Analyzing Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Justin 0:00

One fight . Mom gets scared . She moves him in .

Rhett 0:03

I see Uncle in Bel-Air . That had to be traumatic . I'm going to invest . I'm looking to rise . I'm not looking to the next . You're the most valuable thing to me right now , in this moment .

Justin 0:12

You can look for these quick little epic moments or you can look to lean into relationship . You're going to find relationship is the access point to what really is your road , to where reaching your God assignment lies .

Rhett 0:28

That's the approach that we need to begin having . Well , what's going on everybody ? Welcome back to another episode of Armchair Authentic , a podcast with Rhett and Justin . It really is our hope to try to help you fulfill your God assignments through having real conversations about real life with real people . Now , justin and I , we have a lot of fun on today's episode . We're really excited to jump to the content .

Rhett 1:04

But before we do , we do want to take a moment and say thank you to every one of you who have taken the time to rate and review the podcast on all your favorite podcast streaming platforms . Now here's what it does . Not only is it an encouragement to us , it truly is the best way we can serve people who are not on this journey yet . Now , if you are joining us for the first time , welcome . We sure would love for you to follow us on Instagram or Facebook . You can follow us at Armchair Authentic . You can also find us on Twitter , or I should say X , formerly known as Twitter at Armchair Off Pod .

Rhett 1:42

Now , justin and I have been talking about this for a while . It is our desire to begin to create some content around the questions you might be having right now , in whatever the situation you're facing in life , and one of the best ways you can send us your questions is by emailing us at info at armchairauthenticcom . That's info at armchairauthenticcom . That's infoatarmchairauthenticcom . We look forward to hearing from you soon , but until then , get ready , man , justin , we're having a lot of fun on this episode , yeah , today we discussed the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air .

Justin 2:17

We talk about McDonald's and spotlights on fire . We dive into the world of epic moments and how they're in fact not very epic for your long-term good . But there are moments that will prove to be epic but are just not recognized in the moment . So get ready , grab a happy meal and enjoy the episode .

Rhett 2:41

And a couple of guys who were up to no good Started making trouble in my neighborhood . I got in one little fight . My mom got scared and said you're moving with your auntie and uncle to Bel Air .

Justin 2:50

Why did his mom give him up so quick ? I have no idea .

Rhett 2:53

That's interesting .

Justin 2:54

One fight . Mom gets scared . She moves him in . Auntie and uncle in Bel Air .

Rhett 3:00

Auntie and uncle . They must have been some . They were pretty fly , auntie and uncle , let's uncle , they must have been some .

Justin 3:05

They were . They were pretty fly , auntie and uncle , let's go .

Rhett 3:08

They were , but that had to be traumatic for fresh prince , it's interesting when we're at this age , how we you know yeah I mean , what were we deconstructing the lyrics of fresh prince of bel-air ? Is that what we're doing ?

Justin 3:18

I think we are because I love this show . But but the mom got rid of him because he got in a fight , mm-hmm .

Rhett 3:26

I begged and pleaded with her day after day , but she packed my suitcase and sent me on my way .

Justin 3:31

See , that's you're reading the lyrics now . Okay , see , that's not in the song .

Rhett 3:38

No , see , she gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket . I put my Walkman on and said I might as well kick it .

Justin 3:42

See , they did not have that .

Rhett 3:43

Yeah , it is that . No , oh my god , that's not on the show . That's not on the show , so that's extra lyrics that the song really said , so he must have really released the song , so first class yo show .

Justin 3:54

Oh really , okay , first class yo , this is bad .

Rhett 3:57

Drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass is this what the people of Bear live in like ? Hmm , this might be all right , okay , but wait , I hear the prissy bougie , I don't know , bourgeous and all that . Is this the type of place that they should send this cool cat ? I don't think so . I'll see when I get there . I hope they prepared for the Prince of Bel-Air . Well , the plane landed and when I came out there was a dude who looked like a cop standing there with my name out . I ain't trying to get arrested yet . I just got here . I sprang with the quickness like lightning disappeared . I whistled for a cabin when I and this is when it pulled in .

Rhett 4:31

The license said fresh and it had nights in the mirror . If anything I could say this cap was real , but I thought , no , forget it , you're holmes to bel-air .

Justin 4:38

See , I feel so much better . So he was good with this ?

Rhett 4:42

he was , so he was good with this . He was excited .

Justin 4:43

He was good with it . Because , they drank orange juice out of champagne glass .

Rhett 4:47

Yeah , exactly .

Justin 4:48

And he was excited and that's why I pulled up to a house about 7 or 8 and I yelled to the cupboard .

Rhett 4:53

Yo ho smell ya . Later , looked at my kingdom , I was finally there To sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-Air . Okay , oh , kudos to . That saves everything .

Justin 5:02

Yeah , I feel better Because they have to get the show going . They only have , I guess , 30 seconds . They had to cut lyrics so it was traumatic when I look back , I never knew there were more lyrics . I appreciate you looking that up .

Rhett 5:13

Well , that's interesting that we're even talking about this . I met Will Smith back before he was slapping people .

Justin 5:18

I remember that I do remember you talking about that . Yeah , it was 1993 .

Rhett 5:24

Yep , and we were getting on a plane from New York City to go to Atlanta . It was just after our Carnegie Hall experience with our choir that I think we mentioned the other day , the one that I was too scared to fly the one that you were and look at the moment that you missed . Dude , you missed the moment , see , I'd never put that together .

Justin 5:41

Okay , so I could have met Will Smith had I not been afraid of flying or overcame the fear .

Rhett 5:46

Yeah , you could have totally met Will Smith . And what's interesting is me and Mario Morris were standing in line at Subway and Mario , we looked at each other . I was like Mario is this .

Justin 5:58

Will .

Rhett 5:59

Smith . He's like yeah , that's Will Smith . I was like and we were right behind him . He's super tall , he's got a hoodie on , he's kind of trying to be incognito . He was married to Cherie Zampino at that point I think that's her name and they had just had their little baby , trey , and so he was like full dad on moment , dad , mom , like it was not Hollywood , it was not glamorous and I don't I think I don't know the dates , I don't think he was doing Fresh Prince at this . It was like DJ Jazzy , jeff and the Fresh Prince . Remember that ?

Justin 6:25

Yeah , that was weird because you always had the cool CDs . It was DJ Jazzy , jeff and the Fresh Prince .

Rhett 6:30

So I always thought DJ Jazzy .

Justin 6:32

Jeff is the main guy , but then the show comes on Yep , yep and we're watching that and I'm like it looks like the Fresh Prince got the show named after him Exactly . Jazzy Jeff's the guy who comes over and Uncle Phil constantly throws him out the house .

Rhett 6:46

I know it's so crazy the number one guy in the group all of a sudden becomes the number two guy . And they make him look like a fool on the show . I mean he's cool and stuff .

Justin 6:53

It's funny though . I love the lawn scene where it's like he's got the grass , and the grass is being watered and all of a sudden , you get this body fly across if you've never watched the show , you've got to go back .

Rhett 7:06

It's you know , say what you want about will smith . Now I , you know I pray for the brother but like , at the end of the day , man , classic , classic , show you . You can't argue with his craft and and just the comedic genius and timing of that whole thing was awesome . But I you know all that to say . Back to the subway , in line with my friend , and he's in front of us and and so I'm tapping him on the shoulder and I'm like , hey , and that's obvious . I'm not asking are you Will Smith ?

Rhett 7:30

I'm like dude it's so cool to meet you , man . I know you're about to order food here at Subway , but I would love for you to autograph my seat . He's like , yeah , he was super cool . He said hey , man , I'm kind of with my family at the moment , you know . If you know , I'll do that after this . And I was like absolutely . And I said , hey , by the way , I don't know what flight you're on , but we're about to fly to Atlanta , so if you're on that flight , get ready . There's about 100 of us and they're all kids and they're going to flip out the moment you walk over . He's like man , he of like , whatever you do , sign my CD first before all these girls go nuts over you .

Rhett 8:09

So I literally . I jump out of the line and Mario's and I go grab my CD and I bring it over . He signs it . That was just the coolest thing . And we're getting on the plane and he's in front of me and he's flying first class and I've kind of forget at this moment . Moment he's in front of me and it's him and Cherie and their baby and as he's sitting , I'm talking to somebody behind me and he stops and I literally bump right into him gosh , he's like this guy .

Justin 8:30

I'm like , oh my gosh , this guy can't .

Rhett 8:32

And I'm like , oh , dude , I . And I looked . I was like , oh my god , it's Will Smith . I ran him to a subway , you know , I gave him a heads up about all the , the girls and everybody . He was about to be bombarded with all these high school and then got his autograph and now I'm bumping into him .

Justin 8:45

He's like dude , do you remember when mcdonald's had this it was like a grand prize game and it was a . You would get a miniature record , uh-huh , when you got some kind of a mill and you could take it home and put it on your record player and if you played through and it played the entire song you won a million yeah , it was like it was their way of marketing .

Rhett 9:05

Listen to this song , listen to this melody . It was brilliant . And if it made it through , yeah , you win the the money .

Justin 9:11

And I was like , oh my gosh , yours almost made it through , I don't know how many other people did at that time , but I felt like big mac mcdl d , a quarter pounder , with some cheese for the leg of fish , a hamburger a cheeseburger a happy meal , baby breakfast and then all of a sudden it's like oh .

Rhett 9:26

And then , all like on the cd , it's like oh man , we almost made it . Oh , okay , well , next time go back to mcdonald's and get you a big mac , or no , or whatever it's called . You know it's like oh man , are you kidding me ?

Justin 9:35

that was . We were so hooked to that it was like a square record , though .

Rhett 9:38

I mean , like it was like maybe they cut it as a square , yeah , you know , like I stamped it and then the circle was there , but so true . And then it was like I'm watching a square go around a little circle record album player , anyway mcdonald's man dude , but you marketing genius , it was great think of that .

Justin 9:55

And they had the great playgrounds too . You could go jump right up in those things .

Rhett 9:58

Yes , you could it was like the showbiz pizza or ch E Cheese massive play thing with all the balls stuff , the red and orange and yellow . You jump into this , I mean oh Lord .

Justin 10:09

I remember we'd have your dad take us there . He'd read the newspaper , sit there for three hours and we would just go play at the playground . It was the best . It was the best .

Rhett 10:19

No wonder our immune systems are so tough , man . I mean they really are . It's like the people who develop immunities with bug bites and venomous snakes and that was us on Playgrounds .

Justin 10:33

So what does any of this have

Building Relationships at ARC Conference

Justin 10:34

to do with the podcast ? Nothing , I think we just needed to let off some steam because we just came off a great conference .

Rhett 10:38

Yes , we did , yeah , at the time of this recording . You know we're just coming out of the art conference conference and if you're not familiar with the art conference , it's the association of related churches . Um , it's a beautiful relational network of just um pastors who have come together and really want to invest into people that have a dream and that dream of just creating a life giving church and being the hands and feet of Jesus across the country and world . And , um , and I don't think anybody that ever started this ever thought it would grow to the level that it is , but it really has become this just ginormous opportunity to have a family of like-minded brothers and sisters who are on this journey together .

Rhett 11:16

And I'll tell you what it was a huge blessing not just attending this conference , but we would not have been able to plant One Life Church had it not been for an organization like ARC . All they did was give us some simple tools and some stuff that I had learned before , but obviously just kind of getting affirmation and what we've done right , but also some other things to think about , and we applied those things and it set us up for success and it really did create some momentum for us to launch , well , to be able to create a life-giving church , and so that's what ARC is at the heart of it , it's relationships and it's an opportunity to connect with pastors across the country who are leading churches , and so , yeah , it was a lot of fun , man .

Justin 11:52

It was . And even , as I've said before , a lot of our talk goes into the world of pastor because that is our world .

Justin 11:58

My heart goes out to pastors . I'm so grateful for the work that you guys are doing to disciple and to train up people and to bring about the good news of the gospel and even helping us be trained and going and carrying out the good news of the gospel of Jesus . So you need this refreshing time and I love watching these guys come in and it's like they just have this burden they're carrying because it is a burden , but just to see them lay it down for a moment , yeah , and there's usually a great yeah , and it's . There's usually a great atmosphere created . It's very life giving . If you ever had an opportunity to be at something like that , it just you walk in and it's like , wow , this is amazing , there's good music , there's good smells all around you .

Justin 12:37

It just it puts you in a place and Watching those people come in and just rest easy . I think the highlight for me is walking the hallways , if you will , because some of the greatest relationships I've ever formed have come from some of those simple times .

Rhett 12:51

I think one of the things that I walked away with was I did not want to go Like I was at home I have a lot of stuff I need to do for the church that I get to serve and the missions organization that we're organically creating right now and I was like I'm tired , I'm worn out , I really don't want to go .

Justin 13:10

And .

Rhett 13:10

I feel like there's so much for me to be doing right now . But then I was like get beyond your feelings and go and just get there , because you know you need to be there . You know that there's people there you need to connect with and communicate with . But it's so interesting how we can talk ourselves out based off our feelings of not going somewhere . We know we need to go .

Rhett 13:27

And I know a lot of pastors who have walked in those doors that you were mentioning that were feeling that way and maybe even on their facial , on their face you know , there was that like you can tell they're tired . Many of them were just probably like I don't want to be . I know I need to be here , I don't want to be here , and so that's how I felt . But I'll tell you this man I'm glad I got beyond my feelings and I made the choice , because my feelings eventually did line up to my choice , because by the end of the day , man , I was fired up , because it created so many opportunities .

Rhett 13:55

Now , here's the thing you walk into a place like that and you see all these relationships happening and you can kind of almost feel like I don't know anybody here , yeah , and so it's awkward . And so before you and I met up , I was there by myself and I've been there before with other people . And it's a different perspective when you're walking in by yourself and you feel like , okay , I know , I know some people that are in this room . I haven't run into them yet , and so I just started getting beyond my comfort zone and going and just inserting myself into conversations . When I'd see somebody walking by or alone and we'd make eye contact like , hey man , how are you doing ? What's your name ? And I was forcing myself and some people are like well , man , that comes easy for you .

Rhett 14:28

I'm telling you , there's some times where I'm like I would rather not be doing this honestly .

Rhett 14:33

But it was that moment I was like , no , I need this because I want to . I know the blessing that if I'm being a blessing to somebody else it will in turn be a blessing to me . And so I found myself in those kinds of conversations and next thing I know , and we can get into some of the conversations you and I had with other people , but by the end of the day I was like man , this is , this feels so good . And then , but seeing by the end of the day to all the other people who kind of walked in that way too are feeling , you know , rejuvenated and refreshed and smiles and laughter and like it's like one big , just party man of of fun . But you got to take . I could have walked in and walked out and be like I had to . You know , nobody connected with me but I had to take some steps .

Justin 15:13

It's recognizing that our condition . You look for kind of the big , you look for the epic moment , if you will , to meet the right people or the ones who might be on the stage or the ones that seem to be who you think are the important ones . That's something we create in our mind , as we've talked about before . That's not real . The biggest joy comes when you slow yourself down and you discover these conversations . Everybody's quite extraordinary . It's just getting to know them and having the patience and the mindset to just listen to their story , because you'll listen to somebody if you perceive them as great . You'd go listen to their story all day long . But it's your perception that gave you this great expectation that they have something to give . But the same extraordinary exists in everybody . You just got to go , be willing to go , receive it without the goal of what can I ?

Rhett 16:04

also get To be transparent . On the podcast we were actually talking through this conversation . We're like , man , this would be a great thing to talk about was something that kind of goes along . A theme of something we mentioned the other day is when is the last time you've taken the time Just sit down with somebody and hear their story and not have any other agenda ? And so I have been trying to intentionally live that out for the past couple of years and I knew , going into this conference , I would have the opportunity to go back into some old habits where I'm like , hey , how you doing and I'm engaged , but I'm really engaged to get to the next engagement like you're talking about .

Rhett 16:37

Yes , and you can see it . You would used to , you could see it on my face like , hey , you're important , but yet I'm looking for the next guy or the next person , right , but I'm like no , this approach is going to be different . I'm not here to meet hundreds of people , I'm here to meet one person . That's good , and with every moment , and I know we we can move so fast , even in those environments , to where we're only seeing black and white and what's in it for us . But it's time for us to stop living for tomorrow and start living in today . And when we live in today , we won't see the world in black and white . We'll actually see the beauty of the colors that exist in the ordinary and in the unassuming .

Valuing Relationships Over Networking

Justin 17:20

I've been in a lot of rooms where you can see people looking for the next best thing . I've been the one who's done that , so I'm guilty of it , but I've also been the recipient of it and you can feel the value draining from the moment that could be . I've sat there in the room where I'm talking to somebody , but their eyes are now gazing , looking for the next important person . Once again , let me admit my guilt . I've also done the same thing . God put something in your heart to accomplish and whatever your work environment is whether it's local church ministry , like me and Rhett , or if it's in your normal job and that is a true calling we can tend to gauge and see the importance of people and look at them to be the one to give the value . So what I mean by that is I believe that I might have something in my heart to achieve this , and I'm talking to this person who doesn't look like someone who would advance that . So I'm looking for that person who may , but yet I discount this person in front of me , and they may be the catalyst relationship that , as you water it , as you put it in the crock pot and let it cook , that could be the very relationship that was going to accomplish the very thing in your heart . Instead , you look for a bunch of these micro moments with people . That leaves you feeling very empty at the end of the night because all you're doing is trying to keep up with the Joneses .

Justin 18:37

And it reminds me of a book I read probably 13 years ago . It's called the Exceptional Presenter and it gives a scenario of two people who are vying for this major VP role for this organization . And so in the room , if you can picture it , you have the CEO and all of his or her executives . And so candidate number one comes in , and I would say candidate number one is the most elite , if you will . They have the best education , much more well-spoken . They come into the room and with confidence , they look at the CEO's eyes and they lay out a plan of the value they can bring to the organization . And as they continue to look at , the CEO ends the presentation , steps out of the room .

Justin 19:20

B candidate comes in . They do a great job too , because you gotta be a high level to be in this room . They weren't as articulate as candidate A , they weren't as educated as candidate A , but when candidate B came in and started presenting where we could add value . The person's looking at the executives around the table saying and if we did this , we could accomplish this .

Justin 19:41

They're smiling , looking around at the table they leave . You know what the CEO is going to do . He's going to now look at his table of executives that they have hired because they trust them to make the decision and they're going to say all right , which one do you think ? And you know who they're going to say . They're going to say candidate B , because candidate B came in the room and made them feel valued , they made them feel seen and they probably helped them realize this isn't a ladder climber . This is going to be someone who collaborates with this organization , which is going to bring success . So there's something to be said of walking into the room and recognizing the right moment and not skipping over it , looking for epic , a visual picture for me .

Rhett 20:24

I'm thinking of a house . You know we all want . There's two ways to enter a house . For the most part there's a front door and a back door and oftentimes we want to come in the front door to relationships , organizations . That front door meaning we want to connect with that epic leader , that CEO , that top executive , whoever that person is for you in whatever you're trying to accomplish , that that front door opportunity . But there's also a backdoor . So many of us try to go to the front door and try to get through that . Lens of I just hey , I don't want to talk to number four , number three , number two person . I'm going to talk to number one because if I can get in front of number one , then I'm going to be .

Rhett 20:56

It goes along with what you're saying , but oftentimes there's more opportunity if you will coming through the back door , relationally with people who are the four , the three or the two , because those are the guys who are on the field actually making what it is that you know , you do , you love , you support , whatever you want to do to get in the house , they both get into the house . It's just different opportunities , different ways to enter . Backyards represent family . They represent community . They represent hanging out . They represent party . They represent what do you grill ? The backyard for the most part in the South .

Justin 21:28

Where do you ?

Rhett 21:28

do parties , you do in the backyard . So community , the family , the relational aspect . So oftentimes we need to think beyond the hey , maybe the intro for me isn't the front door , maybe it's me building the community and the I don't need . Maybe the intro for me isn't the front door , maybe it's me building the community and the relationship in the backside of things , if you will . To enter the same house , but to do it with the humility , because the back doors aren't as fancy . Nope , they don't look as cool and they're not really prettied up . Most back doors look probably pretty beaten down , as much use as they get . Yep , right . And so as you're coming in the back door , you're still entering the house , but you're entering it more on a relational level , through the people who really do bring organization to what's happening within the house and the family side of things . And then really you find yourself , through the humility , being elevated into the same place .

Rhett 22:15

Just a different approach . Many of us we don't approach relationships that way because you really can't do something for me , because you really don't have that title and , like you said , I've I've been there before . But it's interesting when you slow down and you really take inventory of the moment that you're in and realize you know what this is an unassuming person . Yeah , I'm going to invest , I'm looking to rise . I'm not looking to the next . I'm living this moment in the beauty that comes out of that , the relationship that can flourish from that and the opportunities to come through an avenue which might be the back door that you never thought by talking to somebody . That might not have been that front door experience that you were expecting .

Appreciating Ordinary Moments in Relationships

Justin 22:53

Yeah , relational connection is the key . You can look for these quick little epic moments or you can look to lean into relationship . You're going to find relationship is the access point to what really is your road , to where reaching your God assignment lies . And I think about an interaction I saw with you and an individual .

Justin 23:12

It stuck with me because , if you can imagine , crowds are starting to build walking through , so you have thousands of people and you have these sponsors who are , you know , they're selling stuff , they want you to learn about what they're doing . That can really be a help to you . It's traffic time . So really , if you've already been talking to somebody , if you're aware you want to kind of get out of the way to let other people learn about this great product . And I remember you telling this individual you had the awareness to realize I've already talked a little bit and he said well , let me back off . And he looked at you and he said you're the only thing that matters to me right now . And when he said that I thought , oh my gosh that was good .

Rhett 23:50

A lot to be learned from that . That pastor , at that moment , I mean he's very successful platform , massive church . You'd know who I'm talking about . He's at a booth and we were talking about something that he was representing and I and I did I did have the self-awareness to know , you know what . We've pretty much landed this plane . I mean , we really have , and I didn't want to take away from his time to be able to connect with another person . But when he said that to me in , in paraphrasing of you're the most valuable thing to me right now , in this moment , and I was like , wow , that's what I'm talking about and that's the approach that we need to begin having , and I say we , I'm talking about me , yeah me too .

Rhett 24:27

That I'm learning more than anything in this season of life , at 46 , about to turn 47 in June , is that I've been missing out on a lot of those moments for the majority of my life , because I was the networker , the connector , and I'm like , hey , what's up ? And then I found myself , man , I talked to 100-something people today , man , and really it was more fluff than anything . There was no meat , there was no value , there was no seasoning , there was no salt , no pepper . It was just on to the next , on to the next , on to the next , on to the next . I'd be in a conversation . I'd see somebody walk behind , you know , say you and I are talking right , and I see somebody at the corner of my eye . I would literally totally disengage from our conversation . Go , what's up , man ? They'd come in and honestly have other people break into our conversation and think , like no big deal . And I'm like I'm not living my life that way anymore .

Rhett 25:11

Yeah so good I am . I am slowing down and I don't like literally . There were a few people that I could see out of the corner of my eye who wanted to you know because of our relationships who wanted to hang out and used to , the old Rhett would have just , oh , come on it Right , new Rhett . No , I'm like , the person I'm connecting with is the most important , and if that conversation is important , they'll still be there or I'll go find them , and I did .

Rhett 25:35

I sent him a text later . Hey , I noticed , sorry , I was in a conversation would love to connect and , you know , approach that conversation differently . I'm not trying to be rude , but like I want to make sure that the people that God has put in front of me right now , in this moment , whether it be my wife , my son , my buddy , a pastor or somebody that's very unassuming looking for , like hey , can you tell me how to get over here ? Yes , absolutely , and your name is . And just allow the Lord to minister through those moments , those epic moments that we are looking for .

Justin 26:08

You're in it right now , and it's like the poet John Mayer says by the time I recognize this moment , this moment will be gone , and that's so true . It's like the good old days , or you're in tomorrow's good old days , right now so go ahead and start enjoying it , because these simple relationships , that has to start somewhere .

Justin 26:29

They might not seem like they're bringing the value that the epic is so worthy of . Right , we buy into that deception . It's right here , it's right now , and I think some of the greatest inspirations for me now , as I have gotten older , is we have a pastor that I've served with for years on staff and one thing that I would say is his superpower is he's not rushed . He might have five conversations in a single night where most people are knocking out about 80 conversations , and I have learned to appreciate that , because what I have learned from being the recipient of being in a conversation is I feel listened to and I always feel encouraged . And I think about last night . We had this after party starting and it's like I was hungry , I was ready to get out . I mean , man , we had some burgers and hot dogs and some ice cream .

Rhett 27:21

I was ready . I mean , I made my way out the door .

Justin 27:23

We're about to get out the door , but it would be for me an hour and 15 minutes before I ever got out the door . But I had three conversations with former students that I taught that are now in life doing what they do , and it was so priceless to me not to be in a hurry but to just stop and go to each one of them and say , what are you doing now ? Or I've heard you're doing this , I'm so proud of you . Or it's not about me or my advancement , it's all about them . But yet I'm the one walking away feeling like I've just had value added to me .

Justin 27:57

We can chase epic all we want , but if you just go for these ordinary moments and enjoy the moment , you've got some extraordinary stuff , as we always say , wrapped inside

Can You Smell It?

Justin 28:09

. I remember years ago I'm going to take us back , rhett , okay , as we've been playing music forever together and we were playing at this venue this church had us out and I'm telling you it's this worship moment and we're having a blast . Well , we are very much . You know , reading scripture , we're reading the Old Testament of the presence of God and how it would literally like physically manifest , and you read about this . It'll blow your mind .

Rhett 28:36

Yeah .

Justin 28:36

I had never really experienced what I've read there . You know , in the physical side I have in my heart . So we're on the stage and I remember I'm singing this . You know , in the physical side I have in my heart . So we're on the stage and I remember I'm singing this song and , guys , I begin to . There's this fragrance that hits the room and I begin to smell it and I'm getting emotional because I'm thinking we done , did it , we done , did it .

Justin 28:59

It's manifesting this stuff that I was reading in the old testament it's here and I had to share my excitement , first with the bandmates , and I remember running to one of our guys and I'm like , can you smell it ?

Rhett 29:12

no , we are on a platform , leading worship in a moment in front of hundreds of students . Lights are out for the most part , you know a couple spotlights on us . It's an intimate moment musically . We're really not really even saying anything right , we're just kind of letting chord progressions happen in a way that just creates this ambience , this feeling of just . I just want to sit in god's presence and I just surrendering , surrender I want to find rest .

Rhett 29:37

It's just a peaceful moment . It's a beautiful moment . And again , I think it's interesting . We're just reading Old Testament , new Testament , we're all in .

Rhett 29:46

We're reading places in Scripture where we see God was a fire by night and a cloud by day , and just all the wonderful illustrations of how God showed up in real , physically tangible , supernatural ways . It did happen . And so we were in these moments of thinking one day like that's the ultimate talk about epic . Yeah , like we , we led from a place of going . Yeah , this is nice , but , man , what ?

Rhett 30:09

There's gonna be a moment that god uses us , just like he used in the old testament , in new testament , in a way that we're gonna see the presence of god show up , not just in our like feeling , but like seeing . Yes , right , and , and it was almost like it's not epic enough . Until we see that happen , let's clarify Like that's where we were A lot of zeal , not a lot of wisdom , and not that we needed a sign , but it would kind of like we would have loved to have seen the sign show up and awesome , and that was the moment we were in . And when you start smelling something and you lean back and you forget the first guy you looked at , you know , and I'm smelling something too and I'm looking around .

Justin 30:46

So yeah , I go to one of the band guys and I'm just almost crying Can you smell it ? And he's looking at me , he kind of giving that smelling look , like looking around , like confused .

Rhett 30:56

Like yeah , I run to the drummer .

Justin 30:58

I'm like , can you smell it ? And he's trying to play the drums , but he's looking at me creating atmosphere on the drums , but he's looking at me like what . And I keep saying it , and of course then I have to go to my best friend Rhett .

Rhett 31:09

I'm playing bass . I'm probably on my knees at this point , just kind of playing the chord progression and I am aware and I'm seeing what you're doing , but I'm figure out what's really happening here .

Justin 31:19

Can you smell it ? And then I tell Rhett I need to let the room know . So I go to the microphone because now it's time to proclaim he's here , like physically , guys , it's fire , it's cloud , it's everything . Oh , my goodness , and right as I begin to announce it , I just have this feeling of being jerked back from the mic and I remember in the moment , losing my holiness because I'm ticked .

Rhett 31:49

You looked at me like I'm really mad at you right now . What are you doing ? Because it was Rhett who jerked me back from the mic , literally by like the back of my collar , and I looked at him and I was like what man I said bro the spotlight is on fire because by that time I looked around and we saw the guys up in the booth and there were like three guys trying to put out a spotlight up there . It's on fire and they're like the gel right that covered .

Justin 32:14

It was on fire and it billows of smoke .

Rhett 32:17

We had no haze machine but billows of smoke from the balcony just coming in and evidently that gel has like a little fragrance of plastic that will really potent smell that hit that entire auditorium . But it's like I mean true story .

Justin 32:33

And I mean I thought I was as convinced looking for the epic . But the whole point of that is stop looking for the epic , because you'll find nothing more than a spotlight on fire .

Justin 32:45

So it's just a bunch of plastic being burned up .

Justin 32:49

It's so good

This Is What The Real Epic Looks Like

Justin 32:50

, but I will tell you something , rhett , it would be a couple of years later . I'm in the actually in the same venue different group of guys at that time and there is a pastor who just joined the staff of actually Highlands , where I've been at since the beginning , and it was someone who had just moved from the other side of the country . And I'm at a concert playing and I look in the audience and that pastor , who had so much he could have been doing that night getting acclimated to a new city , his family , all this stuff I see him sitting on the third row and he is not only just him , but he's brought several people with him . They drove 40 minutes to come and just support , there's nothing in return . They're supporting me living out a dream at that time . Twenty-three years later , we're still doing life , we're still doing ministry together and we have gone on so many adventures that there's a seed that was planted on that night , that things that he has reaped without the goal of reaping those , and that to me , that's epic .

Rhett 34:03

Something extraordinary came out of an ordinary moment to where somebody truly wanted to come and add value by being there to support a dream that you have and , honestly , just probably experience the gift that God's given you and the team and what you're doing and how you're serving , more than likely with the hope that there would be a relational connection to do something together and to serve well and and to see how your gift might attach to that . But at the end of the day , that person took a step and realized , you know whether or not something ever does happen back in return on their end , I'm going to go support , I'm going to go love and we will encourage a firm and just be like dude . I'm going to go support , I'm going to go love , I'm going to encourage , affirm and just be like dude . This is great and without asking for anything in return , and if anything came out of that moment , it was a great connect to bless somebody . But it's amazing how that in return for you , created this affirmation and this love to go . Wow , that added value to me . I want to go add value to them and that partnership began to happen because it was a win-win for both . You maximize a very ordinary moment and it turned into something very extraordinary . I think about the moment . I would not be doing what I'm doing today as an executive , offsite executive pastor who gets to coach and consult a staff and a team and get to do that from Birmingham , alabama , for an incredible man of God . I call him a pastor of pastors , pastor Clay Ramirez in Twin Falls .

Rhett 35:28

There was a moment in 2018 . It was right before we were getting ready to plant the church , we were at Grow Conference I'm at Grant's Mill that's the you know the central location campus where they do broadcast from at Church of the Highlands and there's a guy from Twin Falls , idaho , over at the was it Greystone or Grandview campus . And you met him through an ordinary conversation and found out he was from Idaho . And you text me and said , hey , there's a guy from Idaho I think you ought to meet . I was like , okay , cool , I didn't know him . And here I am trying to connect with people and I was like you know what , I'd love to go meet him . So I missed a moment over here where I was at and I drove across town and , to be intentional , to meet this gentleman in very unassuming , but I tell you what he's turned out to be my second best friend in life and I would have never expected that from that one moment , but because I took the time to go over to meet , to greet and us connect . We sat on the front row , we worshiped .

Rhett 36:29

I didn't think anything of it , I just enjoyed the moment and I thought , well , if anything , it's just another person I'll get to know .

Rhett 36:34

I didn't have an agenda in my mindset other than just hey , I need to know more people . And what God birthed out of that was a relationship that over time some six years later now that's turned into . I mean , literally , I've never served a greater pastor who has a heart for people and who has learned to live in the moments and just be there , and I've never seen somebody do that as well as he does much like the other pastor that you were mentioning . He does that so well to where I'm like man . I'm learning so much and the church is growing and it's flourishing because of how well they just take care of people , love people in the moment and they're not rushing the moment . What I'm thinking about living in this moment is had I not taken the time to drive across town in an ordinary moment and just meet him and talk and then just kind of just be intentional of just hey , let's stay connected . The moment that I'm living in now would have never existed ever .

Rhett 37:28

And God took something very ordinary , two people Clay Ramirez , rhett Barden ordinary moment that has flourished into . You know , we'd call it producing fruit , if you will . Producing return , return on investment , not only relationally , but in ministry and what we're doing . And I just think , if I'm listening to our podcast and I'm thinking about where I'm at , wherever you are in life , don't rush the moment that is right in front of you , as miserable as it may seem , there is perspective to be seen and joy to be found even in the mundane , and to realize that what seems so ordinary I know we've talked about this before but what seems so ordinary , that's right in front of you . If you'll slow down enough , you'll begin to see the color in it and you'll begin to see the extraordinary , and God can turn that kind of stuff into so much beauty .

Justin 38:21

Yeah , what would it look like if we engaged every individual with the thought of establishing genuine relational connection and to listen to what's on their heart .

Rhett 38:33

Proverbs 11.25, . A generous person will prosper . Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed .

Justin 38:43

Thank you for listening to Armchair Authentic with Rhett and Justin . The artist in me is ready to create some content , and I know the same thing about Rhett . Email us at info at armchairauthenticcom . Send in your questions , maybe some situations that you're going through , and we want to help you work through it . So

Eighties Fade Out

Justin 39:04

until next episode , we leave you with an 80s fade-out . Fade-outs are so awesome because it's like the song never ended . We just keep talking . But yet it was like the podcast episode was still in its 30 to 40-minute range , or was it ?

Rhett 39:19

I don't know . Are you still listening to it ?

Justin 39:24

It's like Phil Collins or like . Mcdonald's in the 80s was just amazing . Your experience never ended . Michael Jackson , his songs were epic . He put those gloves on . He'd moonwalk endless .

Rhett 39:38

I wear my sunglasses at night . Stalker song , mr T . Pity the food , I pity the food , dallas .