Rhett: 0:01

Imagine a world where every conversation feels like a genuine connection, a place where you and I truly feel like we belong and where everyone has a seat at the table. Hey friends, welcome to Armchair Authentic.

Justin: 0:18

We've got to be willing to be curious and admit that something's wrong and just do the work. And nothing replaces the work.

Rhett: 0:27

And that, my friends, is what you get from an armchair armchair, authentic conversation from weird dreams to to that thought.

Rhett: 0:36

You know when I my my vivid imagination in taking all that you just said and trying to put it into one thought is instead of inspecting, we inspect fruit. But if we want the fruit to change, we've got to really deep. Do a deep dive into the root, right, yeah, so root fruit, right, yeah, so the keyboard reference analogy I have no idea why I would even take time to do that and so, sitting back, even trying to think psychologically, why would I? Why would I even try to do that right now, as opposed to years ago? Yeah, I have no idea. Yeah, bored, is it curiosity? Is it stewardship? I have no, is it? I don't know? I don't know. But there is something satisfying about finding the problem by going to the root, dealing with that and then seeing that fix happen to sustain your life. So for keyboard wise, pull the keyboard apart, try to pinpoint maybe this is the issue. Replace it, fix it. Keyboard goes on to live another 10 years. Yeah, got a new keyboard rather than just trashing it is starting over. Same with our life, yeah, right, so no, I love that and I think that's important for our life.

Rhett: 2:01

A lot of times we're trying to behavior, we're trying to modify behavior or the outward, instead of having a heart transformation. Yeah, so when your heart is transformed in your life, then the byproduct is fruit. But I love what you were saying about. Hey, I don't know where this happens intrinsically, but as kids, let's call it pre-Jesus. Yeah, vulnerable, authentic, us. Yeah, vulnerable, authentic. And then within the church setting not that anybody taught us how to do this, but it's like somehow we found ourself living in this inauthentic way, purely authentic, on the side of man. Our lives have changed or we're being transformed. God is doing this inward work within us, almost so much so to where it's like now we can't have any more issues and I can't talk about it, because my life should be 100% transformed and I shouldn't be having any root issues or fruit issues in my life. But yet I am, but I can't talk about it, or we feel we can't express it. Again, not something that was really taught. I think it was more caught and that's a dangerous place to live.

Justin: 3:12

It's a very dangerous place to live.

Rhett: 3:14

So, having 32, 33 years of walking with Jesus in ministry and then realizing over time how you can fully be being transformed right, working out your salvation power of the Holy Spirit empowering you, yet you're still in your humanity and your brokenness and there's still going to be fruit from time to time, that doesn't line up with what God's doing within you, and that's not because God's not doing a work within you. It's that he is doing a work within you. Yeah, I mean, there's buttons being pushed in your, in your relationship, and you're growing to an area to where it's like, okay, what is coming out Shouldn't be coming out. We need to deal with that, but not behavior, modify it. Right, but the only way to really get help with it is through his word, but it's through relationship, to work with others who may be a little bit further along on the journey to go.

Rhett: 4:01

Hey, I dealt with that too. You know what? Like, my natural state still wants to deal with those issues. Here's how I've overcome it and here's how you can too, and you're not less than cause. That is what you're doing, but that's not who you are. So let's get to the root of that and let's talk it and let's be okay with a little bit of the uncomfortable and figuring it out and digging into it, a little bit more of going well. What are some of the causes of that? What's going on? What are your triggers? I know that's a big word, but like what's happening?

Justin: 4:29

And I would even say there's people who have probably tried. Maybe you're listening, you thought I've, I've tried this. Maybe you don't realize you have and you can think back to a moment just because you're ready to go there. Your leader might not be as tapped into their self either, but you're the same way you're. You want to uphold yourself and you don't want to open up to others. Remember that your leader also might not be at that place where they're willing to see your flaws, which means you might open up, and you could have already been. You could have been shot down before, and so it has automatically shut you down from thinking like okay, well, that's not what I'm going to do, yeah.

Rhett: 5:13

Well, that's a good thought, because now you're triggered about opening up based off how you were treated by opening up, and that's very common for people.

Justin: 5:21

And just because that happens, my encouragement would be just keep putting yourself out there. They're also working out stuff in their journey too, and there has to be a lot of this God grace for people.

Rhett: 5:37

I think that's a great thought, and we've never really talked about this. And I am again. We're not throwing anybody under the bus, because everybody's on their own journey, but every pastor, every leader I don't care whether they admit it or not they're all dealing with their own insecurity and feeling as if you know a lot of pastors run into this situation and feel like, well, I got to have the answer for every question or every problem. People are coming to me and you don't, and In fact, the greatest thing you could do is say I don't have all the answers. I'm still figuring this thing out. I'm on this journey with you, and so I was thinking about how do you maybe the word's not qualify, but filter, that's it. How do you filter through understanding or even knowing, or being self-aware enough to know? Am I in an organization or am I in a community where being authentic is okay, not for just vulnerability sake, and let's all just throw up on each other and sit in our mess.

Rhett: 6:31

No, but in a way of going yeah, here's the mess, but here's how God's worked through it and here's how I'm moving forward. And I think a lot of that is how do you know? I said you know, look at the pastor, look at the leaders and I would say listen to the messages. Because, honestly, if all the messages are where everything is great all the time and all the messages are like this appearance that I have no issues or no problems or I'm not even willing to talk about any points in my life where there was a weakness or there was a hurt or there was a pain, and this is how God got me through it you might not be in a place. I'm not saying you are, you're not. I'm just saying you might not be in a place where authenticity and understanding that there needs to be some openness to go.

Rhett: 7:23

Hey, I know what it's like to be human Right. I know what it's like to have lust or deal with greed or deal with pride or deal where they are. You know, whatever it might be. Um, when you have a pastor or a leader in a church setting to where they're more open about the things that they've dealt with in their past and how they've overcome it and even how, if they're not even careful, they could get right back into that mess. Yeah, Then you might not be in a place, and so you know, that appreciates authenticity, and you might be in a place where, if you did open up about some things, it might not be welcomed or received in a way that's actually going to empower you to do that again.

Rhett: 8:00

Yeah, and so I've always appreciated and I've always received and I don't do this to get this, but anytime I've ever opened up. In fact, one of the last messages I preached had nothing to do with my notes period. I just felt like I was supposed to say it. I said, guys, gotta be honest with something I'm working with, and it had a little bit to do with what it was, but it was, the whole idea of which I mentioned on this podcast before, is like I am.

Rhett: 8:24

I've realized that I'm at a place where I'm processing that I don't really know how to love myself the way that God loves me, and that is that's something I'm learning how to do. And so I'm waking up every day going, lord, will you teach me to love myself the way you love me, to keep me from this performancebased mindset of feeling like I've got to have it all together due to insecurity, of feeling like I've got to have all the? You know what I mean. And so by opening up in a brief moment like that, it's amazing how it draws people in, and I'll never forget that someday, having some people come up to me and go man, thank you. And that's exactly what I'm dealing with.

Rhett: 9:04

It's getting to the root of the fruit, right, instead of telling people oh, you should live this way. No, it's like, well, like, let's get to the deepest, rooted, hearted issue here. And it might be because you don't really know how to love yourself. That's right. Or receive love, yeah, the way that God's intended to love you, yeah, and I'm dealing with that. The guy that's standing on the platform in front of close to a thousand people, you know and so, but you do it in a way to help give hope to people to go. Hey, I'm human, we're on this journey together and if we do this together and we apply God's word, we're going to overcome and we're going to get through it.

Justin: 9:35

So I don't know, that's just. Yeah, it's when Paul says imitate me as I imitate Jesus. Yeah, paul's not saying that he's perfect, so imitate every way. He also would say he had the thorn in his flesh and we don't know what that is.

Rhett: 9:50

He was wise enough to leave that out.

Justin: 9:51

Yeah, he was, and but he also there was a struggle. There was that he decided to open up to the church and say, like I have asked the Lord to remove this, yeah, and he says my grace is sufficient. So the message was in that leadership that you're following is a leader who is struggling. There is an ailment, there's a mental issue, there's something going on that God's grace in the end has to be sufficient for you. And that's the kind of leadership you want to follow. But, once again, wherever you're at, the kind of leadership you want to follow. But once again, wherever you're at, wherever you are, I mean you're going to be surrounded by imperfect people, just like you're imperfect. But what you can do is you can, as we said a while ago, you can stay curious to the wonder that is God and what he's doing in your life At the root of it. Remind yourself that everything, everything is about you're a Christ follower. Everything is about your pursuit of Christ. It doesn't mean you're going to be perfect, but it's all. When all is said and done. It's not about living your best life, it's not about achieving financial success, it's not about having a great marriage or being the best parent. All those are good things. What it's really about is you're a follower after Christ and are you becoming more like Christ through this? And it would be impossible to become more like Christ if you're not being curious and allowing the Holy Spirit to be with you as you begin to unscrew the bolts, pull out this motherboard and find out like why am I having the issues and why is the instrument that is me that God created to make sounds for his glory? Why am I not able to operate right and allow the Holy Spirit to walk you through that process? And once again, it has nothing to do with perfect leadership. It has to do with making sure that you're following the one who is the perfect leader, which is Christ. Even among the largest to the smallest churches is offering grace to those who are leaders and they're in their own journey and they're also still trying to bring wisdom and God's foundation in the scriptures to you as someone in the congregation, but at the same time and you might be that pastor listening who's bringing those words to your congregation, but also realizing we're not elevated above anybody. We're all in this. We might be in a different space in our journey, but we are all brothers and sisters in this journey that we all want to be able to say like follow me as I follow after Christ.

Justin: 12:34

Don't follow perfections. If you see perfection in me, you're over elevating me because I promise when you get to the side, you're going to see a shadow side and it's a promise. A promise If I'm making you think I'm perfect, I'm sorry, I'm not perfect. If you were thinking I'm perfect, it might not be that I'm trying to show it. It means that you're giving me a superhuman picture in your mind. Please stop it. I am here to help you progress in your journey, but I am no one who's better than you. Follow me in my weakness, in my mistakes, in the good that I do in my walk. Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Rhett: 13:13

Yeah, that right there bolts.

Justin: 13:16

We all got our bolts. We're working on.

Rhett: 13:18

I 100% agree. Not that anybody has ever platformed me, but from time to time there has been places to where people will look as if you have it or I have it all together, and I don't. I mess up all the time. In fact, this week I could count like 10 times or more to where I'm like oh, come on, man, you're better than this. God in you, like you. You could have made a better decision here, you know, and and so where I have a hard time with with that is then beating myself up over the fact that y'all come on, man, who do you think you are Like you're? You're so much better than this, yeah.

Rhett: 14:02

And then you find yourself living in the shame and the guilt of what people platform you and they think you have it all together. But if they really only knew the mistakes that you made and I think pastors and leaders, they live there. It's like who am I to get up and to present God's word and to actually even help somebody when I am having trouble myself? Yeah Right, and so in in. In that's where it's like okay, like we're all on this journey. Follow me as I follow Christ. Yes, imitate me, but don't don't imitate my mistakes. It's like do as I say, not as I do, like let's all grow together. And I like what you said even in my weakness, in the places where I'm struggling, where God says my grace is sufficient for you, in your time of weakness, when you're weak, I am strong. Even in those moments, get to the place where you're like you know what. I've made some mistakes, but that's not who I am, it's what I did. It's not who I am. But don't beat yourself up over it either. Learn how to.

Rhett: 15:04

It comes back to loving myself, the way that God loves me. God doesn't love the sin, he loves me, he wants to help me grow through it, but he's not ashamed and he's not throwing any kind of shame our way. He's going man, you're my son, I get it, you're human. Jesus is here mediating on our behalf before the Lord, saying man, I get it. This is tough, father. I've walked through it. I didn't, I didn't, I wouldn't overcome by it, I didn't sin, but I understand the, the, the issue and how hard that is to overcome. You know and so like. So I don't know. From my perspective as a human, I'm like my god. The biggest thing that I deal with is is constantly beating myself up over the head for something that's silly and it could be pride yeah, it could be for the way that I got really frustrated by somebody who cut me off in the way that I responded in traffic I mean right it's like it, we're not talking deep seated sin issues.

Justin: 16:05

Yeah.

Rhett: 16:05

But still things that are come on man.

Justin: 16:08

Or adding a divider in your flower bed.

Rhett: 16:11

Oh yeah, I mean, you know it's like ah Lee, like I can flip between humanity and who I am in my human state and God state really quick yeah.

Rhett: 16:24

I can bless my brother and then curse my brother, all at the same time. It's like, brothers, this should not be what is happening, you know. And it's like come on, man, you got to grow through this. And it's like I don't. I literally had this conversation with the Lord. I was like, lord, am I ever going to grow? Like? Is this like? Is this something I'm just going to take to my grave? Is this my thorn in my flesh? And I don't like come on, lord, you know, he's like just lean on me. I'm like, I'm leaning.

Justin: 16:50

He's like are you though?

Rhett: 16:52

Are you, though? I'm like I kind of took that one back from you, didn't I? He's like, yeah, you kind talk about authenticity and leading from a place. I just say, man, man, for me, trying to encourage somebody who might be listening or a friend, is, if you are scared to open up, it very well could be because you've been hurt by opening up before, or it could be that it's just not welcomed in the place that you're at. And you need to find that. Not welcomed in the place that you're at, and you need to find that, yeah, and when you're looking, try to find. You can see it. It's pretty clear when somebody's open and vulnerable about, hey, I've gone through some stuff, I've overcome it and this is how you can too, and I haven't arrived, I'm on this journey. That kind of talk, that kind of language, is what you want to look for, because when you find that, then you find the healing, yeah, which which wraps at James 5, 16. Yeah, confess your sins one to another and pray for each other, yeah, so that you may be healed.

Rhett: 17:52

There's a healing process that comes when you can find the vulnerability and authenticity, because then it's followed up. I think it's verse 17 that a prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. That's the part that brings the healing is that you're combining this issue not just to talk about it and to gossip about it and sit in a little mess, but it's so that you can find healing. So you're opening up about this with people who love you, who've been through it, but who now are on the other side, who now, when they add prayer, the presence of God shows up. It's powerful and it's effective and it all of a sudden begins to. You've brought it out into the light and now it's open and you're bringing other people into it for accountability, moving forward, but also for the power of the Holy Spirit to move in the moment of healing, and that's the reason that we talk about relationship and connection and community. So much for that point.

Rhett: 18:45

It's not that you can just I think a lot of people are good at opening up, pulling back the mask sometimes, but then just sitting in it. What do I do? Well, we pray. Well, let's pray. Let's add the power of prayer in this now. Let's not just go. Okay, thanks for sharing. I'm honored that you shared that. That must be really tough, so bad. Well, let's pray. Yeah, because that's the second part of the scripture that leads to the healing. Yeah, it's good. And so, when you find that, so that's what you're looking for, yeah, community you can be safe in, you can be vulnerable in, but you're around people who aren't judging you but who aren't even approving of that Right and empowering that behavior. Yeah, right, and empowering that behavior, yeah, but who are elevating you to a higher way of living by inviting the presence of God in it through prayer. Yeah, not just wallowing, not just wallowing in it.

Justin: 19:29

Yeah, so one of the and I hate to say the word envy, you know, but for lack of a better word right now, but I love seeing it we have during the summer we'll have like first Wednesdays, yeah, when it's like um coats on the lawn, which basically means ice cream and any kind of soda drink in the South in Alabama.

Justin: 19:52

Yeah, and I was talking to some of my guy friends and they were talking about like the highlight, like great service, great speaker, but it wouldn't have mattered if you had a pastor who's who's speaking, all the what we would say is a right thing or if there's, or if they got an ego trip because these guys are so locked in with community.

Justin: 20:14

They have found so much stinking community with each other that actually one of the topics on um, uh, from from the message was talking about like hey, the importance of getting with the community, and they would just meet with me after and they said it was so cool when the person from the stage said that because their entire row was filled with their guys, Like that they go and they share a meal at a house, they pray, They've been broken in their life, They've been through stuff that oh my gosh, talk about thorn in your side, and they've got this brotherhood. Now they've got their spouses coming with them. So it's like this family vibe and the highlight of what they do at our church it's not the services are wonderful, that it's the community they have.

Justin: 21:01

And I found myself listening to them, thinking, and I went ahead and invited myself over, because it sounded so good, I was like, well, why don't you go ahead and find a way to get me and Summer in on that, because that sounds really, really awesome. But what you're saying about James 5, being able to pray, being able to confess, to have a group of people who are really in it with you, they're usually not going to look like the superhuman beings, um, that that we can easily pedestal, but they're going to look like the average ordinary Joes. Yeah, and those are the people who contain the gold because they've been willing to be open and vulnerable. Yeah, takes it back to me.

Justin: 21:40

And you, as young boys, you're willing to sit on the walking track and just be vulnerable with each other but, not just to listen, which that's important, but then to give the encouragement of hey, that's not who you are and beginning to walk that process, and it is a process and you have to find it and you have to insert yourself into it.

Rhett: 21:59

Yeah, you know you have to find it and you have to insert yourself into it. You know you have to crawl before you walk, you have to walk before you run and sometimes you have to crawl your way into these and fight like just find it. One of the biggest things I always try to tell people whenever they move somewhere that they've moved from community where they grew up in, where everybody knew them from.

Rhett: 22:17

Hello, you know oh yeah, so good to see you. You know, you've known me since I was seven or eight. You don't really have to work very hard for that, because it's just been integrated into your life for so long. Whenever you move somewhere, though, you're brought into the situation where you're the new person, no matter where you go, and a lot of people feel that even in their own community sometimes. But but, like, whenever you have to go find this, you have to find it, and it could be it could take. It could take three to six months to find it. Yeah, it could take two weeks to find it. But don't give up. Keep looking for it, because there's a great restaurant out there that's going to serve you great food and you have a great experience. There's a lot of bad restaurants out there, and so just because you've eaten at a bad restaurant doesn't keep you from eating at another restaurant. Just keep looking until you find it and I'm speaking in analogy form here when it comes to churches and when it comes to community.

Rhett: 23:04

There's a lot of great healthcare hospitals out there and there are a lot of bad ones out there, but didn't keep you from going to the hospital or emergency room when you're hurting. Yeah Right, so find one right and just keep looking.

Justin: 23:15

But you're making a great point because there's almost a wrong interpretation or expectation I should say. I think people expect perfection no matter where they're at, but we've kind of got this Americanized vibe of you walk into. I'll use the church right now because that's our world, that it's going to be perfect and I get it. We go through hurts and wounds, and I'm not saying it's right, but what happens is we wound ourself out of the game because of something that you let, someone that you pedestaled, or you put this expectation that should have never been there. They might be living in their own security by you pedestaling them and they love you putting them in their cage where they're being fed the royalties of love, whatever it is.

Justin: 24:02

We've got to remember, if we follow after Christ, if we use the word that even he was quoting from the Old Testament, I mean some of the people, the heroes that we read about. Daniel we love to quote and say he distinguished himself among the satraps, but you've got to also realize he was a part of the organizational side of kingdoms, kind of being overcome and a new king or rising up, very terrible men. And Daniel stayed true to his walk with God. He was a follower of God and somehow, in these different spaces, he continued to distinguish himself King David. King David at some point was anointed king and he went back to his other thing. So in the midst of war and a terrible thing happening, where his brothers are having to fight this other army yeah, like he's in between all this terrible situation and he fights the giant. And there's so many different things. We can look at Paul's writing these epistles, these letters to the church, because he'd just been beaten and he's in jail.

Rhett: 25:16

Yeah.

Justin: 25:17

If we go with the wounding mindset. Yeah, I mean.

Rhett: 25:21

Paul would have been gone.

Justin: 25:24

He wouldn't have been writing anything because he'd be like well, why is this happening to me? When Barnabas and Paul had whatever disagreement they had and they went their own way, like, paul never goes back and this is me taking a little creative liberty but Paul never went back and quoted something that's in Scripture that says oh Barnabas, you were right, you wanted to go back, wasn't it? John Mark? Yeah, he wanted John Mark to be a part of the ministry.

Rhett: 25:50

I wrote.

Justin: 25:52

John Mark off. I said John Mark's never going to be a part of this because he crossed me the wrong way. Paul may have been getting a little too big for his britches, but you know what he may have just been. So on mission. It wasn't about being cocky or not, he was just that one track mind. And here you have Barnabas the encourager, because that's his wiring. Let's encourage your brother. I see the gold.

Rhett: 26:14

Let's give him another chance and Paul's like.

Justin: 26:16

I don't see the gold. Okay, so they go their own separate ways. But Paul never writes the letter saying I'm sorry, barnabas, you were right.

Rhett: 26:25

Thank you for taking the time, but we know what happened.

Justin: 26:26

But he did say hey, be sure to have John Mark come and bring my parchment so I can write, and John Mark's become very useful to me.

Rhett: 26:34

Somehow, someway, we find a reconciliation point that's not mentioned in Scripture.

Justin: 26:38

It's not mentioned, but Barnabas once again, my own artistic freedom to interpret. But, barnabas, if he would have sat around waiting for the apology from Paul, he may have been waiting a long time, because Paul is still an imperfect human and is apology even warranted? Well, some would say yes, some would say no, who's right? Well, I don't know that it's a right or wrong kind of thing, but we have to stay on mission and bring us to modern day. We're followers after Christ and we have great leaders sometimes.

Justin: 27:14

Sometimes you don't have people on a platform that are great, and that doesn't mean that's okay, but it also doesn't mean that you back out of your race that Christ has called you to. And I love, I'm a biggest advocate of if you've been wounded, get counseling. I'm the biggest advocate I love to help people walk through stuff, the biggest advocate I would. I love to help people walk through stuff. But at the same time, yeah, you can't just wallow for the rest of your life. There has to be a moment for you to be effective, to at least pursue whatever you need, to help unlock and to unscrew this keyboard so that you can allow the holy spirit, yeah, to get to the motherboard and help you understand what's the root problem of this.

Rhett: 28:04

I think the wallowing is all about self-awareness. I'm not an expert but in my opinion, like you got to get, you got to get to the point where you can get it all out there, get it all out of your physical body, whether you're journaling, but it's got to come out and you get it out there. And it's what counseling does, at least for me, is that it gives you the opportunity just to get all the thoughts out in a safe environment and then go okay, well, now what? Yeah, now that you're self-aware, here's the issues. We kind of right, it's there. But now you're with somebody who can guide you toward health. Yeah, I Notice I said guide. They don't make the steps for you. But then here's a small step to take and I promise you every one of those steps is ultimately going to lead toward healthy relationships, not with perfect people, but with people who you can continue to work through these things with and have the power of prayer and the presence of God in it, to find freedom and to continue to move forward in the journey that God's called you to heavenward.

Rhett: 29:05

And for me, we don't sit in the wallow, but we have to have a part of that. That's huge. We can't just leave it all bottled up and suppress it and act like it's not there, because that's not healthy at all. And there are studies beyond studies. Look it up, suppressing emotions. Just Google that. What does it do to my physical, health and mental? And you'll see like all the list of all the yuck that comes with it how it affects you. Yeah, so you got to have it. So there is that wallowing season. Sure, it's a season, and you correct me if I'm wrong, but I can only speak for me, but to me, but it to me. It allowed me to go, okay, whew. Okay, now that that's out, and I'm very aware.

Justin: 29:40

Now what am I going to do about it? I would use the word too. Some of it's a healthy grieving. You've got to still the wallowing can be misinterpreted. You've got to. It's good to grieve and be sad about something.

Rhett: 29:51

Or frustrated, or whatever it might be.

Justin: 29:54

Sometimes it might can be prolonged. Yeah, but Christ is so sovereign. That's just part of that, could be part of your journey. Yeah, yeah.

Rhett: 30:04

Hey friends, if you're enjoying today's conversation, could you do us a huge favor, Would you share the link of this episode with a friend, with a coworker, with a buddy? I email it, airdrop it, text it, comment on Facebook. However you would like to share it, man, it would mean so much to us to help us get the word out, to have more friends join us in on this journey. Thank you All. Right. Now back to the conversation.

Rhett: 30:29

I don't think we live in it. We live through it. Yeah, I think that's kind of the mindset is like we don't wallow in, live in that forever. Yeah, At some point we have to live through it, we have to move beyond it. But you do have you need people you can be, whether it's a counselor right now or somebody you can trust that's going to help you or point you in a good direction. There needs to be the point of just sitting going OK, this is a mess, yeah, and I've got it out there. Ok, but now what? All right, I'm now aware of this. Whether it was done to me, or whether I did it to others or I was impacted. Okay, great, we're aware of that. Now, how are we going to put our like? I remember my grandmother would say put your big boy britches on red, put your big boy britches on like you know. Which basically says, all right, it's time to grow up. Yeah, it's time not to just waddle in it like a pig. You know, waddle in it whatever.

Justin: 31:20

Yeah, wallow in it, waddle. Well, it was a waddle.

Rhett: 31:23

It was a waddle, waddle, waddle, anyway, you know. And now it's time to go. Okay, it's pretty messy, but now it's time to get cleaned up, now it's time to move forward. And it's not that to say, I just think it's important for people at least it was for me to understand that wallowing is a part of the process. It's like the beginning. Okay, great. Now what?

Justin: 31:44

Yeah, now what? And to realize we are part of imperfect world. Now, the moment sin entered. There's not just perfect programmings that are going to remove things. There's great things out there that people have been through so much. It would be like someone who's been through human trafficking there's going, you know, if we talk about, you know, prescriptive work, there's going to be years of counseling they need, but it doesn't mean they can't be effective in following Christ immediately. There's a process.

Justin: 32:17

Yesterday I'm walking my garbage cans up to my curve because this is like the day that they're going to come pick up my garbage. I mean, this is yesterday and I have this kind of like you said a while ago, your thought opened up when I mentioned the walking track. I had something I've read. I don't even know when I thought about it. I probably haven't thought about it since I was 17 years old and I'm walking the garbage up and it hits my head, just something where I can't remember what happened, but I can remember there was a shutting down.

Justin: 32:50

I did a little bit and I kind of stopped. I put the garbage where it was and I just kind of stopped. I was trying to dig like, oh, what is this Because now I'm beginning to where it was and I just kind of stopped. I was trying to dig like, oh, what is this? Because now I'm beginning to recognize oh, new revelation. Because there are still things that I do to this day and it's just part of the culmination of our life, that we've lived things that have been said, how my personality received it, how my wiring receives it, how I've discredited myself, how I've over complimented myself, how I've done things the right way, the wrong way. So we're so thank. Thank, the Lord for Jesus.

Justin: 33:27

We're so messed up but we still can open the keyboard and see what's going on, and so those are just the moments that I'm just, I'm, I'm, I'm, seriously, I don't know what to do. There's no prescriptive measure like Holy Spirit. Is there anything you can recall? To my mind, because it was a? It was a little thing, but it reminded me of a moment where the lights were on, and it was a moment where the lights kind of dimmed out a little bit or a little bit of the expressiveness left and somewhere in there the good part how God is so sovereign he took the less expressive side and helped it become a good listener, a good man.

Justin: 34:10

You're very melancholy and I love that about you. So it's almost like it's been strengthened and affirmed, maybe in some good ways, but there's also still that light that dimmed out at one moment. It's almost like it's been strengthened and affirmed, maybe in some good ways. Yeah, but there's also still that light that dimmed out at one moment, that the more work that I do, there's more expression that begins to awaken and I realized that, my gosh, this happened like 28 years ago, wow. But it's taken getting through all this excavated ground and just having to dig so deep that I've been able to find it. So it's natural if you're doing the work that you almost feel like in certain ways I feel more messed.

Justin: 34:51

You know, if you were to say this I feel more messed up now than I did when I was 15. And it's like you're not. It's not being about more messed up or not being more messed up, it just means you're doing some good work. And you got to the motherboard and you can see the little burn mark where the lightning may have struck you one time and everything else was operating fine, the keys were playing just great. But yet you hit the sustain pedal and that plug's no longer working. So you were still operating at some kind of an optimal level.

Justin: 35:20

But you're now giving time to this motherboard and you see a little burnt here. One moment you were burned and now you got to go in and understand like, let the Holy Spirit solder it begin to fix the wires. It just needed some intentional work. If you're listening, that spark, maybe that's been out in you in 20 years, 10 years, and you just thought maybe your personality has grown out of that. There might be that spark that just rekindles because the Holy Spirit has now been given the space, you have done the work, you have hit another level of surrender where you can go even deeper and just like that you've come alive. You're back to your kind of factory reset and full design Only.

Rhett: 35:56

Yes, For a full implementation of how you were truly designed and You've come alive. You're back to your kind of factory reset and full design. Yes. For a full implementation of how you were truly designed to operate in the first place and as you operate in that there's going to be something else that gets revealed and you realize there's another motherboard.

Justin: 36:10

It's just the beauty. But in no time during that, in no time was Christ like well, I can't really work with you until this is done. He's walking with us every step of the way and we're being changed from glory to glory and that's why we feel like we can be in His perfect will now. I feel like I was in His perfect will 32 years ago. I feel like I was in His perfect will 10 years ago and at the same time I can look back and realize I made a huge error because I let a foreign voice talk me out of something. Or I made a huge error because I did an action that I really regret. Or I made a huge error because I talked to my kids in a way that I can't ever take that back, Like I can't take it back.

Justin: 36:52

They may go to counseling one day and it's going to stab me like a dagger when they say my dad said this one time and now I've got to allow Christ to help me deal with that, but yet acknowledge that I can't undo what's been done. But you can walk in divine grace of Jesus and let him do his work in your life and trust that he's doing the work in everybody else, Because what we're looking is to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly Micah 6, 8. And we are followers after Christ, so imitate me as I. Imitate Christ basically means imitate me going through this walk in my full, the best in me and some of the worst in me, and imitate me as I try to allow the Holy Spirit to do this work and expose areas that I'm getting closer and closer in my pursuit of Christ.

Rhett: 37:45

And the unfortunate part, not looping around and just living in the circle. But the unfortunate part is many of us aren't seeing that part of follow me as I follow Christ. We see, read your word pray, worship. Uh, all right all great things all great things, yeah, but a lot of us are not getting the authentic. But how do you like, how do you work through this issue? How did you get through? Because it seems to me like you've got it all together.

Rhett: 38:15

You know it's like, like, how are you working through? Let like, like, how are you working through? Let me just say this how are you working through, um, the lust issue of not wanting to look at porn? Yeah, like, how are you working through that? How are you applying, taking every thought captive and making it obedient to God? And, in addition, how do you, when you might fall, or you have fallen in that area, or you looked at something or had this thought, whatever it might be, or you went into self-gratification and you're, like, you feel horrible about it, Like, how, how did you work through that Cause? You just automatically didn't go. Well, I just took every thought captive and made it obedient to Christ. But like, great, okay, I get that. But how did you like, how did you deal with the shame? How'd you deal with the guilt? How did you deal with overcoming that aspect of life and how did you live out the scripture? Because I do want to imitate you and I want to follow you as you follow Christ, but I need some, like I need some legwork here with whatever that might be.

Rhett: 39:14

Now I use that particular instant because that had always been something in my life, growing up, that I was dealing with behind the scenes that nobody else knew, and I've mentioned this before, but it was like I'm not seeing it. So I feel like I'm broken. I feel like I'm all jacked up. I feel like I'm all messed up because it's like all these other people are living in freedom and here I am with this hidden sin in my life going. I'm struggling over here, I feel less than you know and it's like how did you, how do I get to where you are? Because I'm not get okay, but like, practically speaking, right, and it wasn't until later in life where I began to realize, oh, this is what that looks like.

Rhett: 39:53

And it all goes back to loving yourself, the way that God loves you, like kind of mindset and learning, just walking through that foundational part, but also learning how to open up about traumas that have happened in your life and having other people understand and bring them into it. For accountability, yes, but also for prayer in just a lot of layers, right, but I had to find out a lot of that on my own because this imitate me, as I imitate Christ. It's like, well, I'm only seeing the good. Help me, help me brother, help me sister. Right, with a little bit more than that. And so all that to say like I'm not kind of like revisiting and keep passionate out because we've given all the answers, I just think, man, I think this kind of conversation more into the body of Christ at least we can speak from the Western point of view is really going to help people, lead them toward a place of freedom, longevity and understanding the process, the transformative process, because it is of walking with Jesus.

Justin: 40:55

Yeah, and it gets back to just the group of guys who meet. They don't probably have an organized way that they're helping theirself, but they're sitting there fleshing things out and you know what? They're probably ending dinner, yes, with hey. It was great to hang out again, but there probably has been, and it takes a while you got to build it up. But there's the moment where I'll put it on us. I can leave a conversation with you and end it where it is. I don't necessarily have to feel like now, how do I package this with where I want to end on a high note so that he doesn't remember me as the downer today and now I'm. Now what I'm doing is I'm being, I'm trying to.

Justin: 41:52

I'm trying to profession it up a little bit Like yeah, so that's been really down. But anyway, you know God's really good and I'm grateful for you man, you brother, do you know how special you are? And then, I get to leave and I made you feel better, but I didn't make you feel better for your sake.

Rhett: 42:10

I made it feel better so that you would have a good thought of me when I leave.

Justin: 42:12

Yeah, the motive and the agenda was more about you than it was about the person you're serving, and so you've got to be able to just sit there. That's a great way to end things.

Rhett: 42:18

but what is your motivation to it?

Justin: 42:19

It is, it is a great way, but sometimes, when we end it, we're ending it to save our own marketing and insecurity and our branding.

Rhett: 42:27

Yeah.

Rhett: 42:28

And we've never been about the brand other than the brand of Christ, and sometimes it's okay to sit with a—that's a great point, because we're not really good with sitting with the awkward. We that's that's a great point, because we're not really good with sitting with the awkward. We got to sit with the awkward, you know it goes to. I don't know if I mentioned this the other day on the podcast or it was just a conversation you and I had, but we were at a place where we were sitting and I saw these students and four or five of them you know really just couples, they were teenagers or whatever. You know two guys, two girls and they were not in conversation with each other, they were looking at their phones the whole time.

Justin: 42:59

Did I mention this before?

Rhett: 43:02

I don't remember if it was on the podcast but me and you talked about that, yeah, but it was like I was like man, this is, I'm watching it, I'm going. They don't know how to have a conversation with each other. Yeah, they don't know how to sit with the awkward. Pull those phones away and let's see how long they could sit there and actually look at each other in the eyes and come up with a conversation For them. That was probably going to be very awkward At first At first, right, and so the reason I mentioned that is because we're not really.

Rhett: 43:26

We live in this society right now where things are coming at us so fast and we can't sit 10 seconds or 15 seconds in silence without checking our phone. Yeah, if you don't believe me, set your phone down down, throw it on the other side of the room for a minute. If you could go five feet away from it. Just try that, yeah, and then just set it up and then try to go about your day and then see how many times you can count the seconds. Keep a timer on it, yeah, and see how quick your body, like reflects, is to go grab the phone, or look in your pocket where's my phone, or oh yeah, you know, because we're constantly trying to fill our minds and in in with constant noise and we're not really good with sitting there in the silence or the awkward moment going to your point. Sometimes it's okay to man that sucks. Yeah, okay, I'll see you next week exactly, you know it's like we don't.

Rhett: 44:16

We feel like we gotta be like, no, we gotta have that dopamine hit of okay you know you'll change the world. We'll see you next week and sit in the suck again.

Justin: 44:25

And it goes back to how, when the Holy Spirit works with us, when God, our Father, is doing a work we talked about in our Roots and Wings episode a couple back episode a couple back that you, who's being very risky, ready to be the adventurer, god could be telling you hey, I want you to slow down. Me, who might be very risk averse. The Holy Spirit is telling me at the same time go for it. Yeah, so there's just different operation systems that we have and he's so sovereign he deals with every one of us. You can have a small group of guys and, um, I mean me and you may be very much used to a group of people and it's normal but, we also have people in our group who they've not gotten to be around a good group of guys ever.

Justin: 45:15

And the beautiful part of this is me and you. Professionally, we have to grow. We're a little more cleaned up and we can come in and run a room and we know how to make you feel good. We know how to. I'm not even talking about the hot tub, but we know how to like. Hey everybody, our young day, I don't mean that. I mean we can walk into a room and make it. We know what to say, we know how to open, we know how to sense if someone's going too far. And yes, there are processes in leading.

Rhett: 45:43

You got to help navigate it and that's needed and it has its place.

Justin: 45:47

But what happens is we overextend that knowledge. So someone comes in and they're not used to this and they might not be quite yet oversharing because you got to shut down certain parts in the right way. But the first hint of saying something you'll be able to feel the discomfort, like in the circle, and sometimes it's just you who might have the knowledge. Who's feeling it? Because I can't tell you how many times the other people who I'm trying to shepherd I use air quotes there- I get it.

Justin: 46:18

Yeah, you're trying to shepherd. They're the very ones who say at the end, wow, and they point back to that guy when you were saying that. That's so true, and I'm sitting there thinking, well, by God, like that that worked.

Justin: 46:33

I mean, and it's a great reminder to me because I would have left to my devices. I would have shut it down. But I'm trying to be obedient as I'm growing, not to intervene too soon. Yeah, that's just an example of how God works. And now you've got a group, true authenticity is being able to form. I haven't shut this guy down, so now he's opening up. And now you fast forward all these months and years. I'm now listening to the same guy being very open and now I'm gaining the wisdom from him. I'm learning from the very one that I would have tried to cut off because they weren't as polished as I might think you have to be.

Rhett: 47:20

Hey friends, Rhett here, Just want to take a moment to speak to those who may be joining us for the first time. We want to say welcome, friends. However, you found us, we are so glad that you did and we believe it wasn't by accident. We're so glad that you did and we believe it wasn't by accident. We're so glad that you joined us in on this conversation today. In fact, if you haven't already done so, could we encourage you to follow us on social media? You can find us on Facebook or Instagram at Armchair Authentic, or over on X at Armchair Auth Pod. That's Armchair Auth, or over on X at ArmchairAuthPod. That's ArmchairAuth A-U-T-H-P-O-D. All right, Thanks for taking the time to do that. Now let's get back to our conversation. So excuse the poet in me, but we have to learn how to sit in the suck but not be stuck in the suck.

Justin: 48:16

I like it.

Rhett: 48:16

I mean honestly, that's what we're talking about do it. We have to be comfortable to learn how to sit in the suck, yeah, but not to be stuck in the suck, it's great. I know that rhymes and that's how my brain works.

Rhett: 48:28

It's great but that is literally what I'm getting out of our conversation, in that iron sharpens iron.

Rhett: 48:35

We're getting better, but, man, my, my, my, my mind can go in so many different directions with how, like, yes, we're really good at um I don't want to use the word controlling, but being very aware in leading through these situations, in awareness of new people, other people, the dynamic of what's happening with the temperature in the room, with how a conversation can go really quick to suck and to be aware of how this affects the dynamic of the room and be leading enough to go okay, glad this person mentioned this. However, might not be what we think is the appropriate time, so we can learn how to lead through that in a way, to where we lift the room again, where everybody can breathe again. But then sometimes it's good for us to go no, let's sit with this for a minute and allow that to just be what it is. Yes, and for them to be seen, to be heard, because what we're doing is we're adding value and saying that emotion matters. Yeah, that pain, it's got to hurt and it's got to suck and we're not boxing it.

Justin: 49:40

in saying that, no one else is surely getting anything out of this.

Rhett: 49:44

But we're also not throwing the quick one line. You know, all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. So that's right. Remember greater are you than he. That's in the world.

Justin: 49:55

Great is he using you.

Rhett: 49:57

Remember, God has not left you nor forsaken you. He's right there with you in the suck.

Justin: 50:02

So let's keep moving. We're not doing it right and all those scriptures have their point and their place, and then the guy who's going to share about the great financial windfall place. And then the guy who's going to share about the great financial windfall he came. Now we're hovering on that guy. Now we have a multi-millionaire sitting. Oh yes, do share more.

Rhett: 50:15

I'll talk about it. I love my mention.

Justin: 50:18

Oh yes, keep going, because now I'm waiting for the invite to your lake house, I know right and oh, homeboy over here is just sitting there feeling terrible because he's like, okay, they just discarded me.

Rhett: 50:29

Yeah, and it's like, but every we mourn with those who mourn.

Justin: 50:33

We're going to build us a good old boys club over here with the rich guys. You're not going to be invited to the next one.

Rhett: 50:40

You know, if you really think about the context of mourn, with those who mourn, what does it mean? It means to sit in the sock, man, just don't get stuck there, yeah, but like it's okay to have a moment with your fellows, or the ladies, when you're meeting and just have a moment where someone said something deep and now you're like oh don't want to suck the air out of the room.

Rhett: 50:59

I don't, I don't want to be inauthentic. I'm going through some stuff and I want to share it, but I don't want to steal this hour and a half or hour and 15 to make it all about me, right. But I do want to share, but then I want to also rejoice with you, but I need somebody to mourn with me right now, in a minute moment. I don't because there isn't, there's. I wish people had enough self-awareness, because what typically happens in these environments, yeah, is that they they blow the blah, blah, blah, you know, throw it up out there and then they want to monopolize, yeah, the whole meeting. Yeah, without enough self-awareness for everybody else to know that they might be going through some stuff too. And with this hour and 15, that only happens every week or so. We all need to kind of participate in these things too.

Justin: 51:58

I wish people had enough and they don't, and that's where the leadership side comes in with what you were saying.

Rhett: 52:04

We need to learn how to sit in it for a moment but also lead in a way where we're not stuck in it but we're not also trying to solve their issue in a matter of 30 seconds either.

Justin: 52:13

That's right, and you need to be able to go deep enough to with somebody where it's not just your natural, what we would call a small group. You know, where it's a semester based deal. Those are wonderful, those are great launching pads and I think you need more ears in those moments.

Rhett: 52:30

Yeah.

Justin: 52:31

But when it's, it's beyond the semester and it's become life, and it's your people that you are meeting with for the next 10 years. It never stops.

Rhett: 52:41

Yeah.

Justin: 52:42

You get it to that point. That's where the depths begin to shine. Yeah, and that's where it's okay. Yeah, because what you're doing is you're developing that, that you're we're all being developed, that person's being developed and you're doing is you're developing that we're all being developed, that person's being developed and they're going through some tough times and they're coming out of it.

Justin: 52:58

But then over here we're going through living our best life and we just don't like to hear that. So we need to develop some thick skin in us to be able to wait it out with somebody, and you can't always do that on the front side. That's why there has to be measures as you build the first layer of relationship. If you want to save people from themselves, you got to acknowledge there's weaknesses we all have. There are those who are going to overshare and we got to try to help them because the layer hasn't been foundation enough. Yeah, because now you're sharing and eight of these guys are going to leave, or eight of these girls are going to leave, but we also got to help these eight people learn to deal with.

Rhett: 53:37

You know what Life does suck sometimes and you got to sit through this, sir, yeah, and you know you can't say that right now but you can help them in their development, where they learn to appreciate that Could you imagine for a moment moment, the reality of everything that is not caught in Scripture, with the hangout times and the proximity and closeness between traveling and— we're talking 12 disciples here with Jesus. That's ongoing, walking lots of miles, walking lots of miles, digging lots of holes for poop and walking through some stuff and dealing with the insecurities and the issues that aren't just a once a week for an hour, 15 and a small group environment, but like they're living with each other.

Justin: 54:19

brotherhood, I mean, the chosen does a pretty good I know they take a lot of creative Liberty.

Rhett: 54:23

They keep things foundation they keep the foundational things foundational, but then they, they create the Liberty or, and they're they're creating a story. They're speaking of the unsaid that could have been right in some dialogue and what's happening I think I don't remember what episode it was, but they were like reliving, they were having a moment where they were all reliving, telling stories, and they were all dramatizing the story.

Justin: 54:49

Because they'd have like hey watch this video, it's so great, and they were reliving moments of stories. I love the thought that they would do that, but then they do that and those are the high moments.

Rhett: 54:58

But then there's the pain and there's the struggle of who's going to be the greatest. I want to sit your right hand and all that stuff Right, and you just imagine the clash of personalities and so like that.

Justin: 55:12

I just, you know, I just can't imagine, but they weren't leaving. The commonality is they were following Jesus. They were following Jesus and it kept them together in their differences.

Rhett: 55:18

Yeah, because one would have had to leave and Jesus spoke to all of them in every way he dealt with the ones who thought well, you think you're too good for that. Not going through your own issues. Let me talk about your issue so we don't focus on the person who overshared. Yes, I need to help them learn how not to overshare in the moment, but also need to help you learn how not to be judgmental and think I'm never coming back. This is a waste of my time.

Justin: 55:38

That's how good our father is.

Rhett: 55:39

You know he's a father in all of us.

Justin: 55:43

That's why I'm careful when I keep correcting myself when I'm like we're trying to develop these guys in the circle the circle.

Rhett: 55:51

I'm like no, no, no, we're all being developed.

Justin: 55:52

I mean even right now, on the podcast we're being developed in this conversation All development, 100%. Well, it goes back to triggers. When I'm pulling the garbage, can you know? Yes, last night. Yeah, and I have that thought. The same thing happens anytime you're operating in life yes, but even when you're face to face with somebody and with us, it's not just the layer of me and you talking, it's the layer of knowing this will be posted and other people are going to hear this. Yeah, so then that can bring about other reactions or triggers or brainwaves or thought patterns on what does this mean for this? Yeah, and so it's all just the process of how we all are growing and now someone's listening to this and it brings a fresh spark to their mind yeah that they're going to go on to their.

Justin: 56:39

It's just this whole, yeah, how we're all in this together. We are, and none of us are, should be, none of us should be over pedestal all in this together in this together.

Rhett: 56:50

I love this. All in this together kind of brings us and brings me back to, kind of, one of the big whys behind this podcast is because we want to create an environment where you feel like you have a seat at the table or a seat in an armchair, the living room with us, and we want this to be a conversation that you you could be also be a part of. Yeah, you know, um, I wish we had the opportunity to bring everybody in that listens and sit around physically in the room, and so I think Justin and I are really dreaming about ways that we could possibly figure out a way to include you in on the conversation and having you either call in and talk this kind of stuff out loud, cause we, our heart's desire, was never for this to be a platform just for us to have our conversations right, but it was also to be a platform to create an experience for you to feel like there's a connection point, that you have friends in us. Yes, because we are your friends, like when we see you in public, like you're our friends. You really are, and we want you to know that you have a friend in us, but we we're also trying to figure out how we can, you know, break that fourth wall, which is that podcast and digital technology, where you hit play and you feel like you're on the other side or on the other end and you would long to be in the room.

Rhett: 58:02

Yeah, so one of the best ways we could do that that, I could think, is through the comments that you make and social. And, first of all, we're not great at managing social with everything else that we have going on. We're trying, but we really would love to engage with you on social. But, more than that, really try to create an opportunity and we love your ideas to see how we might be able to do this to even have some of you, as a listener, be in an episode with us and have these conversations. So, if you think of the old radio shows, you know, like I know, for in the South, rick and Bubba is popular. Nobody knows who they are in the Northwest unless they're from the South and move there.

Rhett: 58:40

Yeah, but they had always take a time where they would have callers call in and like, hey, you know, first time caller, long time listener, kind of thing, right, yeah, but like that mindset and these are things we're processing because, going to your point, we're all in this together.

Rhett: 58:57

We want you to feel that way, yeah, and so if you're in a season where you don't have relationship, we want to be that relationship and those friends.

Rhett: 59:02

Not that we're the answer, we're not saying that, but we want you to feel like you have a voice, can be heard, because we don't have all the answers, but to connect with you and to feel like you've got that connection, because we don't have all the answers, but to connect with you and to feel like you've got that connection. So you know, you may have noticed a little bit of different intro, which is imagine a world, right, and that's the world that we're imagining of what it would look like to break that fourth wall and to bring you in on it. That's why we love having Jay Ray and, you know, all our friends come on and it's fun to have the occasional special guest who, in our mind, have done some successful things Right. Occasional special guests who, in our mind, have done some successful things right. You know, um doesn't make them greater or any less than, but like having friends come in and and and and talking and communicating, and so I don't know.

Justin: 59:39

those are the things. So we're looking at ways to see how how can we create an Avenue where you know it a certain week which is why you being, you know, following us on socials is key, where we're going to try to give more attention, to even post to those who are following us on socials or message those who are a part of our community on Instagram and Facebook and and X, to be able to let you know, you know a few days out or whatever. That, hey, at this time, yeah.

Justin: 1:00:06

And that way you would have a number to call and you would know that if you call at that time you're going to be with us and we would love to try to see how that could work to get some conversation for those of you who would want to jump on and have just some, be a friend at the table and you could remain nameless.

Rhett: 1:00:23

You just say you could tell us your name. Where are you from? Like, you know all the above, but at the end of the day, it's just like we want to hear from you, we want to talk with you. Yeah, we want you to be seen, we want you to be heard, we want to add value to you outside of, and we want to invite you because you do have a seat at the table. That's right, you know, it may not be physically, but it could be digitally through a phone call. Yep, you know, and so yeah, but at the end of the day, when you said that, it reminded me of that thought, of what we've been talking behind the scenes about.

Justin: 1:00:54

I mean these, you know this has all been spontaneous conversation, which our goal is. It would have to be spontaneous, oh yeah, and thankfully we have the ability to do that with people. I mean we always have, and it's a strength we have together. Yeah, you know, we talked about how the, you know, jesus sent him out two by two. It's kind of a little modern day version of this. It is two by two and, uh, we would love to have you join us. It wouldn't feel awkward for you.

Rhett: 1:01:26

I think we would have have our part to help make you feel welcome and also give you a platform, and we would just make it a great conversation. Yeah, and I and I think email is a good thing Info at armchairauthenticcom. You could definitely email us there. That might be a good starting point. But you know, if I just think there's something to be said about a conversation outside of just reading somebody's email, you know.

Justin: 1:01:44

Yeah. So we'd like to experiment. What would it be like and how does our equipment work? So we're going to be testing some of this and we'll see if it works. If it works, great. If it. If, if there's not the place to do it, we'll figure out another way. But we have the equipment. We think that we could have you call in and we would, we would, we'd want to serve you any way we could. If it's giving you a moment to talk, share something you've been through, you might be going through a struggle and you just want to kind of get it out there and we just talk yeah, let's do it, let's do it. There's no parameters really to start with on this, but it's just an opportunity to have you come take a seat at the table.

Rhett: 1:02:19

Yeah, and so we don't know when we're going to unroll this, we don't know how we're going to unroll this or unveil this. I should say we're just talking out loud, being authentic, about some of the conversations we've had. We want to share that. If you think it'd be helpful or you think that'd be fun, you know, let us know. Uh, send us an email. You know comment, uh let us know.

Justin: 1:02:37

Hey, that's a great idea, we'd love that you know, and if you know me, I don't like doing anything until it is planned out, and I've already had people calling in to know that it's going to work. We talk about how we're growing.

Justin: 1:02:50

Yeah, that's something that podcast has grown it stretched me like crazy, because it's kind of putting yourself out there. You really are and and you know what I love every minute of that. It's just part of our process of growing. So I'm trying to actually back up a little bit of the talk and give some walk to it as well. But we'll find out, yeah, but we're throwing it out there, let's go Well.

Rhett: 1:03:12

Hey guys, thanks for your time. We look forward to next episode. See you next Monday On the next episode of armchair authentic there's always a shadow side.

Justin: 1:03:23

Yeah, if you're a communicator, yeah, there's always the other person who's going to be doing it at a stellar level and it will be much better than you. There's always someone who's going to sound better than you. You might be a pastor who is a true shepherd to people. You might not be that great of a smooth communicator as the person that you're probably watching that your shadow is saying you need to be more like them, but we cannot step away from the call, the gifts that Jesus gave us so that we can be the capital C church, and we are bringing our gifts that he gave us to serve each other, to build up this amazing body, and you better know that where there's a body, there's a shadow, and the shadow is what we're going to be looking at, thinking that is distracting me from what God has.

Rhett: 1:04:15

We cannot wait until that conversation, but until then, we hope to stay connected with you throughout the week on social media, on Facebook, instagram or even X DM us, message us, email us at info at armchairauthenticcom and let's continue the conversation. So until then, god bless, stay safe and we'll see you soon for another conversation with your friends Red and Justin, right here at Armchair Authentic. Thank you.