WEBVTT - This Pastor Should Be Fired Immediately! 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:14.240 What's up, everybody, Welcome back to the podcast. So grateful 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:16.439 to have you here. I was talking with some guys 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:20.400 today and thinking about how this podcast has been going 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:23.759 on since twenty seventeen and you guys are still listening, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.120 So I'm very grateful. And the format of this podcast 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:32.800 as you email me Questions podcast at grangersmith dot com, 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:37.240 as the email once again podcast at grangersmith dot com. 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.640 Ask me anything could be about any subject. In fact, 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:45.080 the more really, the more crazy, the better because that's 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.159 going to make your email stand out and it just 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:52.920 broadens the podcast topics. Really, I think that over the 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:58.720 years we've talked about a whole different I mean, it 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:04.280 has been so so varied in the questions, especially as 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:07.160 is my life has kind of changed through the podcast. 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:09.920 I think the questions for me have changed, and the 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.640 audience has changed. I did hear from Tyler, my brother. 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:17.280 I did hear from him and ant Man literally moments 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:21.640 ago before I started this podcast that we are planning 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:26.720 this live podcast tour for twenty twenty five. Tyler said, 0:01:26.720 --> 0:01:29.360 you want to do a podcast tour alive where we 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.839 you know, set up. We go like to a theater 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:36.080 and we set up on the stage and answer questions live. 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:38.039 He said, do you want to do that with a 0:01:38.080 --> 0:01:40.200 live audience in twenty twenty five? I said, bro, I've 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:44.679 been wanting to do that for years. So I don't know. 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.760 As far as I know he's planning it. It may 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:50.440 or may not happen soon, but I would imagine it 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.080 would happen at some point, not a matter of if. 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:55.720 Just when there's a couple things I want to talk 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.320 about on this podcast before we get to the questions, 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:01.800 before we get to your questions, And I've been thinking 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.560 about something, and as we talk a lot on here 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.200 about churches, and people are looking for churches and thinking 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.400 about churches and hurt from churches, and they don't want 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:12.359 to go to church anymore because of what it represents, 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.519 or they think that I'm good on my own, I 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:16.440 don't need a church, or I'm good I could find 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:18.840 God in the woods, or you don't need a church 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:21.200 to make you a Christian. You know, we get all 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:24.480 these kind of comments, which which is not my point. 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:31.920 My point is today I think so many times the 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:36.239 root problem of a lot of those jaded feelings about 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:41.040 the gathering is a misunderstanding about the role of pastor. 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.760 And that's a pretty deep topic. And the Bible is 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.280 a very clear and you might not know this, the 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:51.680 Bible is very clear about the role of a pastor, 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:57.120 what he should be doing, what his job is. Why 0:02:57.160 --> 0:03:02.880 the Lord calls pastors, you know, and as leaders of 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:08.080 the church. These pastors sometimes referred to, depending on the church, 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.959 as elder, our overseer, our bishop. It's all the same root, 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:17.000 that root of that word what it means in both 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:22.720 Hebrew and Greek, both of them mean shepherd, and they 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:27.720 are thought of. They are illustrated in the Bible as 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:34.720 a shepherd and sheep, the flock. The sheep is the people, 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:41.400 and there is the great shepherd Jesus, and all of 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.160 the sheep which she talks to. What she talks about, 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:47.600 like in John ten when he says, my sheep hear 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:50.800 my voice, and they that I know them, and they 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.680 follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:55.760 will never perish, and no one will snatch them out 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:58.520 of my hand. Right, So he talks about all the flock. 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.440 But then there like these mini flocks, and those are 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:04.680 those are the under shepherds. And that's what we hear 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.280 about in the Bible. That's most of the time when 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:12.760 we're hearing about pastors, we're talking about the flocks within 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.280 the big flock, and the under shepherds are in charge. 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:20.800 And so these are churches. A church. People are right 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.279 in saying that it's not the building and the brick 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:26.000 and the mortar, it is the gathering. That word church 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:33.320 ecclesia means gathering. So the church is the gathering. Which 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:35.280 is why, like for instance, at my church at Amais, 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:39.320 at the beginning, we would say the appropriate way to 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:43.680 start the you know, the the right way to say 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:48.520 hello would be welcome to this gathering of a Mais church. 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.279 You see what I mean. So instead of saying welcome 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:58.080 to our church, welcome to the gathering. You know, because 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:03.359 we the people the gathering. This, this is this gathering of 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:08.000 the church. This is today's gathering, right as opposed to 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:12.160 the building of the place. And so when we think 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:19.000 about these under shepherds, pastors, elders, bishops, when we when 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.240 we think of this and we think of in terms 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:26.279 of what the Bible always illustrates as a shepherd in sheep, 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.919 and we think of the the flock, the think of 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:34.480 the little flock and a flock would be in a 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:36.839 certain area. You would you would understand the boundaries of 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.599 the flock. The boundaries of that smaller flock would be 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.760 the church. And I'm I'm walking through this because of 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:47.400 I get so many emails and questions about church. What 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.600 is church? Why is church? Who is church? You know what? 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:52.080 I don't need to go to church, or I do 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:55.200 need to go to church. But maybe it would help 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.480 instead of just saying here's what you need to do, 0:05:57.800 --> 0:05:59.560 maybe it would help if first we just talked about 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:05.760 what church is. And that's a longer topic, but just basically, 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:07.640 let's think of it in terms of a shepherd and 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:12.960 a flock, a little flock, and the flock would have boundaries. 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:16.479 You would know who's in the flock. You would know 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.720 if you were a shepherd, you would know who are 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:21.080 your sheep, and then who are the sheep in the 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.679 mountain over there? That's the other guy's flock, the other shepherd, 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.200 and then you would there would be one in the valley, 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:29.760 and that's a bigger flock, and that one that's bigger 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:34.680 in the valley. It has three shepherds because because those 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.480 guys have to know every sheep and their flock and 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:40.680 because there's more sheep than the one in the hill, 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:47.320 the ones down here, they need more shepherds. So in 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.960 the Bible and the New Testament, when letters are going 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:54.640 to the churches, right, Paul's writing letters, John's writing letters. 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:59.359 These letters go out to the churches and to the elders, 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:04.800 like it's the the elders in Ephesus. So it's plural, 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.240 so that the bigger the flock, the more shepherds. Right 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:13.680 are you shocking with me? So far? A shepherd is 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:19.320 thought of as just like a excuse me. A pastor 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:21.720 is thought of just like a shepherd in terms of 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:28.240 their role is to care for the flock, protect, guide, 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:34.640 feed in all the same analogies. And where I'm going 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:39.840 with this really is I think we've i think we've 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:42.000 missedefined it a lot of times. And so when we 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:48.760 think of churches, sometimes we see someone on Instagram could 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:54.440 be me giving a message. And if I'm in New 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.920 Jersey given a message, I'm not. I'm not their pastor. 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.080 I'm just a preacher. I'm an evangelist coming in and 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:07.360 preaching the word. And that's different than a pastor. A 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:12.679 church must have a pastor, and the bigger it gets 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:19.160 it must have multiple pastors. A church cannot exist with 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:21.880 a gathering of people, which is what it is, and 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:27.760 a preacher or an evangelist that doesn't that doesn't fit 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:31.120 the bill. The evangelist or the preacher could come in 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:38.079 and give a word of exhortation or teaching, but that 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.480 guy is not caring for the flock. He's not protecting 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.480 the flock from the wolves. He's not feeding the flock 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:50.760 with these the spiritual appet the spiritual nutrients that that 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.000 meet the appetite of the flock. You're tracking with me. 0:08:56.120 --> 0:09:02.440 So many times we see bad churches and the reason 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.760 they're bad, and we might not always can't always point 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.920 to it, but one of the overarching reasons is they 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:15.080 have a preacher and not a pastor. And more often 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:19.040 when they're big, they have one preacher and some associate 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.960 guys that aren't really doing the job of overseeing either. 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:28.440 And so the church, the gathering doesn't have a leader. 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.520 Now watch what the Bible says about this. This is crazy. 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:36.760 Ezekiel thirty four. And you can check me on this, 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:42.000 Ezekiel thirty four. And at the very beginning verse one, 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.360 it says, then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:48.880 son of Man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. So 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:53.599 this is the pastors prophesy, and say to these shepherds, 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:58.560 Thus says Lord Yadweh, Woe shepherds of Israel, who have 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:03.840 been shepherding themselves. Should not the shepherd's shepherd the flock. 0:10:05.040 --> 0:10:08.280 You eat the fat and clothe yourself with wool. You 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:13.880 sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock. Those who 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:17.480 are sickly you have not strengthened, and the disease you 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.679 have not healed, and the broken you have not bound up. 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:24.080 And the scattered you have not brought back. Nor have 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.840 you searched for the lost. But with strength and with 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:32.280 severity you have dominated them. They were scattered for lack 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.960 of a shepherd. They become food for every beast of 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.559 the field, and were scattered. My flock wandered through all 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:40.960 the mountains, on every high hill. My flock was scattered 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:43.680 all over the surface of the earth, and there was 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.680 no one to seek or search for them. Therefore, you shepherds, 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:50.920 hear the word of Yahweh. And he goes on to 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:55.079 continue to rebuke the shepherds and those are harsh words. 0:10:56.400 --> 0:11:00.360 So we could look back at verse four. They kind 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:04.000 of give this gift, this overall definition of what they 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.240 what they should be doing, but they're not Verse four. 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:11.280 Those who are sickly you have not strengthened. So a 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.319 good pastor would strengthen the flock. The disease do you 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.640 have not healed, So a good pastor would be doing 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:23.560 everything he can to heal the flock and the broken. 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:27.760 You have not bound up. We're talking this could be 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:34.120 as broad as you want. Counseling, listening, guiding, and the scattered. 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:37.560 You have not brought back, the wonders, the people that 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.120 are that are slipping from the faith, that are that 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.880 are haven't been in a few Sundays. Maybe that's it. 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:45.040 Maybe that's it. Are they're getting weaker in the faith, 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:48.559 or there they are wayward, the pastor goes and gets 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:50.920 them and brings them back. And in order to do that, 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:52.640 you would need to know who's who's in the group, 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:55.959 right You can't you can't search for a wayward sheep 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:58.320 if you don't even know who your sheep are, because 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.560 it's just so many of them and they just come 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:04.439 and go. You don't even know next, nor have you 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.640 searched for the lost same thing, but with strength and 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:11.480 with severity, you've dominated them. That those are harsh words, 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.559 and I think with that, I want to play video 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:18.400 and for those of you watch it and can watch it 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:20.400 with me, I'll record it for Paul and those of 0:12:20.400 --> 0:12:23.360 you listening, you could just listen because it does the 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:27.640 same thing. But I saw this video. I actually shared 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:32.040 it with Marshall, my pastor, and I'm not gonna I 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.560 don't know this guy, so this is nothing on him personally, 0:12:35.040 --> 0:12:37.760 but I think it's such a picture of where we 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.959 have gone. And so when you hear this, think about 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:44.199 that that rebuke from Ezekiel thirty four that the Lord 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.840 is telling his prophet Ezekiel to tell to the shepherds. 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:53.840 Think of that in your mind and think how absolutely 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:56.559 absurd this is. If you're listening right nowt of this 0:12:56.600 --> 0:13:00.319 podcast and you're not a Christian, you could absolutely see 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.960 how absurd this is for all Christians, and you, the 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:07.400 non believer that's listening, you should laugh at this rightly, 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:11.480 so you could say that is ridiculous. Who does this 0:13:11.520 --> 0:13:14.559 guy think he is? And you don't have to be 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:19.760 a believer to agree this is ridiculous and really the 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:23.920 way of the way of so many churches, and that 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:27.000 this is a possible prediction on how a bad, how 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:30.320 much worse it could get. The backstory is all I 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:34.880 really know is this is a megachurch pastor who created 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:41.080 an AI app to pastor his people. So think about 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:45.760 it in terms of a shepherd creates an app to 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:49.240 shepherd the sheep with so much so that the people 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:52.120 could get on the app, download the app, and get 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.400 it and then ask him questions and the AI version 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:59.600 of him answers the questions. As if that is fulfilling 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:01.640 the role shepherd, let me press play. 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:05.760 Okay, I'd love to have my own personal pastor. So 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.760 I had to run Governor Ministry's archive and I called 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:12.960 Pastor Ron. And after I call Pastor Ron, let's say, 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.199 you know what, Let's say I'm not feeling good to 0:14:16.240 --> 0:14:19.240 my brother character. How can I help Pastor Ron, I'm 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.480 not feeling well today? Could you pray for me? 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:25.320 Hey? 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:27.560 There, I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Let's 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:30.880 take a moment to pray together. Heavenly Father, I thank 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.040 you that you know us and hear us right now. 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:36.520 I lift up my friend to you. I ask for 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.240 your healing touch to be a pon. You'll know more 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:41.760 about it. You have to wait. We'll tell you later. 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:45.640 Now, apparently I don't know a lot about this. But 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:50.640 apparently this app is going to cost money, like fifty bucks. 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:58.240 He's get to charge for it. Let me say, I 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:01.960 do know these guys that posted this. I know of him, 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:03.920 I don't know a lot, and so I will say 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.280 that that could this could be all wrong, like that 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.000 could be fake. I don't think it is. I think 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.080 it's real, but I'm not sitting here stating that this 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:16.240 is absolute fact because I don't know this pastor. And 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:19.480 maybe this is a total parody, but I don't. You 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:21.800 could judge for yourself. I don't think it is. I 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:25.400 think this guy really created an app, a pastor app 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:29.600 that people can get on and say, hey, Pastor, I'm sick, 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:34.400 will you pray for me? And because either he doesn't 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:39.760 want to Ezekiel thirty four, or he's pastor, he's shepherding 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:44.840 himself like Ezekiel thirty four, dominating over them. There's probably 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:47.000 not nearly enough. It sounds like it's a big church, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.560 big megachurch. There's probably not nearly enough pastors to handle 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:57.400 the flock, and or he is he is that cavalier 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:02.360 with the word of God that he has as slipped 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:07.520 away into a form of convenience. That's, you know, helping 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:09.920 him in some way be able to do things that 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:12.000 he really wants to do, like probably play golf or 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:16.040 something like that. Once again, I can't comment too much 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.840 on it because I don't know the guy, but I 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:24.120 think it might be just an overall picture of why 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.600 people go. I don't think I need church. I wouldn't either. 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.600 If I want to that church, I would I would say, grandeur, 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.640 I don't need to go to church. Because if that 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:34.040 was the version that that was the only thing you knew, 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.080 or if your friend said, hey, come with me to church. 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.520 You're not a believer, come with me, and I'm want 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:42.240 to show you church, and you come there, and that 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.960 this is the guy, like this is the guy preaching, 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.040 and he says, oh, by the way, download my app 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:50.280 for forty nine bucks, and if you need a prayer, 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:53.680 the AI version of me will pray for you from 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.680 the algorithm. If I saw that I was an unbeliever 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:57.880 and I went with a friend, I would be like, 0:16:58.200 --> 0:17:01.280 ain't going to church anymore. You could have it. You 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:04.679 could have your religion that is so cold and bland 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:09.000 and ridiculous. So if you're in a church right now, 0:17:10.240 --> 0:17:13.720 things you should you could be asking yourself is do 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:18.640 I have a relationship with a pastor at my church? 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:22.680 You might be part of a small church and there's 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:24.760 only one pastor, do you have a relationship with him? 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:28.840 If you are part of a moderate or bigger church, 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.920 there might be two, three, four, five, ten, twenty pastors. 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.080 So I'm saying, do you have a relationship with one 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:42.240 of them? And I'm not talking about the way that 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.760 we kind of throw around that word pastor. That's something 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.639 you know, that could be a different podcast, But we 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:52.720 throw around that word pastor like youth pastor, worship pastor, 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:58.879 finance pastor, you know, greeting's pastor, sports pastor, like we 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:01.120 throw out all these names. That's not what I mean, 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:04.560 And I think I defined it pretty well earlier what 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:08.880 that word means, the shepherd word means. So you wouldn't 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.439 you wouldn't divide it up and say, if you're in 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:14.040 any kind of leadership, let's throw the name pastor on there. 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:18.280 And that's what it's called so you wouldn't be a 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:22.119 worship pastor. A worship pastor doesn't exist. You could have 0:18:22.119 --> 0:18:25.719 a worship leader, the guy that or girl that leads worship. 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:29.160 You could do that, but you're not a pastor because 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:41.000 you're not shepherding, teaching, praying, counseling, overseeing, protecting, feeding. That's 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.200 not what the worship guy does. The worship guy could 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:46.919 be a pastor, but those are two different roles you 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:50.800 see those They could overlap, but they're different, and so 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:53.160 you wouldn't. You wouldn't get those two things mixed up. 0:18:55.080 --> 0:19:00.359 And we need to know this. And so if the 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.560 way that I've defined it is that you if you're 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.800 listening right now, do you have a relationship with your 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:10.320 pastor or one of them and not this sports guy 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:13.800 or not the greeting guy or not the parking lot pastor, 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:18.760 you know, the janitorial pastor, like you wouldn't. No, I'm 0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:23.000 not talking about that. Do you have I'm not talking 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:27.720 about is it your best friend. I'm saying do you 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.480 have access to him? If you need to talk to 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:36.440 your pastor? Do you have access to him even today? 0:19:36.480 --> 0:19:39.400 Do you have access right now to one of your pastors? 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:44.000 Because if you don't, then you were a sheep without 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.719 a shepherd, and you could read Ezekiel thirty four and 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:52.119 see yourself as one of those sheep. I think I 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:54.200 don't know why. It just it occurred to me before 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:57.320 I started this podcast that I wanted to at least 0:19:57.320 --> 0:20:00.720 get that ball rolling. So if you're watching on YouTube, 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.159 that's a platform for this podcast that you could actually 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:07.199 comment on. So go to YouTube or if you're on 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:11.280 it right now, and comment below and give me some feedback. 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.359 And of course, of course your feedback could be Granger, 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.320 You're wrong about all this, Granger, I'm so sick of 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:21.680 you talking about this stuff. You're absolutely wrong, You're upside down, 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:23.440 and let me tell you why. Give me a good 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:26.040 give me a good rebuke, and tell me why you 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:30.320 think that. But what I really want is just to 0:20:30.359 --> 0:20:32.760 get the gears turning a little bit. I want people 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.400 to think and go, oh, maybe maybe I've been thinking 0:20:37.400 --> 0:20:40.600 about church all or wrong, or maybe I haven't thought 0:20:40.600 --> 0:20:45.080 of it that way. I've had these conversations, countless conversations 0:20:45.119 --> 0:20:50.200 in person with people on this very topic, and many 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:56.439 times people will say, I've never thought of it that way. 0:20:57.280 --> 0:21:01.280 I was never taught that pastor would be someone that 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:07.880 cares for me. That's interesting, right, very interesting. By the way, 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.840 that's on me too. So I am not your pastor. 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:13.960 If you're watching this podcast and you're asking me questions, 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:16.400 I'm just as good as the AI app. I might 0:21:16.400 --> 0:21:19.560 as well be Ron's AI pastor or whatever it's called. 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:23.560 But I'm no better than that. So people that ask 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:27.120 me questions, this is a This is a I think, 0:21:27.119 --> 0:21:30.400 an edifying conversation that we typically have with each other. 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.000 And I enjoy these conversations, and I hope I can 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:35.800 be encouraging and helpful to people with their questions. But 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:41.560 I am not your pastor. I'm just answering your questions. 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:43.560 You know, this time of year, you might be worried 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:45.800 that you didn't get the right gift for someone. Are 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:48.159 you forgot or it's too later you just don't know 0:21:48.160 --> 0:21:50.400 what they get them. I've got an idea for you. 0:21:50.400 --> 0:21:53.280 Go to cameo dot com slash Granger Smith, and I'll 0:21:53.280 --> 0:21:57.040 make you a video message custom just for what you 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.760 need to whoever you want me to send it to. 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:03.160 If you have a brother or a spouse, or a 0:22:03.200 --> 0:22:05.600 son or a daughter or whoever. It might be just 0:22:05.600 --> 0:22:08.560 a friend, maybe it's for you too. I'll make you 0:22:08.600 --> 0:22:11.280 a video message on my phone and I'll say whatever 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:13.560 you need me to say. Plus I'll know I'll make 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:17.119 up my own stuff. Go to cameo dot com slash 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:19.840 Granger Smith and I'll do that for you today. Let's 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:21.800 dive into this all this past or talk. You know, 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:23.560 we got to really get into some questions and if 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:27.360 you want to email me podcast at grangersmith dot com. 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:32.800 First one comes from Emily. He says, Hey, Granger, my 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:35.600 husband just got a job offer in another state. It 0:22:35.720 --> 0:22:39.600 is a great opportunity for him, but moving means leaving 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.800 my family, my job, our church, and everything we build here. 0:22:43.440 --> 0:22:46.760 I'm torn between wanting to support him and feeling like 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.159 I'm losing my own stability. Have you ever had to 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:52.720 make a big move? How do you decide if it's 0:22:52.760 --> 0:23:00.320 worth uprooting everything for a new opportunity. Thanks for listening, Emily. Yeah, 0:23:00.720 --> 0:23:06.400 this is tough, and I have moved several states over 0:23:06.480 --> 0:23:12.480 before twice, but I wasn't married, i didn't have kids, 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:19.840 and I'm not you. I have seen as these things 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:23.359 play out, and they play out all the time. I 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:28.680 have seen men and women act very differently in these situations, 0:23:29.960 --> 0:23:36.520 and usually it's pretty consistent that the man is a 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:42.879 little bit he handles the adventure, the unknown, the excitement 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:47.520 of change, he handles it a little more loosely. I'm 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:49.840 not gonna say he handles it better, because I don't 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:52.359 think this is a matter of better or worse. I 0:23:52.359 --> 0:23:56.120 think it's a matter of I've seen the men are 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.840 a little bit more free to make the change. Let's 0:23:59.880 --> 0:24:03.959 do it, you know, and women, I think which is 0:24:04.600 --> 0:24:06.399 I think it's a great trait for a man to 0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:08.880 think like that. I think it's great for a man 0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:12.760 to say, let's go, let's back up, it's an adventure, 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:19.439 fresh beginnings. We'll start over, we'll make new friends, we'll 0:24:19.480 --> 0:24:23.640 grow together, we'll become closer. In fact, I did that 0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:26.639 in a small way. I did that whenever after we 0:24:26.640 --> 0:24:30.040 lost RIV and I changed houses twice and ended up 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:33.600 where I am here right now, because we lived in 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:37.080 an RV in the barn as we built this house, 0:24:37.080 --> 0:24:41.280 and I wanted to get all my family. I wanted 0:24:41.320 --> 0:24:45.200 to gather everything and start over in a fresh, unknown, 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:50.000 exciting adventure because I thought that would bond us, and 0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:52.239 I think it did so. I think it's a good 0:24:52.280 --> 0:24:54.560 thing that a man is so quick to do that, 0:24:55.640 --> 0:25:00.159 but such a great balance that it's a good thing 0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:04.840 also that a woman is in many ways different than that. 0:25:05.400 --> 0:25:09.399 That a woman builds a nest and builds a home 0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:15.280 and fills it with with with the things that she loves, 0:25:15.600 --> 0:25:17.600 the people that she surrounds herself with, the people that 0:25:17.640 --> 0:25:20.639 she loves, and a friends and her network, and her 0:25:21.040 --> 0:25:25.840 her grocery store and her garden, and her school, and 0:25:26.000 --> 0:25:31.120 her doctor's office and her dentist and her I mean, 0:25:31.400 --> 0:25:36.680 we're talking everything from cleaners to farmer's market to the 0:25:37.160 --> 0:25:43.800