part Louisiana for five years, 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:49.600 and then from there to Baton Rouge, and then in 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.959 two thousand. While we were there in Baton Rouge, I 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:57.240 was traveling full time, but I began to sense for 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:00.400 for about almost two years, from ninety eight to one day, 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.440 I would go to a city and we would start 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.360 a church and spend the rest of our life there. 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.280 But I told God, I don't want to pick the 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.080 city because I don't want to get there and when 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:15.960 not if things get hard, I didn't want to. I 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.160 didn't want to have the Lord say, well, you picked it, 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.560 like in other words, you that was your choice, not mine. 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:25.000 But so I said, Lord, I want to I want 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:26.199 to go where you tell me to go, and I'll 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:27.840 spend the rest of my life there and give me 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:30.160 a put me in a city where it's wired for 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:34.360 me and my story because we come from a wild, 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.480 non spiritual family. And then now looking back twenty years later, 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:42.520 here's Austin, in a very non spiritual world of Austin. 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:45.880 It's very liberal, very different, very anti church. It's one 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:50.000 of the most unchurch cities in America. Really, they call it. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.800 It's kind of the Seattle version. And about seven to 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.920 ten percent of ten church. And I've always enjoyed talking 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.120 to people who have no church background, no God background, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.960 no Christ, no buy I don't know nothing. And because 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:06.240 that's where I came from. So in two thousand, the 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.440 phrase it is Austin just on a Sunday morning, just 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.880 came alive. Never been to Austin, never been, never even 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:14.719 thought about being here, didn't know anybody from here. And 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:18.160 you're in Louisiana and Louisiana live in the dream man Wow, 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.920 eating wonderful food and of course having gone to LSU 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:27.400 played football there, you know that was that's our mecca, 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:31.360 you know, living in battles and all that. But move 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:33.880 here with my wife and our three little boys at 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:38.400 that time, and we start about a month later, just 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.120 on a Sunday morning, we opened up the church in 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:45.320 the round Rock Library downtown round Rock. We had fifty 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:49.640 four people come that first Sunday, and about forty five 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:53.120 of those people were from Louisiana that came over to 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.560 be with me that Sunday morning to encourage us and 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.160 help us set up the chairs for the For the 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:03.000 eight people that weren't from New Orleans or from the 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:05.839 Louisiana area, and the next week I think we had 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.560 about ten people, you know, and it got down on 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.240 a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night, I think we 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:13.160 had as low as I don't know, four or five people. 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:15.440 So you started at fifty something in there. Yeah, we 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:17.839 had fifty four people, but frankly only about ten of 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.319 those from Texas. And then we just started every week 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:24.079 and we from a Wednesday Sunday Wednesday Sunday in the 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:26.800 Round Rock Library and it grew to about eighty people. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.080 And then we went to the Wingate Hotel and then 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:30.920 it grew to about one hundred and fifty. And then 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.959 we got a little Pisa well actually an industrial plex. 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.200 We rented six thousand square feet and in that six 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.560 thousand square feet of an industrial plex building, it went 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:44.280 from about two hundred to about two thousand people where 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:46.720 we were just adding services. People just started showing up 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.480 out of nowhere. We had no website. I mean, it 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:53.320 was everything you would not tell. You would just say, 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:56.360 this is how you don't do a church. But God 0:11:56.440 --> 0:12:00.920 was sending people and it was just crazy. And then uh, yeah, 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:05.120 we've been doing that for twenty years now. And then 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.560 and then this piece of property. Yeah, here, let's talk 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:09.520 about the property. Yeah. So I just said, on a 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.640 Sunday morning, let's let's just believe to the church. I said, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:15.000 let's believe God for one hundred acres on I thirty five. 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:20.560 And this couple came up and said, Pastor Joe, we're 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:22.880 with you. When we heard you say one hundred acres 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:25.280 on I thirty five, we believe with you. And I said, 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:27.680 that's awesome. And even my wife said, why did you 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.120 say that. That's the stupidest you said. I said on 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.000 a Sunday morning. She said, that's the stupidest thing I've 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.040 ever heard. We don't need one hundred acres on I 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:35.839 thirty five. I said, I don't know why I said it, 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:38.839 but I believe it, and I think we're going to 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.840 get it. Well, anyway, this couple comes up and they said, 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:44.440 we're gonna we're just going to pray with you about this. 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:46.440 I said, great, thank you, because my wife is not 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:49.640 praying with me about this. And so they came back 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:51.400 a couple of weeks later and said, Paster Joe, we 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.600 saw in a vision a church on this hill at 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.839 the corner of I thirty five and Westinghouse Road, and 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:00.360 I said, you did, like in a vision, like that's 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:03.360 kind of weird and pizza and all that kind of stuff. 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.680 And so they, I mean, they wouldn't let me go. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:08.400 They would not let me drop it. And they said, 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:09.760 Pastor Joe, we're going to be on this it, We're 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:11.640 going to be on this hill. And I said, that's great, 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.520 God bless you. Well, then one day they said, we're 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:16.960 going to knock on the door of this home and 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:20.320 ask people who owns this property? And this guy said, 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.280 who told you? And they said, what are you talking about? 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.959 Who told us? Nothing? Nobody has told us anything. We're 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.120 just from Celebration Church and that we just feel like 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.920 this would be a great piece of property for a church. 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.839 And our pastor's believing for one hundred acres on my 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:37.800 thirty five and he goes, how do you know? Because 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:40.160 it's an old farmhouse. Yep, an old farmhouse built in 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.360 the eighteen eighties. And he goes, how do you know? 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.360 And the story is this? He said, well, come on in. 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:50.280 He said, here's the deal. He said, thirty six hours ago, 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.760 this in this home, we had a prayer meeting with 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.760 our family about what to do with this property because 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.559 our father bought the proper one hundred and sixty five 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.800 acres in nineteen forty two, and mister Barton, he said 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.679 that was his father in law, dedicated the property to God. 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.520 He died fourteen years ago, and he said, do not 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.280 sell this property, and don't sell the bulk of the property. 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.240 So the one hundred and ten acres, he said, the 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:19.080 one hundred and ten acres is going to be for God, 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.040 and one day there will be a church that will 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.880 reach the world on this property. Do not sell it, 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:27.960 don't make money for it. It's all for God. He 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:30.080 died fourteen years ago. We have never talked about what 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:33.160 to do with this property until thirty six hours ago. 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.960 We got together and said, God show us what to 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:41.440 do with this property. What church is the church? Who 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.160 are we supposed to sell this property to, because it's 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.520 going to be a blessing to them? And now you're 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:48.800 telling me that God's to this couple. David said, you're 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:50.640 telling me that the Lord spoke to you that there 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:52.120 will be a church on this hill. My wife is 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:56.400 at school. This is her property in conjunction with her brother. 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.120 They're the owners of it. They'll be home, she'll be 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:02.240 home from school couple hours and I get a phone 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:04.560 call a couple hours later. This is a Thursday, and 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:08.120 that was the sister who inherited the property with her brother, 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:10.560 and she said, we'd like to meet with you tomorrow. 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.360 So Friday, I met with the sister and the brother 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.520 told him our story moved from Austin. We now have 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.440 fifteen hundred two thousand people in our church. We're believing 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:22.720 God for one hundred acres on I thirty five. And 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:24.680 when I told the story, they said, we believe you're 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:27.280 the church that our father saw in nineteen forty two 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.480 that one day would be on this hill. And they 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.960 sold us the property for two point two million, one 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:39.000 hundred and ten acres, And now on that hill there 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:42.120 are thousands of people that come Tim Tebow a couple 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:43.680 of years ago. That was kind of a big deal 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.400 when Tim came to our church. And for those people 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:50.960 that don't know this area, you say two million on 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.000 I thirty five, Yeah, this is going for what a yeah, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.520 almost a million on the service road. Seven hundred and 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:00.800 ninety thousand an acre now on I thirty five service road. 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:04.280 So this is one hundred and fifty million dollar property 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:07.720 that you got for two just in case anyone missed that. 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:11.800 But the amazing thing is that nobody knew anything. And 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:15.680 how literally out of my mouth came this hundred acres. 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:20.640 This family believed it with me, even though they had 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.440 more faith than I did. And then knocked on the 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.040 door of this farmhouse and this guy said, how do 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:28.960 you know because we told our family don't say anything 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.920 to anybody. It just tells you the power of a 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.600 couple things. Number one, that God is more in control 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:38.200 than we realize, and then number two, the power of partnership. 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:42.520 And how had it not been for mister Barton. I'm 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:46.040 really just stepping into mister Barton's dream, Like, yeah, we 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.920 came to Austin with a dream to build a church 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:50.600 that would reach a lot of people and help people. 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.240 But mister Barton saw that in nineteen forty two, way 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:57.120 before I was born. And if we're faithful to just 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.280 be where God wants us to be, get where we're 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:03.360 supposed to be, He's already got the people and the 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:08.760 provision prepared for us if we just are faithful. And 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:11.040 I'm just a you know, you said, I'm not responsible 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:15.800 for anything that's happening at Celebration Church. I'm just the 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.119 the vessel like Joseph and Mary. You know, here we 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.919 are coming up on Christmas time and they're just this 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:24.119 couple that God said, Hey, I want to send my 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.560 son to the world. Can I have your Can I 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:29.320 have your life? You know, Mary? Can I have your womb? 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:32.879 And they're like, okay, I think they were LSU grads. 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:38.479 So so, do you consider yourself a mega church? And 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:41.840 what does that term even mean? Only only mega in 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:45.560 the form in the definition of what they have ascribed 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:50.000 the definition of a mega church too, which is anything 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:53.639 above two thousand people or twenty five hundred in regular 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:57.760 attendants on that definition, Yeah, I guess you got to 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:02.440 say we are just because of the numbers. But no, 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.639 in the sense of what it denotes or what is 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.720 a negative connotation. It's a one hundred percent negative connotation 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:13.639 that you're a mega which means you're that church that 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:16.560 nobody really gets to know anybody and there's not real 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:23.000 relationship or accountability or connection. You're the You're the home 0:18:23.040 --> 0:18:26.880 depot versus an ACE Hardware, right because at least when 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.080 I go to an ACE Hardware if I need one screw, 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:31.399 if I need one washer, that dude is going to 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.199 walk me to the aisle or walk me to that 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:35.600 ben and give me that washer. If I go to 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:37.600 a home depot, we can't even get help to buy 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:41.600 a washing machine, much less a washer. So we have 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:46.200 this thought of a megachurch being that home depot mega store. 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.760 We did the baptism with Amber in London and celebration 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:55.480 and then we released that video on our family vog 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.760 Dismiths and I the reason I even said that is 0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:00.840 because I saw a comment that said, I didn't know 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:04.760 you're a member of a megachurch. I had no idea. Basically, 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.720 I didn't think you would stoop that low to join 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:13.520 a megachurch, mister Granger Smith. And it's funny because you 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:17.160 actually brought it up that same Sunday in your sermon 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.720 and you talked about why would we not want to 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:24.560 grow a congregation? Do you want do you want to 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:26.760 have a seat available next to you every Sunday or 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.280 do you want to fight for that seat because so 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.040 many people want to come and hear the message that day. 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:35.240 It's interesting that you brought that up, I say to people, 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:40.400 because for us, it's been the hardest part about our 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:43.600 church is the growth of our church, because there was 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:46.240 the day when I knew every name and every phone 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.720 number and made every event. I mean, I would go 0:19:50.760 --> 0:19:54.359 to kids ball games, and I would event make every 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:57.439 kind of anniversary or birthday, and frankly, as do you 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.920 have more people showing up, things change. But the reason 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:05.000 why we grew was we've always attacked dysfunction. We've always 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:07.760 tried to make sure that in our church we don't 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:10.800 do drama. We're not a soap opera. I think a 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:14.120 lot of churches don't grow because most or a lot 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:16.840 of churches are more of drama filled. It's more of 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:19.159 a soap opera, a lot of dysfunction, and therefore it 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:22.800 stops growing. It'd be like your world. You don't have 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:25.240 any problem doing an event with one hundred people, or 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:27.440 five hundred people or a thousand people, but you've also 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:31.600 done events with tens of thousands of people. It's not 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.560 to say one's better than the other. They're different. But 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:37.200 there's a reason why some people have a bigger platform 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.679 or a bigger stadium, or a bigger congregation or a 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:44.439 bigger concert than those that maybe are still doing coffee 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:47.159 shops with fifteen people. It doesn't mean they're bad. It 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:50.200 just means more people want to hear them song or 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:54.520 the message. And I think for some megachurches, let's face it, yeah, 0:20:54.880 --> 0:20:59.840 you could probably say there are some ways and techniques 0:20:59.840 --> 0:21:03.680 that you could maybe insert the word compromise to get 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:06.520 a bigger crowd, no question about that. Jesus said that 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:10.840 there will be those types of ministries. He said that, 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:14.280 And then there's others that you can say what you want, 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:19.520 but gosh, they're really speaking and doing good yea, and 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.960 they're not compromising, and there's just more people showing up. 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:25.080 And what do you I've always said, what do I 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:28.280 tell people? Do I say? What dysfunctional thing do we 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:33.680 start doing so you won't come anymore? We don't do politics. 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:36.800 We're not a politically charged church in the sense of 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:42.640 in other words, we don't do these committees or we're 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:47.320 not run like a board often a board run church 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:51.200 where you have these various angles and agendas and whose 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:53.399 families who we don't do. We just don't have that. 0:21:53.480 --> 0:21:57.400 We're just kind of like, yee, I'm looking at two 0:21:57.440 --> 0:22:00.120 brothers with you and man, y'all are just your struct 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.720 for growth, your structured to move, your structure to go 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:07.239 and there's people listening right now, going, Man, I just 0:22:07.440 --> 0:22:10.760 I like a small church. This guy, you know, this 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:15.560 guy's good looking and tall and charismatic and ex football player. 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:18.879 And how do you fight that stigma? How did you 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:22.560 get past? Because because as long as I've known you, 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:24.600 it hasn't been too long, it's been a couple of years. 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:28.800 I can't poke holes on anything that you do, right well, 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:33.439 I can't, And I'm just I'm impressed with you daily 0:22:33.760 --> 0:22:37.119 with the things that you say, but you do. You 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:42.119 are a charismatic alpha with you come across as the 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:44.479 person that you don't want to trust. There are people 0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:49.439 exactly I get that a lot. I hear that, like 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:52.480 there's no way that guy up there on that platform. 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:56.000 In fact, a couple of weeks ago I met actually 0:22:57.200 --> 0:22:59.080 he was a friend of mine that I had started 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:02.200 playing golf with. We had had three or four rounds 0:23:02.240 --> 0:23:07.479 together and we were really like, Wow, I like this 0:23:07.520 --> 0:23:09.160 guy and he likes me. And we were playing golf 0:23:09.200 --> 0:23:11.080 and then we went to launch after and there's a 0:23:11.160 --> 0:23:14.240 room of about twenty guys in the room and I 0:23:14.440 --> 0:23:16.840 walked back in after washing my hands playing golf, and 0:23:16.880 --> 0:23:21.680 he goes, you're that MF for preacher, and I went, 0:23:21.800 --> 0:23:26.200 what are you talking about? He goes, you're that MF 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:29.679 for a preacher. I said, well, stop time out. You 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:32.159 and I have been playing golf. Now, we've had four 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:35.719 or five rounds. This has never come up. How am 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:37.560 I all of a sudden an MF for preacher? Maybe 0:23:37.560 --> 0:23:41.000 I shouldn't say that on this podcast. But he goes, 0:23:41.800 --> 0:23:45.600