Rhett: 0:00

Imagine a world where every conversation feels like a genuine connection with authentic people, a place where you truly feel like you belong and where everyone's got a seat at the table. Welcome to Armchair Authentic.

Justin: 0:18

Well, and actually sitting at the table with us today in the Armchair Authentic Studios, is one of my best friends, john Ross.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 0:25

Aldridge. Hey everybody, what's up, dude, Thanks for having me guys.

Justin: 0:28

Dude, it's great to have you. What's up? We've kind of dropped this guy's name several times through. Let me say episode 75 today, by the way. Congrats, you're on episode 75. Congrats to you guys. 75 episodes. Jesus, come on 75. Congrats to you guys. 75 episodes, come on, thank you.

Rhett: 0:48

Well, you've been probably wondering when are they going to get me on the show? And we've just been holding, not that I've been counting.

Justin: 0:54

We've just been holding out. We wanted to save you for something really, really special, John Ross.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 0:58

Oh yeah, okay Nice, so special We've laid out the red carpet for you here in moody alabama. Welcome, welcome to the casa man. I feel like I got the best seat at the table.

Rhett: 1:09

Yeah, okay so we had a little text thread going on before, uh, I think yesterday, just kind of talking about where we're going to go out to eat afterwards, and we threw out milo's and you're like, nope, I'm too good for that. Yeah, tell us about that. I just don't like my. For those who aren't at birmingham, it's a. It's a, it's a staple.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:23

It is, it's a staple so I I would like to go on the on the podcast record of stating that I did not say I was too good for milo's no, you did not but that's how I took it, that's how you made me.

Rhett: 1:33

That was our interpretation. You made it very clear. It's anything but milo's.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:38

I I love milo's yeah, okay, and, and would probably eat two of those milo's burgers and then feel like I also needed some chicken fingers with all the different sauces, oh yeah.

Rhett: 1:49

Yeah, for sure.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:50

Except that somewhere in there I'm trying to eat healthy because I keep gaining weight instead of losing weight. How old are you now? 43.

Rhett: 1:56

Oh, welcome to the club, baby. So couldn't we just solve that with just?

Justin: 2:01

eat less and we still go to Milo's. You use that fruit of the spirit called self-control.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 2:06

One would think, but I've seen no evidence of that thus far.

Justin: 2:10

You're like you to.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 2:11

Milo's is like me, with a bag of M&M's?

Justin: 2:14

Yeah, it doesn't get put up unless it's been emptied, that's how M&M's the share bag is so that you get to enjoy more M&M'sms I share it with all kinds of my, my inner self, my outer self. I share it for sure yeah, that's it.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 2:30

So I was hoping no milos, that we could go.

Rhett: 2:32

But he runs like five miles a day to wear off those m&ms, so I know you're a runner. How's that going? Uh, did I just throw you on the spot?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 2:42

so yeah, uh. So last year, yeah I, I think I ran the most that I've ever ran in a single year okay it was uh, I think it was a little over 450 miles for the year yeah and um, and then this year, when I kicked into it and started running again, uh, my knees were hurting and so 43 yeah 43.

Justin: 3:06

It's a real thing, bro.

Rhett: 3:07

He's in his 40s like yes I know like welcome to the club.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 3:11

I love it I jumped back up and and I went out and I did a four mile run and then it was like, okay, hey, this is, this may be a little bit too much. And so I was like I'm gonna pare it. And so I was I was sticking with three miles. And then the past two weeks I have not like there was one week, can't remember what was going on, but I didn't I only got to run once, and then last week I didn't get to run at all. So this week I was like, instead of killing my knees, I went and walked three miles, yesterday, two and a half today. I'm going to run a mile when I get home.

Justin: 3:42

Yeah, yeah, well, john Ross is, he's the guy who got me running Really. I had never made like running distance like a thing for me.

Rhett: 3:51

Yeah.

Justin: 3:51

We've played soccer, we've done sports, so running has always been a part of it. But man, john Ross, you probably I don't know 2017, 2018. Yeah, somewhere in there you had been running and I finally decided that, man, maybe I could run one or two miles. And I built up and it was probably this time where we ended up deciding you said let me take you on a four mile run. And we went and did that, and that I mean the thought of running four miles. Just I could never comprehend that. And we started running and the first hill you took us up in Homewood Alabama.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 4:32

Uh-huh On the Mountain Brook, Mountain Brook loop thing yeah.

Justin: 4:34

Yeah, you took us up this hill and I was so winded I was praying for a red light so we couldn't cross it. But I remember I got about two and a half miles in and I was like J Ray, we got to walk. Man, like this is I can't do it. And so to think about how far it's come since then, you are the guy who got me doing that, so John Ross might not be running as much now, but you were the one who set that deal with me and you've gone on to run marathons. You've done this stuff Halfs, half.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 5:05

I was told that at six, three and 250 pounds that I didn't need to run marathons because I I would not have knees afterwards.

Justin: 5:09

Okay, that's good to know. Yeah, I've, I've, I've just run, I've run one half marathon and I decided after that. I don't know if that's my thing, but I enjoy a good 10 K.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 5:18

I've. So I've had three, maybe four half marathons and then I'll you know. Also, in that I discovered I don't like races. So the last half marathon we did I was like I'm not, I'm not doing another one. It was in Washington DC and it was a towpath next to the Potomac and I hated like from the moment I started it. It was, I mean, pea gravel for 13.2.

Justin: 5:47

So you didn't like the race with others? Is that what it was?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 5:51

I don't, I don't like the competitive thing. I'm not like a competitive person.

Justin: 5:55

You're, you're, you're what Simon Sinek would call you're in the infinite race.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 5:59

You're not racing against society.

Justin: 6:01

You're racing against yourself.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 6:03

So I just I don't like, I don't like, I just I don't like, I don't like, I don't like the right, the entire environment and everything, because you can't start when you want to start. Uh, I want to, I want to get up and I want to go through my routine and I want to go. The last half marathon we did it was, uh, I mean, we, we were starting at 10 am and it was 45 degrees in DC and uh, it, yeah, it was, it was rough and so, just just kind of halfway through it, when I almost fell into the, into the river, Are you serious?

Justin: 6:36

Did you almost? Are you serious? Same one, george?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 6:40

Oh my gosh, there there was a the. The tow path is only four feet wide. Okay, there's a hundred runners and they couldn't close it cause it's a public pathway, so there's cyclists out. Oh my.

Rhett: 6:52

God.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 6:53

And at the five mile mark half of the towpath had eroded away and you have to run around it and and so. I came, came real close to to sliding in at one point and I was like you know what I just I don't even enjoy this.

Rhett: 7:08

Yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 7:09

I'd rather be running by myself listening to music, running through my city, huntsville, alabama. Yeah.

Justin: 7:16

Shout out to.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 7:16

Huntsville.

Rhett: 7:17

Well, I know we kind of jumped into some combo, which I love, but let's give some people some context. To who I call Jay Ray John Ross Aldridge. Did I pronounce that right? Aldridge or Aldridge, Aldridge, Aldridge.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 7:28

Very, very Southern Aldridge, you got it.

Rhett: 7:31

John Ross Aldridge. Yeah, it's so. It really is good to have you in my home here at the studio, and I can't wait for the conversations. I'm always. I get my heart rate up there, but my knee thing kicked in around the same time. We're going to change subjects, yeah, yeah, but I'll sit back and just enjoy listening to it.

Justin: 7:46

Let me just dial in.

Rhett: 7:54

I got some emails I can send, but can we take it back to how in the world like you're a phenomenal person. I mean phenomenal person Very grateful.

Rhett: 8:04

He's very humble. He's very humble, but no, no, no, I mean this. I'm just giving some context because we have listeners all across the country who are like who is this John Ross dude? And like how does he exist in your story? Those kind of things People trying to. You know, and so I know Justin and you have a deeper relationship through your time that you guys have had together at Church of the Highlands.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 8:25

One would say I'm his best friend. Yeah, one would say yes.

Rhett: 8:29

So we have another best friend in the house and that's Justin and John Ross, and so I've kind of been like the odd man out. There's been seasons where I've gotten to spend more time with you and seasons where not it's not on purpose, it's just within. You know, seasons of life that I've been in, even though we were part of the same organization for a few years. But I was sitting there thinking back listening to her, and not thinking back listening. I'm sitting here thinking through.

Rhett: 8:55

When I first met you and I think it was at grants mill, birmingham, alabama church of the highlands hearing what I thought was the edge from you two playing these phenomenal guitar licks. And honestly, like I not, you're not just a phenomenal musician, you are a great person. But the anointing of God that's on your life when you get behind a guitar and you begin to play um, how the presence of God just shows up, it's amazing and it's it's incredible. And so I don't know if I've ever told you that before, but'm I'm trying to build your head up and you know, as big as I can right now to like just build the pride that you're already dealing with. But all that to say, this guy can play the guitar. Um, you've done some amazing things musically across your career and so it's really cool.

Rhett: 9:40

We can talk about all of that. But I just want to give people context. That's good. We're talking to a phenomenal dude for sure, yeah, plays a pivotal role in our lives but also just a phenomenal musician who loves Jesus, and I'm just looking forward to seeing how, musically, we can even maybe take some of this conversation about how maybe you got into guitar, what that was like and some different things, because I know there's people that do know you who are listening and going man, I want to hear some behind the scenes stories of John Ross. So, anyway, great, but yeah, so how did you guys meet, like, and then I can talk about what we go in any direction.

Justin: 10:11

Yeah, I'll start it. And then you jumped in J Ray, but um it was, it would have been October of oh four.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 10:18

October of 04, yeah.

Justin: 10:19

Yeah, october of 04, I had gotten a call. I would believe we've referenced this in an earlier podcast. Maybe.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 10:27

I think I've heard you talk about it, yeah maybe on the episodes or in real life. No, no. On one of the episodes I heard you say something about it.

Justin: 10:35

So in October of 04, I've been at a place called Church of the Highlands. I have a listener, by the way. I'm so thankful for that.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 10:42

Yeah, you've listened to that More often than not part of my Monday morning routine.

Justin: 10:46

Just thank you guys for actually having me.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 10:48

I didn't say that earlier. I was making a joke and I'll continue in a second.

Justin: 10:52

But it really is what this podcast is about. We have been saying it and even more directly, this is a table that you are sitting with us now, but this is this has been about friendship. This podcast has, and how people can that are lacking this in their life can understand like you can have real conversations and real connections and real friendships. And so by you saying you listen to it, to us that's amazing because we've got our friends who listen to this and they get to come be a part of it. We just kind of steward the equipment and have the microphones and have people on. So for us to have you today, it's not even the guest mindset, it's just a friend at the table he is hanging out. It's John Ross Aldridge, and so I met J Ray October of 2004.

Justin: 11:44

As I said a while ago, I've been a part of a church called Church of the Highlands and we started in February of 2001. And it was crazy growth that happened at this church, still there to this day. And in October of 04, we needed a way to create space because the auditorium it said about 1,000. We were having three services. It was so packed out.

Rhett: 12:08

Was this the high school? This was the high school the Mountain Brook High.

Justin: 12:10

School. Okay, we needed another place and we really weren't announcing it like launching a campus. That really was never in our plans, other than our main college towns. Yep, the goal was we would build a building, but until then we had some of our leaders maybe small group leaders don't really have a Sunday function, but they still want to come to church. We had an office complex set a few hundred, and that's where obviously the staff would office out of. We'd have midweek things going on.

Justin: 12:41

So we decided to see, would people watch Pastor Chris at that time? Pastor Chris on a screen. And so Lane Schrands race car driver we've talked to his agent at one time before on a previous episode, but Lane wanted to start really the idea would people watch the speaker on a screen? I got a call from him around September of 04, laid out the plan. If I would come lead worship for it and I'm like, yeah, I'm all about that, that would be great. It was just going to be a place where people, some of our leaders would have a place to come and go to church.

Rhett: 13:17

It was more of an overflow for the leadership of the church at that point. All the way. To make space for the people who were coming on Sunday and, of course, as a worship leader.

Justin: 13:25

my question was great do I need to build a team for this? He said not right now. We'll actually have people ready for you on day one. Just show up and you'll run through a rehearsal with them. So October of 04, I come in the room and that's where I meet John Ross, and from that point you know he was the electric guitarist, obviously.

Justin: 13:47

And from that point there's so many depths we could take this in, but that's when we had our first connection and I don't want to embarrass him, but he was playing his Paul Reed Smith.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 13:56

I was playing a CE-24 bolt-on full mahogany body, paul Reed Smith and I shouldn't say embarrassed.

Justin: 14:04

That's the wrong thing, because if someone has that, that's actually a really good guitar. I'm not here to make fun of that guitar. I just know John Ross who I'm talking to, so let me correct that statement.

Rhett: 14:16

So bring that into layman's terms.

Justin: 14:17

He was playing his Paul Reed Smith, which is a fine, fine instrument.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 14:21

And I had the opportunity of shaking Paul Reed Smith, which is a fine, fine instrument and having I had the opportunity of shaking Paul Reed Smith's hand and meeting him at one point in time, they build phenomenal guitars. They are not my favorite guitars, yes.

Justin: 14:33

Yeah, and I think I projected the embarrassment because me and J-Ray have had so many combos. I shouldn't have even downed a brand because it was still. We're still talking a lot of money, oh yeah.

Rhett: 14:45

I love. But you just know the guitar that he loves and you know he loves and what he was really wanting. So that's where you met him first. It was at church of the Highlands.

Justin: 14:53

Now are you from Birmingham originally.

Rhett: 14:55

No, I'm from Winfield, alabama, winfield, yeah, where would that be in context to Birmingham North, south, east, west it?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 15:02

is northwest, okay, mostly more west than north. So if you drive from Birmingham, alabama to Memphis, tennessee, you go next to Winfield, alabama. Now.

Rhett: 15:14

Well, how the heck did you end up at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, like what the heck I mean? No, no seriously. How did you end up at that moment so?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 15:25

a friend of mine had moved. I was at University of North Alabama getting a music degree.

Rhett: 15:30

Okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 15:31

And my major collapsed. My two teachers one of them had a Rascal Flatts single and one of them had a Kenny Chesney single drop the same week, okay, and so those guys went from being fledgling songwriters and one of them had a Kenny Chesney single drop the same week. And so those guys went from being fledgling songwriters and teaching studio classes at the University of North Alabama which was a great program to being multimillionaires and never having to think about stuff again because they're publishing contracts, yeah. And so major collapsed, didn't have any like all my classes kind of fell apart, wow, and I moved back home for a semester getting ready to move to Nashville to starve to death like all guitar players do.

Rhett: 16:08

And uh, if they, you know, if they do that and I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't starve to death. I just you wouldn't starve to death, bro.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 16:17

I would have had a job. Yeah, yeah.

Rhett: 16:18

That's what you're saying. You're being very modest.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 16:21

It would have you know. So we uh. So I, I'm back home for a semester with my, my, my parents and a very, very close friend of mine, Curry Vickery, had just moved and to Birmingham to finish school and had gotten a job. Actually, he had just finished school and moved to Birmingham for a job. Okay, and he, uh, he had a. We had a mutual friend that was at Highlands and he invited me to come Easter Sunday of 2004. Okay, and so I hopped in the car and came to a youth service. There was like 50 kids in a room and I stood in the back of the room and said I think I'm going to move to Birmingham instead of going to Nashville. So cool. And it took that entire summer to save money, get a plan together, figure everything out, and then I moved, I guess at the beginning of September. Okay, and the Sunday before the first Sunday in October, so the last Sunday in September, I came in and auditioned for the worship team for that youth group, for switch it's called switch at that time.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 17:24

And the worship leader that was leading worship. I went up and I played three songs I'd never heard before had you know chord charts and I was like, okay, well, that was really bad. And and he, he walked over and I was like, well, what, what'd you think? Cause it was during their soundcheck. And he goes. Man, I think it's great you can come back next week.

Justin: 17:43

I was like, oh great, okay, man, this was huge for me.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 17:46

I wanted to come be a part of this church and I'm like, man, this is great, Okay, well, I'm going to take my stuff off the stage. And he goes, why? And I was like, well, you guys have a with us, You're playing. And I had to play that night. And then that like two days later, I think on a Tuesday, he called me and was like hey, we've got this thing going. We're trying to put together a band for it.

Rhett: 18:15

Yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 18:15

Can you come here this Sunday morning and come be a part of this? And so I walk in and Bradshaw walks in.

Justin: 18:20

Yeah, and your buddy you referenced a while ago, curry, he was there. He was the bass player. He's an incredible bass player, yeah he's still playing bass.

Rhett: 18:27

I think so. I have not. I have not talked to him.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 18:30

Okay, uh, we we text a few months ago, but yeah, the worship leader.

Justin: 18:36

Who was that?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 18:37

uh, his name was daniel bastia.

Justin: 18:39

Okay, yeah, yeah that's what I thought it was. I couldn't remember if it would have been John who we've referenced before John Larson or if it was Daniel, basta no, so it was Dan.

Rhett: 18:47

I didn't realize he was there that early. I didn't remember 2004.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 18:50

So he had been there before.

Rhett: 18:51

Okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 18:52

And then I think he had left for six months and then came back. There was, his family experienced a house fire in Chicago and so he went. He went home and kind of helped with his parents and everything, and then came back to Highlands and I think I played. So that was 2004. So I started playing with Daniel in 2004 and played until after my second son was born, which was 2012. So whatever, 12 minus four is eight, pretty funny.

Rhett: 19:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Justin: 19:25

He's on the spot.

Rhett: 19:26

Yeah, I don't want to forget this because we mentioned Daniel and I don't. I don't know where this conversation will go, but I know you did a lot of stuff with Daniel. If you don't know who he is, google the name Daniel Basta. One of his claim to fangs is the song what's the name of the song?

Justin: 19:43

one of his claim to fangs is the song what's the name of the song? Like a lion, like a lion, but right, but people will know it as god's not dead.

Rhett: 19:47

God's not dead I think the news boys redid it or something right, and um, if you want to know why you listen to that song and why it even that stands out, it's because of the hook of the guitar line that is so prevalent. And if you want to know who wrote that guitar lick, it's the guy that's on the podcast right now I don't know, I can't even do it.

Justin: 20:05

It's like jam sessions.

Rhett: 20:06

Yeah, it is yeah, that was that, was it? So how many royalties did you get off that guitar lick?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 20:12

that was. You know, look, everything was so chaotic during that moment. At at this point I look back and I go. You know that was probably daniel that wrote that. Oh, you think, dan think.

Justin: 20:22

Daniel, oh, come on, he's probably looking at you mouthing some noises.

Rhett: 20:27

You're being very modest, you know something like this Daniel, he was, and still is Don't get me wrong, daniel's incredible, but he played your part in that song.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 20:36

He has written songs that ended up on Jesus Culture Records. And even recently, uh, he's, uh, he co-wrote a song with Brooke Lidgertwood that we've been doing at the church. That's phenomenal, and uh, so he, he, he went on to do a whole bunch of stuff. I played with him during those seasons and then at one point in time, you know, you, you, I had, we, my wife, you know, got married, and then my wife and I we had our son Everett, and then we had our son Lennon, because I'm a big Beatles fan.

Justin: 21:03

Love it.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 21:06

And it was like, man, I just can't, I can't keep doing that and trying to teach guitar lessons and not having a real job. It was just too much.

Rhett: 21:16

Well, can we press into that, or do you have a different direction?

Justin: 21:19

Get ready to press into it. All I was going to say is we had Ryan Jennings recently on the episode, a couple of them ago, and we talked about the band that we had. So just to try to have this you know this was at seven degrees from Kevin Bacon what?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 21:35

is that game, you know?

Justin: 21:37

just how we, how we have these. We tend to have relational connections through our our journey. There was an event that we played one time out in Winfield.

Rhett: 21:48

Were you there? I was not, oh, okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 21:51

But it was, it was the church right, it was my what is my home church, pastor Harry Saylor, faith Fellowship, which is Jeremy Saylor you know the son Jeremy Saylor who's now?

Justin: 22:01

at Christian Life Church in.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 22:02

Birmingham.

Justin: 22:03

Pastor here, yeah, you know the the son, jeremy saylor, who's now at christian life church in birmingham. Here, yeah, noah ray, who's one of the executive pastors, who's scott ray's son, which was our youth pastor.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 22:10

Who did my premarital, who did your premarital?

Justin: 22:12

counseling yeah yeah I was in the middle of being licensed as a pastor and back then I had to have my license so I couldn't do your wedding. I kept asking, like Mr Bob. I was like, hey, is that life that's seen, come through? He's like not yet.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 22:33

I said John Rawls, I'm sorry man, that's okay After all these years I can definitively say I forgive you. He still had me come pray over their communion. You did.

Justin: 22:37

Absolutely.

Rhett: 22:38

And I was honored.

Justin: 22:39

Yeah, but we went and did. You and I, Ryan and Billy Jack went and did a concert in Winfield one time, I remember, okay, and we rented equipment.

Justin: 22:49

We got there, the youth room was amazing and we thought this is going to be an amazing night and the youth pastor, jeremy Saylor at that time, introduced us. We went into a whole concert vibe and I remember you had like a hundred and something kids standing at the front and the moment we started the music, everybody made their way to the back and started playing like ping pong and pool and sitting at tables and I thought this is going to be a different kind of concert. You had like 10 people who were listening and it was just background music.

Justin: 23:21

Yeah yeah, but when me and you met and we were able to lock that in that that was a connection we didn't realize we had. Matter of fact, I think Curry would have been there that night. Yeah, curry was there that night and he was one of the guys listening because I still can remember his face when I met him.

Rhett: 23:36

Like where did I meet you before?

Justin: 23:38

Wow, and so anyway.

Rhett: 23:39

So are you telling me Curry got all his inspiration to play bass from watching me play bass in the band? Yes, that was it, because Rhett was like Sting.

Justin: 23:46

Like Sting, rhett was the bass player who could sing and still play bass and do his thing, so I still think you need to get back to that some Rhett. By the way, I appreciate that. Probably not going to happen, but yeah so now back to what we were saying. That takes us to John Ross, now heavily involved still is to this day with Church of the Highlands worship director. But let's take it back a little bit more.

Rhett: 24:08

Yeah, I'm really curious. Some people were thinking about the Daniel Basta thing and you know you said a lot. You made a credible decision to be with family and to take care of that, you know, rather than probably go on the road and live the rock star dream that you've probably had all your life. I don't want to assume, but you're a musician, I'm a musician, and when an opportunity like that presents itself, you're thinking, huh, that's gotta be. I don't know, Maybe that wasn't difficult for you, but can you talk me through that process, cause I think you made a great decision Not that it wouldn't have been a great decision going that way, but like what was your thought process to that that whole like idea of going hey, man, I'm a family man now I got two kids, I got a wife, you know, and here's this opportunity now.

Justin: 24:48

Four kids, oh my god, four kids, yeah, four kids at that time, two kids, wow.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 24:53

Okay, let's go so okay, the the benefit of being 43 now and getting to look back.

Rhett: 25:02

Yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 25:10

I can definitively say that I probably went through a very, very deep depression after stepping out of that. That. I did not know I was going through.

Rhett: 25:16

Okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 25:17

So when I quit playing with Daniel and I didn't realize how, being tied to Dan, uh, all of the opportunities I was getting was I had tons of opportunities to play with other worship leaders and to go around and had recorded for different people and was doing I was doing it for a little kid from Winfield, alabama, who woke up at 15 and was like man, I think I'm going to be a musician and you know I was. I was doing it as as close as you can get without it becoming the thing that you end up doing Right and I I. It just wasn't the right season. I'll say that I never fit in those environments. We can talk about that later. Um well, I would be in green rooms and stuff and kind of felt like I was an odd man out, always felt like I was an odd man out.

Rhett: 26:02

Dive in it. Why, why? Would you feel that way, be honest, armchair authentic, let's go.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 26:06

So it wasn't until I got to Huntsville that I realized why. Okay, so I'd lived in Birmingham for a long time.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 26:11

I'd been around a whole bunch of musicians Got to Huntsville and started hanging out with a bunch of musicians, but their their side gig. For, for musicians in Birmingham, their side gig was whatever it took in order to do more music. More often than not, I was working at a music store or it was, you know, washing cars or whatever it was. It was just something to support music. The musicians that I'm around in Huntsville they're electrical and environmental engineers and and structural engineers and they're, they're, they're, they're all giant nerds. And when I got to Huntsville I'll walk in and I was like, oh, I'm one of you. That's why I never fit in.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 26:53

when I was in the green room with all of those people, because they're all cool, musician, creative people, they're all fours on the Enneagram or whatever, like you know that's that and I'm not, I'm an eight and I'm you know. So I'm not like Uber creative and all that it's. So I got around all these engineers and I'm like, oh, y'all, y'all love Lord of the Rings. This is great. We can, we can talk about Lord of the Rings and get along and we can talk about the operational history of the.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 27:22

F-22, the F-22 Raptor and the competition between the F-22 and the F-23, between Lockheed and Boeing. Oh, that's cool. I'm just a nerd, a giant nerd into aviation and all this different stuff, so I never felt like I fit in. But there was this season that was wholly there was a holy discontent. You know that. That that book registered greatly with me, um and whatever, with whatever, wherever all that went with all of that, but uh.

Rhett: 27:55

I don't know, I don't know what that means, I don't either.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 27:57

But yeah, there was a it was, there was, there was a pastor, there was a whole bunch of stuff that came with that.

Justin: 28:02

Bill Hybels had his past Still a great book.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 28:07

Great book.

Justin: 28:08

That book really registered with me.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 28:09

There was a holy discontent play with Daniel Loved. Daniel Loved his brother, his brother Josiah was in it and the rest of the band. I mean, they were like a family. But I was experiencing a holy discontent and was frustrated about a whole lot of stuff that was going on. And there was a moment that I sat down with a group of people and everybody was having conversations about different stuff and I ended up having a feeling that I needed to walk towards where I was experiencing life and growth and withiel with, with playing and during that season for me yeah not for any of them yeah

Jon Ross Aldridge: 28:47

and it wasn't, it wasn't daniel's fault or, you know, john martin, you know the different guys that were involved in that. Um, it wasn't them, it was me. I was not experiencing growth there, but I was experiencing growth at, you know, with church, highlands, and really you know, with church and highlands, and really you know, honestly, with Bradshaw being super pastoral and very plugged in with me, I kept growing there and I was like I'm just going to take a step towards growth, so I'm going to actively choose growth, and then for three years I didn't listen to music.

Rhett: 29:19

Wow, cause that's, that would have been this season. You felt like now looking back hindsight, with a depression season. Yeah, you literally did not listen to any music.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 29:30

No, I listened to a lot of NPR.

Rhett: 29:32

Hey, friends, just want to take a moment and say, if you are enjoying today's conversation, could you do us a huge favor. Would you take a moment and copy the link from your favorite podcast platform and share it with a friend? Email it to a friend. How about airdropping it over to your buddy or your sister right now? Man, that would mean so much to us. Thank you, All right guys.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 29:52

Back to the conversation, political commentary and different stuff. You're talking in one of y'all's last episodes about shows that you watch over and over again. My favorite television show is the West wing. I'm in season seven for like the 15th time, there you go.

Justin: 30:10

We need to try that, by the way. Yeah, it's never seen, and you've told me that before.

Rhett: 30:14

Where would you stream that? Where's that stream? It's, it's. It's okay, I can look it up later, no worries.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 30:20

Yeah, you have to get to it through another. You have to. You have to have a max subscription. Okay, gotcha, so you can't just get a max subscription, you have to go through prime.

Justin: 30:31

I was so mad, but it's great.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 30:33

It's so much better than white collar.

Justin: 30:37

And so don't you dare.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 30:42

No full disclosure. My wife won't let me watch white collar.

Rhett: 30:45

Okay.

Justin: 30:46

She won't no no, cause, kelly Kapowski is in it. Oh really, yeah, but why the oh?

Rhett: 30:54

it's Kelly. Did you have a crush?

Justin: 30:55

Have, oh, okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 31:00

Well, that makes sense I mean that gets it.

Rhett: 31:03

Don't even think about that. No.

Justin: 31:06

TV. They have the most beautiful man Totally Just kidding.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 31:09

Yeah, I watched it. It's a fantastic show.

Justin: 31:11

I was just kidding Peter Burke and they had the greatest marriage for a show. I'm like, come on y'all.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 31:22

Wow so how did you come out of that man? What was the? You know, you know it. Just, it was just a season of just hey, I'm kind of in this and I didn't realize that that was the reason why I wasn't listening to music. Yeah, and I didn't realize that that's why, and we would, we would work on stuff at the church, we would, you know, we'd, we did a couple of recording projects and I would roll back and suddenly, you know, I the, the guy that was kind of producing it, luke Vogel, when, when it was Luke doing that, and he would be like man, I'm really like there's this shout out to Luke, phenomenal.

Justin: 31:53

Love you, bro yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 31:55

And Luke would be like, hey, I'm really wanting us to, like I had always been a death cab for cutie fan and he's like I really want to dive into some of the guitar tones from plans. You know one of their records and I was. I'd be like, okay, great, so for three weeks straight I would listen to nothing but plans and then the moment I got done recording I would turn all of it off and go back to yeah, you know political commentary and yeah uh, coming out of it it was.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 32:23

it was just a slow step off of realizing that I was just not super happy about where I was and a lot of it was just rebid.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 32:31

I mean, I'd been a musician, for you know, for a musician I'm doing air quotes whatever it was so poor and just getting my family in a place that we were financially stable was a giant step of being like oh, okay, we're, we're starting to get a little bit better. Okay, we, you know we were able to work out buying a house and I've got a full-time job now and you know, honestly, thanks to to uh, to bradshaw even for that, for standing over me for years and years and coaching me and guiding me ended up on staff at Highlands and uh, just one little step after another and kind of started climbing out of it. Uh, it was not a very I. I've since experienced a much heavier depression season, uh, which is what I would call the entirety of 2023. But outside of that, it wasn't like a heavy, debilitating thing.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 33:32

It was just there were things that I just couldn't handle, so it was a whole thing. But yeah, walking away from it, there was a conscious decision I'm going to step towards life.

Rhett: 33:38

Yeah. But also there was this grieving season of man. I was almost how old were you in that season 35, 6. Where were we? Where were we in this uh? If you remember, it's okay if you don't uh lennon was born in 2014 okay.

Rhett: 33:57

So I would have been 32, okay, wow yeah, well that you know one of the things to our first of all honored, that you would get that vulnerable and authentic on a podcast called armchair. Authentic means a lot because you know, back when you were referencing this idea of you didn't know why you didn't fit in and you're like, oh, I'm a big nerd, I'm not that cool.

Justin: 34:16

Whatever I would, I would beg to differ on the other end of saying, well, bro, like I don't know how you couldn't be any cooler, Right, Because when I showed up I was like it's funny how you look at yourself.

Rhett: 34:30

You know it's. It's amazing, the internal dialogue that that happens in very. You know, it doesn't matter who you are, but I mean, here you are on a platform leading for thousands and writing what I would consider very creative lines and very creative elements for somebody that I think is uber creative, but yet you're feeling the internal dialogue of I'm not that cool, I'm not that creative. It may seem that I am, but I'm really more like this. You know, and I appreciate that kind of honesty, because we've got people listening who are in roles between business leaders, entrepreneurs, single moms, single dads, you know, processing this same type of thing, and so I think it's very life-giving to go on that route, and I would. I think I know the answer to this question, but when you were going through those seasons of you mentioned depression, I can only imagine how vital it was for you and life-giving it was to have a friend like Justin in your life. Oh, yeah, yeah, I mean, how pivotal was that for you? It has been.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 35:24

Oh, so I mean cause you know, Bradshaw is a person that and it's so weird just calling you Bradshaw, I swear I even when I'm talking to you.

Justin: 35:31

I'm like Justin Bradshaw.

Rhett: 35:32

Well, when you say Bradshaw.

Justin: 35:32

I think it's interesting you use full names usually. It's interesting. I was going to say that because some of you were like who this Bradshaw guy?

Rhett: 35:39

We never use our last names on this thing.

Justin: 35:40

So this is Justin Bradshaw. Yeah, Highlands is usually just Bradshaw.

Rhett: 35:45

Yeah, how pivotal was that relationship walking through these seasons.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 35:49

Did I give away your last name for?

Rhett: 35:50

the first time.

Justin: 35:51

No, it's been posted many times.

Rhett: 35:54

Did I reveal your son's name?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 35:56

I'm so sorry I took your glasses off.

Justin: 36:00

Episode 75, our street's over. Dang it, they don it the last one. No, they've known.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 36:05

Okay. So, yeah, it was, you know, just because I could always go to him and you know, we would end up on the phone for an hour or two hours or just go sit and talk and he'd be like, hey, how you doing, you know? Oh man, I'm great, you know, and I would always say that and then like, slowly, oh man, I'm really frustrated about this and I'm having a hard time with this. And then this happened and man, I'm mad about this, and and he would just walk me through all of it and so really helped me stay grounded and not go off the rails and do something stupid Like that.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 36:41

That relation, that relationship kept me tethered to having purpose, because at the same time that I was starting to look into so that was 2014 that I was kind of stepping away from that from 20, from 2008,. From 2008 to 2014, bradshaw had been investing in me and pulling leadership out of me that had me running sections of our development process at the church and actually investing in other musicians and and all of that and and so had I not had all of that, there probably would have been a man. I'm I'm frustrated and I almost had my dream and I didn't get there, and I think I'm just going to take a break from all of it.

Justin: 37:27

Yeah, john Ross was probably one of the first at the table and I've used his story so many times. If I ever go speak in an event or like a round table or training, I'll tell a story of how the what's now a process that seems so fully thought out it really wasn't in those days. But John Ross was such a pivotal role with that because he was a great musician. People looked up to him because I mean, you're great at your craft and that does draw other musicians to you. But I can remember knowing that he's got all this information and because he's been given more of this role of leadership or or at least we might not have. He might not have seen it as leadership then, but it was a role where he was coaching these musicians.

Justin: 38:14

Now he had knowledge I didn't have, so I was. I'll tell the story of how I had him and it had built up to like four or five other guys. How can I get that knowledge from what they have so we can help people progress along their development and get to where their original goal to get on a stage is. And he was the first person I went to and said hey, can you meet tonight for our leadership meeting?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 38:40

That I thought had been going on for months and I was finally getting invited to and literally, that's the first time I ever said it.

Justin: 38:47

I made it up in the moment because I needed a way to like, get this intel from them so that I'm doing my job the best that I can and be a good steward. And he said leadership meeting. I said yeah, it happens every month and everything I'm saying I'm literally making up. And at that time it was a process called infuse. Now at Highlands it's called development. But I told John Ross, I said yeah, it's our infuse leadership meeting. And he said, yeah, yeah, so just where you give all the info about how everybody's doing. He said, yeah, yeah, I'll be there. Well, yeah, we meet at Starbucks. And he said, yes, the other guys said, yes, yeah, we met at Starbucks on that night and I had a list of every musician's name who's a part of this process and I just put it down. I said, hey, let's start giving feedback on how these guys are doing.

Justin: 39:33

And I remember leaning back at a Starbucks and in our city, a place called Cahaba Heights, and I leaned back and watched them and John Ross and these guys began to just go through the list of people who they were personally coaching and working with and they had the next steps planned out and I thought to myself, wow, this is working, and so that's just that little.

Justin: 39:57

We didn't know what we didn't know then, but it was like giving who really is an amazing leader now, someone who might not have seen their self in a leadership capacity, but you're seeing it unfold and those were fun days that we get to look at. But what I have to say because that's really nice and it is cool that we have that story together what's really happened from that 2004 to, I would say, around 2020, 21 more than ever, we really began to shift. I would say our friendship began to deepen because it would have I think John Ross for a while would have kind of put us in that mentor type role. But what's happened is We've really, in my opinion, and I think you would say the same we've leveled that out where true friendship began to blossom.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 40:51

Yeah.

Justin: 40:52

And we've become like best friends now, and so hence you know.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 40:56

One would say your best friend, one would say my best friend. Yeah, just like one would say Claire Miros, we can have multiple best friends.

Rhett: 41:03

Yeah, no, I'm kidding.

Justin: 41:14

And that's been so, so special to me because you got to have people in your life that you can get open with. And my story looking back, I never came from a lot of vulnerability. As I've said before, I had to kind of know everything or I felt like I had to be the guy who had the answers, and so with that vulnerability didn't come easy, and though that really got revealed in me in 2007 to really become more vulnerable, it's like a slow process where you begin to get more open and more open.

Justin: 41:42

And, rhett, we've talked about how it even took us as best friends. It took us a long time where me and you would just get so open with each other. Yeah, and what's been beautiful is when god gives you more people like that, and I don't think that you get a lot of them yeah and maybe you shouldn't get a lot of them where you talk the levels to what you say.

Justin: 42:02

But what I've been grateful of john ross is you've become one of those guys that I can say anything to, and it's a safe space.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 42:10

Yeah.

Justin: 42:10

And so I'm very grateful for how, the origin stories and the development. But, man, rhett, I know you know this too, but John Ross is a phenomenal leader. He's a great, he's a phenomenal musician, but that's not his identity. He is so good with people, he presences people so well, he doesn't rush through it, he tries to give the time to understand them and he's a great coach, and so I'm just grateful.

Justin: 42:39

Even when we talked about running, like he may have been leaning on me for some other areas, but he was a mentor to me when it came to run, like, hey, how do I even get this? What should I be looking at? You got to be consistent, you got to do this, and so I'm just so grateful for all these areas of our life that we actually have the friend at the table with us and I'm talking legitimate, legitimate level of intimate friendship of these guys sitting at the table right now that I can look at both of y'all and it's like man, these are, these are some of my lifers right now. It's been 21 years that we've invested in this relationship.

Rhett: 43:14

I think that's that's important for people to understand who are longing for that type of friendship, to where they can be open and authentic and and go through some hard times and rejoice in the good times. 21 years, it's not like this thing just started overnight. It was literally hello, let's play guitar next thing you know. And but kudos man to, to both of you for just being willing to pour into each other and and uh, yeah, it's cool and I think it just goes along with the theme of the relationships and how important relationships are, because we do hear the tagline a lot yeah, life change happens in the context of life relationships.

Rhett: 43:49

Small groups right, you know commercial announcer voice, but we hear that a lot but the reality, but the reality is, though.

Rhett: 43:56

It's so true, though, because that's why I asked you, like I know the answer to this, but I want people to hear, like, if you're walking through some seasons, it's okay to not be okay, Right, it's just not okay to stay that way. But in order for us to walk through those seasons, we need relationships. We need that depth of people who can just sit there and listen and not really try to fix you and just be a part of just the what you're going through. Hey guys, red here, just want to take a moment and say thank you to every single one of you who have taken the time to follow us on social media. Now, if today is your first time to join us for an episode, man, we want to say welcome, friends, it's so good to have you with us. Could you take a moment? Look us up on Instagram or Facebook? You can find us there at Armchair Authentic, or you can go on over to X. Find us there as well at Armchair Auth Pod. That's Armchair Auth A-t-h-p-o-d.

Justin: 44:50

All right, now back to the conversation yeah, and it's okay to actually recognize there's different layers and different levels in some relationships might only get to a certain you know, I kind of call it that you, you began as an acquaintance.

Justin: 45:06

You kind of jump in more to a you know, it's an acquaintance, and then there's more of that might not be quite friend level, but it's more of a distant friend. But you get on that cohort level and I think you can have a lot of people in your life in that cohort and it's a it's a great place to be and to me, a small group who we would hear in churches or what, even outside of church, how people have their common thread of people who might gather you don't know each other a lot yet. It's a cohort mindset where you're beginning to know each other. But I think that you're at that point now to see who are some of these people I have a deeper connection with and that you both got to reciprocate, putting time in, because if ross is just reaching out to me all these years to this point, it would still be kind of that mentor, mentee relationship.

Justin: 45:56

Yeah, at some point, though, what I would have lacked, I may have felt great to get to be pouring into somebody, but then I would be missing an opportunity with someone who there's something deeper calling, there's something deeper for us. It's not just going to be this mentor relationship, it's not just going to be a cohort. We were musicians on a stage even in the midst of all that and these different aspects, where we are laughing together and we are equals on this stage You've been on the same stage with us, where the stuff that happens in our ears, that we're having to talk about, people will have no clue, or Pastor Chris could be setting up. I still remember the moment and I will not say the name to honor the person, but Pastor Chris was setting up, these beautiful moments where we're about to lead worship in Highlands and I mean PC, he's just the best at it. He's setting up when we would have a guest in town.

Rhett: 46:53

The guest pastor on the front row, who will remain nameless.

Justin: 46:56

The guest pastor, though in this case that I'm going is they had everything on.

Rhett: 47:02

They had to go step into the green room because they had to go to the restroom. I remember this. I was on the platform with you.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 47:08

I know who this is.

Rhett: 47:08

I would say off air.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 47:11

Oh God, you said it.

Justin: 47:12

Yes, but this guest in our house, our guest at our church, they go to the restroom before they're going to speak and that mic is not muted. Oh boy, so PC yeah.

Rhett: 47:26

There's a beautiful moment happening. Pc is setting up to the congregation.

Justin: 47:30

Most beautiful moment and in our ears we're having to play background music and we're hearing the process.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 47:39

Don't go chasing waterfalls.

Justin: 47:54

I was in a role that we call a music director, which means I'm talking in the mic, like this, and only the people on stage hear me, not the pastor, but only the musicians and vocalists. And I'm talking in the mic and me John Ross Rhett, john Larson CJ.

Rhett: 48:00

I mean, you name it it might've been Lance or it might've been John.

Justin: 48:02

Mark or Curry on those nights and I just remember saying like guys, please stay in the moment, Please stay in the moment. Ignore the sound that's going on, Because BC was. It was an amazing moment it was creating.

Rhett: 48:19

Yeah, people's lives are being changed Spirit of the Lord's moving in the room and the whole band's hearing other movement, and that's the great moments where these cohorts, as musicians.

Justin: 48:30

It's vulnerable thing to be on that stage and you're operating in a gift, but you're also putting yourself out there.

Justin: 48:36

So the culmination, yeah, of relationship and whatever that looks like in the different context for the the ones who are listening right now the whole point is you put years into this and you cannot have the depth in one day. You can't have the depth with someone in one year. You've got to establish a root system and a takeaway that I would even say on this is you've just got to be willing to plant that field and cultivate it and see what happens. You can't force it because, just like if John Ross is talking to me, I have to reciprocate. But in the same way, I could have tried to open to you and you could have not reciprocated because you're like I don't want to get on this level and we talked about it before. You meet somebody and you realize wait, you still struggle and what's allowed us to grow is we have just straight up combos. I mean, we were on a walk yesterday, I was doing my exercise, you were doing yours and we're on the phone almost two hours early in the morning, yesterday morning, yeah.

Justin: 49:38

Early in the morning. Yeah, yes, literally yesterday morning, and it was just shooting the breeze and talking ministry, talking life, I mean, and and I'm just so grateful to have those conversations, and so it's. Yeah, I just wanted to kind of set that up with John Ross that we've we've really worked hard at this relationship and and it's it's been wonderful for my life. In some very key moments in the past three or four years, you've been such an amazing voice for me too, so thank you. Yeah, love you, man.

Rhett: 50:08

So how does a guy go from playing guitar to doing what you're doing now? What are you? Tell everybody what you're doing now. What do you do? So I'm worship.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 50:15

Director of one of the campuses.

Rhett: 50:17

Okay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 50:18

For the church, the Madison campus, and I am the only worship director that is not a worship leader.

Justin: 50:24

Pretty phenomenal.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 50:25

So I kind of run all things worship either as a music director or offstage, and kind of just run the worship department, if you will. It's not really proper terminology, but you get it.

Rhett: 50:38

Yeah, no, I totally get it. So development is what I think I hear. The underlying tone of what you do is you're developing musicians and vocalists and teams. Right, that's're doing. I'm trying to bring it in other people who don't understand that, yes, you're a director direct what you know. You're not just doing tasks, you're actually in the, doing what justin did with you.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 50:59

You're duplicating that now 100 yeah and so my, my main thing is just investing in others and helping them take a step, and it's and it's almost entirely focused on musicians. How do I help that acoustic guitar player get a little bit better from where they are now? How do I help that drummer take an additional step towards being able to play in a service? How do I help that vocalist get more comfortable on stage so that we can get them implemented? And so it's all that, and, honestly, a lot of that comes from uh, yeah, because I've thought about this a whole lot. I think I think musicians, so I'm gonna go like, yeah, let's do the deep, deep dive. So musicians. I feel like musicians are kind of closed, closed off, like eddie van halen at one point in time would do certain guitar solos with his back turns toward the audience because he didn't want anybody to know the tricks that he was doing in order to accomplish what he was doing. Wow.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 51:55

Even during recordings he would use things while he was recording that he would then not acknowledge Like oh no, no, no no. Oh God, that's okay, just knock the microphone over.

Justin: 52:09

I know you don't like the mic already.

Rhett: 52:10

You were trying to just. It almost hit right in the face, literally earlier day, before we started, he was like okay, y'all two get the cool mics. What kind of crap is this in front of me? You didn't use those words, but that was the tone now you're taking it out on the microphone. Man just hit the mic. It's a really cool mic. That's great clear.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 52:25

Yeah, I'm really just but, I, didn't know that I was going to make it on that, that's the MV for it. But musicians, there's a, not a producer, but the guy that actually a mixer, mix engineer. Yeah, god, chris Lord, algae, okay.

Justin: 52:44

I don't know it looks like algae Chris Lord Algae.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 52:47

But it's not algae, it's like alg I think he.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 52:51

He's one of the premier end all be all mix engineers on the planet. He's done. You can look him up, he's. He's done. Unbelievable records, just tons of top 10 over the years and a phenom, just as mixes are phenomenal. He does not, he will not. Uh, he will not. He, it's all contained. So you ship him your completely zeroed out file of raw music data and then he does what he does and sends it back. There is. At no point do you get to see any of his uh, the way he, even the way he approaches it you don't get to see any of it because there's so much of it that is personal to him.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 53:32

So it's again it's not sharing. Oh, this is how I get a mix. This is how I go about. Um, and those are just stories that.

Justin: 53:39

I've heard, but that's like what that's real musicians.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 53:42

There's a little bit of hey. This is how I approach doing this. Nerds, on the other hand, love talking about. This is how this works. This is how a Swiss watch mechanical watch works. Let's take all the pieces apart and look at it and we're going to talk about it, and then we'll put it back together and this is going to be great and we're going to discuss the difference between this one and this one.

Justin: 54:07

This is John Ross, by the way.

Rhett: 54:08

I love this, as you even give the hand motions of this is how you do it. He's like one on top of the other. I love this.

Justin: 54:16

That's what nerds do?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 54:17

I love being a nerd because that's just everything that I learn. I try to turn around and teach it. And so if I had, if I had, if for whatever reason, if I had not discovered music when I was 15 and been like I'm going to be a musician, I think my my wife is like sold that I would have been an engineer. Oh, absolutely, I could see that and I and I had no idea, Like it was all like like an awakening when I was 36, it like, oh, that's how I'm wired like yeah and so.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 54:54

But that's, that's such a it's, it's such a nerd thing that you, you just love teaching and that it's always been in me. I've always loved sharing, and so that that first night that bradshaw was like hey, uh, is that guitar player doing that, right? And I'm like no, not really. And he's like, oh, why don't you go tell him? I was like, yeah, man, this is great.

Justin: 55:14

I love sharing this.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 55:16

This is so fun and we can talk about delay pedals for four hours, and you know so that it just all of that just worked for me and I enjoyed getting to do that so much I never if Bradshaw had not seen that, I never would have known that that could set me up for any kind of like leadership Cause I just I thought it was just, you know, fun nerd talk.

Justin: 55:38

But see, what I've learned about you too is in something I respect so much, and I'm trying to grow in it, and I don't know how many times I've told you this. But I can make a statement to somebody and even if they just want to be a jerk and come back with something just to kind of shut you down, my tendency is I'll get quiet and even if I think you're wrong, I'll think to myself, like okay.

Justin: 56:06

I don't, I can't, I'm kind of I'm shut down. I don't even know how to come back and prove that you're wrong. You know, just kind of stay quiet.

Rhett: 56:14

Yeah.

Justin: 56:14

John Ross, this is where I've I've always complimented you. You have got such great counterpoint, and I love watching John Ross when he'll bring something up and someone, and whether they I don't mean that they're necessarily doing it, you know in a wrong motive, but even if they are they'll say something back. I love how, as part of that tinkering you're good at with like no, but this is how this operates.

Rhett: 56:38

You'll then come back and say or and then you'll go down this route and I, man, I love stepping back and watch John Ross do that.

Justin: 56:47

Cause it helps me me, because I'm like, yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to communicate, but I was paralyzed. That's a gifting that you have. So to hear you break that down into even the tinkering, the I mean the whole deal there, that's, that's a gift that you had and you're really really good with it. Set you had and you're really really good with it. And you've been able to translate that because right now, obviously you're, you are Madison campus, you have a team that you focus on, but, like the relationship we said earlier, you've also have 21 years of history in one organization. Yeah, so you also understand culture, you have longevity and trust and what it's brought to is we talk about the seat at the table with our podcast. Yeah, what I notice, and you know your reputation precedes you, you know when you guys are just the sweetest.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 57:43

I wish I could come here every week and sit and hang out.

Rhett: 57:46

We'd love you to come in.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 57:47

Let's go, y'all have said so many great things about me. I'm going to start believing some of them. This is awesome, good.

Justin: 57:54

Well, you should, because your reputation precedes you and I find that John Ross is at the tables of every campus at Highlands so he is talking.

Justin: 58:06

I mean, it's from how I get to view it and I hear it from them.

Justin: 58:11

Everybody's had a conversation with John Ross, where you're leaning in having conversations with him, but once again, it's how you nerd out, to use your words, where you're not looking to lord something over people, you just come and bring you talk shop with them on a level that is applicable to who they are and the experience that you have, and you make it very relatable. So you might just be talking to that electric guitarist in your mind that you were back in 2007, 2008. But right now you're actually standing before some of these amazing leaders giving the same feedback and they're taking it from the mindset and the perspective of oh wow, I've never thought of it that way. So you have a really great gift of just being able to have counterpoint with people and give them another perspective to look from. So you kind of are, you know, as a very pastoral presence at Church of the Highlands, as a worship director at a campus and really centrally getting to speak into every campus. You kind of did turn into an engineer, just maybe not the same pay.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 59:18

Yeah, a little bit a little bit Treasures in heaven. And yeah, treasures in heaven. And I dropped out of college twice, as a senior both times, so there's no diploma to go with that I'm gonna make one. Yeah, you should engineer of something I don't know. Yeah, yeah, of life. Yeah, yeah, that's good, engineer, put a seal on it, yeah, and everything. It'll be great. Yeah, so I mean it's. Will you sign it?

Justin: 59:42

I would be happy yes I'm gonna, I'm gonna create a diploma'm going to create some kind of certificate and have you go through just some.

Rhett: 59:50

LMS some learning management systems.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 59:53

Yeah, sure, and then at the end it'll be like you have been awarded this certificate. Issued by Armchair Authentication Brett we'll authenticate it.

Justin: 1:00:03

Let's come up with some certifications.

Rhett: 1:00:04

Oh man.

Justin: 1:00:05

LMS, I will hang it on my office. Oh man, lms, but yeah, it's, I will hang it on my office. So I kind of want to take this before we wind this podcast down, because we jumped out the gate. We've had a blast on this podcast. We, first of all, never even you've been everywhere this summer, it seems like, because not only are you worship director for Madison Campus at Church of the Highlands, but you're also full-time husband, full-time dad. When I'm on the phone with you, you're either walking or you're en route, taking all your kiddos. Some activity, yes, and so first of all, tell us about your family and then, man, the shout-out I wanted to give your world— is swimming, and I know that your kiddos have been doing good and especially, you know, I know right now you've seen a lot of, a lot of um potential, especially out of one of them. So I'll set you up there, but I know we didn't give you any time to introduce any of your family.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:01:08

So so I'm a shout out, married wonderful wife, wife Rachel Rachel she is actually Rachel, by the way.

Justin: 1:01:16

I don't mean to cut this here, but Rachel's another reason for, I think, your sanity because she's got such a counselor presence. Oh yeah, and talk about you know it's her story to tell, but someone who can use the pain that you go through in life and become a healer to others Yep, phenomenal.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:01:39

Phenomenal presence to people. She's a phenomenal pastor and there are moments that I'm like because I can be very logistical, the engineer thing, and something will happen and I'll be like cut and she'll go well, let's talk about it.

Rhett: 1:02:00

And I'm like, oh okay, no, no, no, no, no, you're right, how are you?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:02:01

feeling in this yeah, she can do that so good, uh. So then there's uh, there's everett, my oldest son, he's 15, then we've got linen, who is 13, and uh, and then ellie, my uh youngest daughter, who is when it's 13, so she's 11 yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:02:18

And then we have permanent custodianship of our niece Rachel's older sister's daughter. So my oldest daughter is 15. She's three months older than Everett. And then there's, you know we Everett is the firstborn son. You have to start talking about that when you take in another family member, because you can't disrupt birth order or it causes emotional conflict with children. Apparently I don't know your wife's a doctor in this justin.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:02:45

so, um, so we, we've got that and they're all doing competitive swim. So I I got up this morning at 5 30 I woke up oh my god, I woke up. Dixie, I woke up oh my God I woke up. Dixie I woke up Everett and Lennon and took them to the pool. I came home, went on a walk, but when I got home, rachel was getting Ellie up, which we've been on a whole journey with Ellie because she just got diagnosed with epilepsy a couple of months ago.

Justin: 1:03:12

Two months ago, I think two months ago.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:03:16

She's doing great now, but we've been on that journey, so she's back in the pool swimming now. So she was up. She had to be at swim practice at seven, so Rachel was taking her watching the others while I was getting ready to come down here.

Justin: 1:03:27

Ellie, you got a lot of people who've been praying for you.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:03:29

Yes, yes, you do, and so but it's, it's interesting, they're all doing really good. We were told at one point Lennon has mild scoliosis. We were told that if we kept him lean and kept him active that it would help as his body matured. That it would help kind of straighten his spine up a little bit but definitely prevent it from getting worse.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:03:51

So we shoved him in the pool and there are days that it is shoving him in the pool this morning may have been one of them and he literally got to the pool and I get a text message from him and he goes well, I didn't bring my swimsuit, I was like you're wearing underwear boy, get in the pool. You got up to go to the pool. Why do you not have your swimsuit?

Justin: 1:04:19

Like what did you wear? Well, I would like to defend him, because some of us can even forget headsets to a podcast. So I understand linen. It happens I forgot a headset today.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:04:26

Anyway, go ahead so everett he is uh. Dixie's doing a good job, ellie's doing great. It's like she's a mermaid or something and. But Everett is so athletic, he is just it's just, there's this natural thing, and it's weird because he's also really musical. So I can show him a guitar part for a song and he'll be like oh, okay, and then he can play it, and he can play it in time. Even if there's a metronome, but he's not, like, super passionate about it. So there's times thatronome and and you know.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:05:00

but he's not like super passionate about it, so there's there's times that I'm like shaking him, like come on, man, like yeah, you've been given a gift that I never had. You can, you can hear and you can pick it out. And you know, you started learning this Metallica song on your own, Like you. Just you start getting, you gotta get into it and and. But there's this thing with swim and so between that and he's doing summer intern 252, he's doing the summer internship at the church and all that. But he, he's just naturally, and I mean he is, he, he is getting in.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:05:27

And when his coaches say something and his, his current coach, is a lot like me, just very direct and let's get it done. And that coach has been driving him so hard and ever it keeps getting better and keeps getting better. And so now he's getting ready to move up to this, this next group, and there's there we're in this, like last season, where he's having to give this push. And even this morning, like he didn't do that Great, it's coach was yelling at him. Yeah, you know my wife calls and she's like, well, everett was mad. Because you know my wife calls and she's like, well, everett was mad because you know he said the coach and she was like I was watching him. It was like he was swimming through oil out there and he gets in the, you know, and he was mad that his coach was yelling at him.

Justin: 1:06:08

But you get to these points where the growth pattern, where the coaches can even look at it and say they, they're, they, they're, they're going according to normal progression, or there might be a standout, just like there would be musically, yeah, and that's kind of what he's facing right now.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:06:24

Right, he, he has the, he has the ability, uh, just with what they've seen, uh, you know, and all of them are doing good, just because of all of them listen to this at some point they're all doing great. I love my kids all the same, of course.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:06:38

I really do, no matter what they all say that I love Ellie more. That is not true. Wink, wink, ellie. But there's this potential that he's showing and that's what we've always talked about. We're looking for potential in musicians. I don't need them to be able to stand on, you know, the Grand Ole Opry this weekend. I need to know that if we work with them for six months, that they can stand at the Grand Ole Opry and and and do okay, and that's that's what they're seeing. They're seeing this potential with Ev and really driving him and so. But that's turned into our life.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:07:14

We said we were never going to do sports that controlled our lives and turned into our life. We we said we were never going to do sports that controlled our lives and and I've not slept in.

Justin: 1:07:22

Yeah, the sneaky sport called swimming. Yeah.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:07:24

They were like well, we'll, we'll start on swim. And so you know they, they practice six days a week. Yeah, that's crazy. Swim meets are 72 hours and and you know, if you have out of town in other cities and your child will swim four minutes during the 72 hours, maybe support their team, and then they're, they're supporting their team and hanging out and and you have to pay for hotels, and it's, it's crazy, it's wild. I get it.

Justin: 1:07:54

It is life. I mean this, this is life. I mean the whole table we're talking about. This is our life. This really is. It's like. This is what calling is. It is obviously your faith, it's your family, it's your friends at the table, it's the career, the pursuit that you're doing of the stuff that you're called to, and it's balancing all this stuff out and putting it in the right priority. And so for you, being this engineer, slash, musician, minded person, to have the focus like you have with your family and understanding the priority levels there, to spend time with them and give them this opportunity to thrive is, I mean, that's what life is all about. And if you're going to do it the right way, if you're going to do it the right way and invest in your family, so just getting to see, I mean, the man that obviously you've become and the husband, and seeing your family grow like crazy we're all in this state, we've seen it with each other and it's, it's fun.

Justin: 1:08:51

when, uh, you know, dax, the other day, he came home and actually told me it's like he didn't tell me right away, it was was a couple of weeks later he's like, by the way, um, your friend John Ross, I saw his son, his oldest son, at two 52 retreat.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:09:04

Yeah, and Ev did the same thing. Everett got home and he was like uh, he was like hey, the your dad, your your friend, mr Justin. Yeah, it's like his son's Dax Right, and I'm like Mr Justin, yeah, his son's Dax right.

Rhett: 1:09:22

And I'm like, yeah, and he goes. I saw him at Doobie Doobie Tree and I'm like, would you go talk to him?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:09:26

And he was like no and I was like y'all need to talk. I know I was like, because I think he this is ridiculous. I can't believe I'm talking about this. Dax plays Fortnite, right? Oh yeah. Does Kai play Fortnite?

Justin: 1:09:38

Oh yeah, see this is, and they're the two closest to all. Four of them, britt and Ben, have become more than ninjas. They're at it nonstop. How old are they now?

Rhett: 1:09:50

They are 10.

Justin: 1:09:52

10 and 8. A bit of that, you know. I'm trying not to have shame to know that I got my 8 year old just cranking out some Fortnite, some parents right now are like dang it. I've been telling my kids they can't play until the 13th.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:10:06

I didn't let them play until they were 12. There's nothing wrong with that If you walk downstairs you've got the two different rooms.

Justin: 1:10:13

You got like it was four TVs, now it. You got like it was four tvs, now it's like three. Yeah, dax has his own room, kyle has his own, but britain then we got in the same room. Oh yeah, there's. They'll do squads together sometimes ever, ever fragile boys.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:10:25

We live in a very small I mean not like a very, very small house, but we live in a small house and everett lennon's share a room and their desk for doing their schoolwork, because we homeschool yeah, uh, is is 40 inch televisions yeah for playing fortnight yeah yeah, and I'm like where do you do your math?

Justin: 1:10:47

yeah, over here which is another thing too for you I mean you're in this world and I think in certain ways we all get to relate on this, you know, and kind of here and there, but like you have all four years, I mean you're in the homeschool world, right.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:11:04

Yeah.

Justin: 1:11:06

Like Rachel, will be the teacher of these subjects. I remember you telling me is it math or science? It's one of those that it's like you've taken on.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:11:15

It's a little bit of science. Again, it's that nerd thing.

Justin: 1:11:18

It is.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:11:18

So they will catch me on the wrong day and I'm like this is how a nuclear power plant works.

Justin: 1:11:25

Hey, this is how a nuclear reactor works.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:11:28

This is it, because that's what I read in my spare time. I don't know what's wrong with me, and now we're going to be flagged on podcasts by the federal government.

Rhett: 1:11:36

This is how. Okay, we're gonna do a little. So when the fbi shows up at your house looking at nuclear reactors, I know you ever see young sheldon. You ever watch that love have you seen young sheldon? Like two or three episodes. Oh man, it's so good you gotta watch the whole thing you really.

Justin: 1:11:51

There's this one thing.

Rhett: 1:11:52

No, no. But at the end of the day, young sheldon's doing this experiment with nuclear stuff.

Justin: 1:11:57

And yeah, anyways, he comes over to the government. The government just shows up.

Rhett: 1:12:00

They have a find a way. They find ways to show up whenever they hear nuclear.

Justin: 1:12:03

So or whatever. So anyway, it's crazy, don't be surprised. Sorry, for real, wouldn't be the first. No, no.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:12:13

So, but it's a little bit of the science stuff. But then, uh, no, there was one day that that we were standing there and I was watching Rachel interact with them at math and and she got done and they, they went on and I looked at her and I was like, nah, you can't do that anymore. I was like I'm going to, I'm going to, I'll take over. From that point forward, I started teaching math and and then we now, now it's it's curriculum, there's a, there's a, it's an online, there's a teacher that is teaching them. And then you kind of have to come in.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:12:42

And now, because I'm not doing it with them every day, they'll walk in and they'll be like, oh, I have this problem. And I'm like, uh, yeah, like give me a minute on my computer and I'm like, how do you do? And I'll, I'll type in the problem and it'll give me the answer and I'm like, and I'll like read through the steps and I'm like yeah, that still doesn't, so I'll watch a YouTube video about it, and then I'll be like, oh hey, yeah, come here, this is, this is how it works.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:04

I'm smart.

Justin: 1:13:06

God, it's such a thing. It's amazing what you can do now with computers, their subjects and studies. They could pretty much just do it all these days and they would be fine you too their university. So many aspects. This is just the first of what's going to be another one, absolutely.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:23

Man, I cannot wait for episode 150 when I get to come back.

Rhett: 1:13:29

Are you prophesying?

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:30

We're planning it now.

Rhett: 1:13:31

Episode 50, John Ross 150.

Justin: 1:13:34

He was 75. Yes, we had this special, special guest and friend named John.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:41

Ross Aldridge today.

Justin: 1:13:41

But man seriously thanks for stopping by the studio.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:44

Thank you guys for letting me come hang out. It was so fun. I love you guys both so much. We didn't even get to talk about where we met. That's okay. There's a long history there too.

Justin: 1:13:53

Oh my gosh, I feel like we left so much on the table.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:55

It's all good yeah.

Justin: 1:13:54

Oh my gosh, I feel like we left so much on the table. That's all good.

Jon Ross Aldridge: 1:13:56

Y'all started asking questions and I had to talk about stuff and y'all complimented me way more than I need to be complimented.

Rhett: 1:14:04

Hey friends, thank you so much for joining us on today's conversation. We cannot wait until our next episode that drops next Monday. So until then, we hope you have a great day. Stay safe. No-transcript.