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. You know, justin, sometimes our pre-conversations, before we even hit record, are so rich in content that I'm like why did we not hit record and record some of this? But then you know, some of some of our conversations just need to be with us man, and that's OK.

Justin: 0:33

Yeah, they really do. That's probably why we say that they're so good, because there's no pressure, we're just completely.

Rhett: 0:41

Yeah.

Justin: 0:42

Authentic authentic.

Rhett: 0:43

Well, we're always authentic, authentic, but again, there's some things that just need to be said between friends, and I don't say that in a way to make anybody feel left out, but I do think it's important, uh, that people understand that.

Rhett: 0:54

you know it, not everything has to be a vulnerable conversation, yeah, expressed in front of thousands of people know your audience you got to know your audience and know the timing to to it as well, and understand that some things I think there's wisdom there too to understand that in your conversations with people, um, you need to know who you can open up with on another level that not everybody needs to hear, and that's okay, they're not ready for it? Yeah, they're not ready for it. And you know I'm reminded of joseph. You know god gave him the dream. You know I'm reminded of Joseph. You know God gave him the dream. You know, speaking biblically.

Justin: 1:25

Yeah, Genesis story. You know One of my favorites.

Rhett: 1:28

Yeah, it's a great story and not to go into the depths of that, but just a little nugget from that is you know, you can learn that sometimes there's dreams that God gives us that are for us and from him. But sometimes, like Joseph, he didn't necessarily have, in my opinion, looking at the story, the the maturity of age to understand that he probably shouldn't open up about that dream in front of his, the crowd, his brothers, the brothers who couldn't stand him and would not celebrate that they're already jealous of him.

Justin: 2:02

His dad made him the awesome colorful yeah wrong time, wrong crowd.

Rhett: 2:07

Definitely a god moment know your people for sure know your people, know your crowd and yeah, so to, to know that we can have that, and so, literally, if you're, if you're listening in, I think what do we have like a two-hour conversation?

Justin: 2:19

probably at least it's something we're like. Should we be recording this mixed withed with a good walk? But you know a lot of it. It was funny because we were just sitting here talking on our mics just not recording.

Rhett: 2:30

We were.

Justin: 2:31

So it was still in the same mode it was.

Rhett: 2:38

But it was a little more vulnerable two weeks since something we talked about on our conversation in a couple of episodes where we were going to be doing an event at PCF Parkway Christian Fellowship, which is our home church. That's right. The goal was we were going to lead worship, not just you and I together to have our sons be a part of that. That's right. And what's incredible is our sons were a part of that and we at the time we record this is at literally a couple of days after that event.

Micah: 3:06

So we're still kind of fresh on this. So by the time you're- hearing it.

Rhett: 3:09

It's been two weeks past.

Justin: 3:11

So I thought we could just and a couple of episodes back. We were talking to our future self, yeah, and we hope it went well. Yeah, so now we can actually answer that.

Rhett: 3:19

Yeah. So talking from that perspective of just processing out loud some of the emotion and just the joy of that event, If I was to put it into one word I would say phenomenal.

Micah: 3:34

Phenomenal for sure.

Rhett: 3:36

We've already got six more times, we can say it yeah okay, if you're just now joining us, go back to listen to an episode ago or two episodes ago, and you'll understand why that's funny. But no, what was your experience like?

Justin: 3:51

I know I can speak for me, but I'll pass it to you. Man, I thought it was. I mean, first of all, it was so good. If I had to just say one word, it would be phenomenal, but I would say surreal. You know, we got to experience leading worship with our boys and that was really, really special I mean, that was a standout to me.

Justin: 4:11

If they wouldn't have been there just us being on that stage getting to lead worship at the place that we first had our opportunity 32 years ago that would have been worth it alone, man Cause it was. It was really. It was just wild to be back in that room and everything that's put them as a church back in that room that you would have never been in on a Sunday morning. Yeah, it was really cool. If you can picture, a youth room that was basically the former chapel of the original church many decades ago and they, they literally as a youth group, we covered that bad boy up. We didn't want the stained glass window, right, we wanted to make it very youthy vibes. 30 years ago, well, for the first time, I just remember thinking we walked in and they uncovered everything.

Rhett: 4:58

Yeah, so you've got. The drapes have been removed. Yeah, for decades, oh man.

Justin: 5:08

The new pastor came and removed all the drapes and basically your movable table.

Micah: 5:13

Sorry, Red has a table that moves, yeah yeah yeah, all right, I have a stand.

Justin: 5:17

Literally, it just starts moving and my mic is leaving me. I'm like what is going on?

Rhett: 5:22

I have a standing desk and I'm grateful for it, and and my chair just leaned up and hit a button and the desk is going up because I leaned over and was checking my phone. If you heard something ringing, it was my phone. Um, yeah, I just had to.

Justin: 5:35

I had to shut you know, when you're like parked still in a car starts um reversing and you feel like you're moving and you look up, that's what it? It just was. I thought I was having vertigo for a minute.

Rhett: 5:46

Hold on, give me a second man. I know normally we would edit all this junk out, but like I got to shut my phone down but somebody's leaving me a voicemail and it's so distracting and when I went over to get my phone to shut it up, my elbows hitting the button yeah.

Justin: 6:02

Totally messed your flow up. It's good. It up my elbows hitting the button. Yeah, totally messed your flow up so good, but no, so the stained glass window. They've removed it all and so it's.

Justin: 6:08

It's actually quite beautiful, it really is and I think it's something younger, I wouldn't have thought it was beautiful, but I can appreciate it. And so I mean just the sun completely. If you were to visualize like the sun's coming down strong no lights, really no effects. No, no fog machine. Me and Rhett, we, you know we had already come in to say no click track, yeah, no tracks, old school, we just wanted.

Rhett: 6:38

Yeah.

Justin: 6:38

Keyboard, and then we added bass.

Rhett: 6:41

Yeah, and the cajon.

Justin: 6:43

My son Max played bass, and then Dax, my oldest played cajon. My son Max played bass, and then Dax, my oldest, played cajon.

Rhett: 6:47

Yeah.

Justin: 6:48

And yeah, man, that was. I mean sound, with all the sound. You know, we gave ourself a margin of probably two and a half three hours and we've learned over years that you give.

Rhett: 6:58

When you're saying margin, you're not talking about the actual worship set. Was that long yeah?

Justin: 7:02

thanks for the clarity. No, we decided to arrive early for the set and the way we knew it, we probably needed. You know we could have got by with 30 we an hour would have been a good sound check time to run through the stuff with our boys. We gave ourself because we know, we know, we know our worlds. We gave ourselves three hours just in case, and so it was great.

Rhett: 7:25

Learn the art of needing margin in environments that may need to be a little tweaked.

Justin: 7:31

Yeah, so shout out to all the tweakers out there who helped tweak it and for our 15 minute sound check.

Rhett: 7:40

Three hours of margin, 15 minutes of sound check yeah.

Justin: 7:43

Our voice when you were leading a song and Max and Dax looked at me like are we going to have time to run through all this? I was like no, no, you're good though. I was like y'all feel good with this right? This is why we had two rehearsals and I kept reminding him. I was like welcome, welcome to the real world.

Rhett: 8:12

Well, yeah, yes, the real, yeah, it was so good in the real world, in in what we're saying. Real world is the reality of um putting things together in a way that you have to be creative sometimes to make things work in an environment together that are. Yeah, I mean, sometimes you need to tape a microphone to a stand you got to because you don't have a clip.

Rhett: 8:25

The clip is not there present, it's missing. And you just get creative. You're like hey, take that wireless mic and take whatever tape we can put and just tape it to the stand.

Justin: 8:35

And I got to give a shout out to one of the audio guys, because he literally they didn't have a cord long enough and the brother right there cut two cords in half and soldered them, or like wired them together, taped them together and he completed it.

Micah: 8:48

I mean I was like way to troubleshoot, yeah that was.

Justin: 8:51

That was really really good. I mean because he made it and it was long enough now to reach the input it needed to now.

Rhett: 8:57

granted, they're used to running in ears in that environment and we were like we don't want to do any years andars in this environment and they had to change from their normal.

Justin: 9:03

That's right. They rewired and we actually asked for what most people don't. Most people get rid of the monitor wedges that come back at you as the one on a stage. Yeah, a lot of that's gone these days, but we requested them back in the room. Yeah, we said no in-ears, we're good with that. We want the monitors. Yeah, we want to go old school.

Rhett: 9:23

We want to go old school, and so we weren't high maintenance by any stretch of the imagination no not at all. But it was, you know, speaking for the experience, hold on. So I have my dog in the room and she's been laying down for a very long time.

Micah: 9:37

You just keep doing that, are you good? Lay down, lay down.

Rhett: 9:42

Good girl Lay down. Sorry, molly, talking to my golden doodle, she's getting comfortable, as you can hear that, in the room laying down on a beanbag with her toy.

Micah: 9:52

She looks ready.

Rhett: 9:54

Stay All right. So the whole experience was it was a throwback to us, but when I say throwback to us, I mean personally creating a moment for us to be on the same platform where we got our first experience to ever sing and lead anybody and I can't speak for your son, but I can for my son as far as leading in a church service, leading worship in a church service on a Sunday morning. It was his first opportunity to ever play bass guitar on a platform, leading people into the presence of God with a gift, and that was just an emotional moment for me. That was like wow, and only God could orchestrate this. We didn't plan this Like you invited me to come and be a part of this and I was like I don't think, I don't know if I'm gonna be an idol or not. I mean kind of up in the air. Sorry, you can't solidify it. They get priority for sure, but given the fact that God opened that, and then we got creative and say what would it look like if we got our boys together? And we won't set them up for failure, we'll set them up for success If they're not ready, um, and they did a great job and and so, but leading in a room that is vibrant already, this chapel.

Rhett: 11:08

If you think of a chapel, I'm sure your mind goes to whatever your mind goes to, but it's like a frame. Yeah, it's got this high ceiling. The stained glass windows you talked about are behind the platform leading up, so all the natural light coming in the tree line outside of the green. Yeah, you know, no lights, no technology outside of a tv with words on it, right, but being in that environment with, like, I don't know, I have 100 people and I don't know how many you could fit in that room. I think, as kids, you could sit two.

Micah: 11:41

Yeah, two buds, one seat. We grabbed about 250, but adults needing some space I think a hundred in there in the room yeah, close to that, that's great, but them singing.

Rhett: 11:51

And then the reason the a-frame is important is because it's all wood, so it's a brick wall, stained glass and the wood ceilings, the resonation of tone, yeah, you could almost whisper in that room and be heard. And so hearing everybody sing um, because now in in environments you're in now mostly and I can only speak from you know the churches that we're in yeah, it's different for everybody.

Rhett: 12:16

Very padded, very sound controlled and it absorbs, it absorbs, and you don't really hear the person singing in front of you or beside you or behind you. Yeah, you hear the band, and rightfully so. I mean, we're trying to create environments where people feel like they can sing out. But there was something special. Yeah, now, granted, we had invites from youth who came from different parts of the journey and seasons of Parkway, but, man, there was just something special in the room that was unique to just. You know, when the music fades, and all is stripped away and I simply come.

Rhett: 12:46

Now, we didn't sing that song we could have.

Justin: 12:49

But I'm coming back to the heart of worship, it could have been done, yeah.

Rhett: 12:53

So it was really like just hearts connected as a community, yeah, and I love the fact that it was multiracial.

Micah: 13:00

Yeah, it was I mean it was a beautiful expression.

Rhett: 13:02

Yeah, between African-Americans and whites coming together. Yeah, in singing and in loving each other in community. And if you're in a different part of the world or different part of the country, you got to realize birmingham, alabama was you know civil rights movement, civil rights movement and so to be a part of that was huge. And then to sing, and then to have these moments of just free expression, of not being in a hurry to get to the next song and let things settle. As a musician, for a minute.

Rhett: 13:29

And to hear people singing and expressing their heart to God, and not being in a hurry and not even really needing to say much, but just be present in his presence. Man, I had tears coming down my eyes. I couldn't even look some of the people in the face because I was like I'm going to lose it, and I could barely even sing one or two songs. I was like, oh man, I got to pull it together. There was a lot of intimacy to being on the stage.

Justin: 13:50

You were right there with the people. They're literally standing right there with you. You could touch them. Two feet away. And so the moments of what you were talking about, the worship, I mean, that was something my wife had, you know, summer had talked about. She was just. She loved hearing just the whispers of like Jesus, people are just worshiping and singing and just that sweet, just there's such a sweetness there. And then, after you know we did, we did probably four songs but we let them take a while.

Justin: 14:20

Like we just flowed and so we did some chorus and bridges without doing all the verses. So we just flowed and so we did some chorus and bridges without doing all the verses. So we, we just we did it where people would know the lyrics. We tried to make the room comfortable so that they could just engage, had some fun little moments, but then at the end there's more of a flow moment we gave the pastor so that he could kind of take it in a certain direction. And they called up the elders and they had a prayer moment.

Justin: 14:42

It was just up the elders.

Rhett: 14:46

Yeah, they had a prayer moment. It was just. It was really sweet. I call it old school, but honestly it it just was it. It wasn't programmed to death. Yeah, and I'm not saying that programs aren't important and I'm not saying because they have their place and you want to honor time and so it was just a more of a special moment yeah, anything that we're saying today is not putting down what it is, but it is affirming that there is some cool other stuff that you got to be a part of.

Rhett: 15:07

I got to be a part of this past weekend there are different expressions and they're all needed and they all have their place. You know, and it was just an expression that you know I've somewhat missed. If I'm being 100% honest, I'm not saying I need it all the time or want it all the time or I want to just swing the pendulum back to to to that or recreate these moments, but I don't know, man, there was just something special and it was funny. And I say funny, what is a great reminder to me was how well you and I flow with each other.

Justin: 15:39

Oh yeah.

Rhett: 15:40

And kind of think, yeah, without even going I know you're going to go to the sixth chord here and I don't even have to say it we just kind of wink, we're like, okay, we're like look at each other. We know where we're headed, where we're going and what it feels like.

Justin: 15:51

Yeah, very effortless. You would have thought we practiced forever.

Rhett: 15:56

Effortless and I'm not even saying that. You know I'm not trying to undersell the performance here, because it wasn't a performance, but I'm not the greatest player. But I just try my best to do to just steward what God's given me in a way that I can just express it in a way that you know is just me. Um, but it was. It was really good of how we could connect and even singing harmony again.

Justin: 16:17

Like bro, so good.

Rhett: 16:18

I don't remember the last time I've done that.

Justin: 16:20

Yeah, I didn't know Rhett could still belt them tenor notes out like that. You were hitting him hard. I was like go, Rhett. I was like because when you lead.

Rhett: 16:28

I'm going to the baritone. Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I was like well, I mean this is family.

Justin: 16:33

If I crack, I crack.

Rhett: 16:35

I was like whatever.

Justin: 16:36

You did not. It was so good. It was fun and I don't know if you know, we still analyze those dynamics and it's fun to talk about the dynamics of the room, the dynamics of the song. I can remember one moment because you know, if there were five songs, I led three of them and so when we're in the flow it was funny to just we kept going back into it. For us it was a song Holy Forever, yeah.

Rhett: 17:04

And I just thought to myself it was a song Holy Forever, yeah. And I just thought to myself it's Chris Tomlin.

Justin: 17:07

Holy Forever. And I thought, well, I'm going to share the wealth because here I am, I'm leading the song a little more. So I looked at Rhett, like you take it, buddy, yeah, and Rhett went up to the mic to take it, but he's singing it and he realizes I don't really know every word to this chorus.

Rhett: 17:20

I know the words. I just get the flow of the. There's like a two-part chorus and you weren't planning on singing it. No, I wasn't.

Justin: 17:28

So you didn't have to really think ahead and I just remember backing off, thinking I'm doing something good and you're feeling the responsibility, so you go to the mic, but you're looking at me whispering like I do not know anything.

Rhett: 17:40

I sang and the angels cry, holy, holy. And then the next part is it's either hear your people sing or all creation sings, and I'm like that's the part that I don't remember.

Justin: 17:51

And I'm like, I think it's, and I'm like well it was funny because when you mouth it to me I literally just made my way back up to the mic and just took over.

Rhett: 18:00

And it was just so, and I'm up and I've got this biggest smile on my face which looked like we did this on purpose is if I'm singing and then you come back in and you take it over.

Justin: 18:10

I'm like, okay, like the old call and response. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will call the one that I will. But I just, and I would you know when you do those things and you just start smiling because I'm thinking, yeah, like that was, it was a bit of it could have been a chaotic moment and it just was. So at the very, very last minute it pulled together and it came across very orchestrated.

Rhett: 18:33

And I appreciate you know I had my son standing next to you, closer to you. Um, obviously we had a pretty cool little.

Rhett: 18:40

You know four thing happening on the platform but I wanted him on that side, because when I'm leading, if I go to a court or something that you know where I'm headed, you can talk him through it, and vice versa. When you're leading, if things are speeding up and need to slow down and match a rhythm, I could lean over and tell Dax hey, you know, we're trying to follow your dad a little bit.

Justin: 18:58

Slow it down a little bit, there was much like he, just a little slower catch that groove, when the when the crowd starts clapping, they're always going to speed you up so if you're not a musician, we're not, we're.

Rhett: 19:08

I know we're talking some musician talk, but just you know humorous with allowing us the opportunity just to kind of reflect on a moment that was really special for us and um and and our boys and, and you know, I think our sons will look at this differently 10, 15, 15, 20 years down the road, differently than maybe now. I mean, they have their experience and it's fun, and my son was already like hey, I'm ready for the next gig. Let's go.

Rhett: 19:31

Not as if church is a gig. But like this idea of I just want to do it again because there was something fun about that A little fire, A little seed.

Justin: 19:38

Let's go, man. And it was fun. After, too. We had a little reunion where you had a lot of people who had come from previous generations and decades of the church, and we made our way back there. They had the snacks and the food ready. I never made it to the food, by the way.

Rhett: 19:56

By the time I did I was already like. I mean, I was in the hallway, I got stopped and I slowly made my way.

Justin: 20:02

Yeah, and then by the end end, it was like all right, let me at least I'm going to give a quick hug, I can't keep talking to everybody but, this is so fun.

Rhett: 20:13

So I a huge shout out to pastor Ron Harris. The Parkway, um, yeah, I mean, he did such. A we're so honored for the invite to be still be a part of what is our home church and what God's doing now. New in this season, great to honor the past, but it really is more of a momentum shift and movement, honoring what yes, look at what God has done. But man moving forward into all that God has for Parkway is really exciting. You know, pastor Randy was invited to be a part of that. He was there to honor him, which was great and huge shout out to Melissa Williams.

Micah: 20:43

Oh yeah.

Justin: 20:43

One of our listeners.

Rhett: 20:44

Yes, melissa, we appreciate all that you did.

Justin: 20:47

You did a great job together and get your word out.

Rhett: 20:49

That was great. And then Ms Massey.

Justin: 20:51

Ms Peggy, oh, ms Peggy Massey, oh man, she brought it.

Rhett: 21:09

Yeah, they did a great job. They really did, and I wish I had more time to hang. We just had to get going. We had about an hour extra after the service, which sounds like a long time, but seriously, I could have been there four hours and been in depth of conversations, and to those who drove you know Paul and some of his family driving out from Mississippi.

Micah: 21:17

Shout out to Paul.

Justin: 21:17

Shout out to Nate Nathan, his brother.

Rhett: 21:19

Yeah, and just everybody. It was just really. It was neat to see. So how that unfolds in the future, we don't know, but I think all that to say, I feel like I've been missing out on those moments. As a 48-year-old, going back and experiencing leading worship with you in the moment and the grace gift that God's given us to lead together in a fun way and connect with people and have a good time.

Justin: 21:44

That was good.

Rhett: 21:46

How can you tie Alabama football and Auburn football into an intro in leading worship and keep people unified? Only we could do that.

Justin: 21:53

Well, it felt— that's exactly what happened. Well, we didn't know. We did get to a point where it was like the song ended, you could tell I mean the congregation was ready to sing. They were ready to sing. And so the song ended and I guess I did feel freedom because the pastor had given us complete control, if you will, of that moment to do what we want to do. He trusted us and if you know music at all, you can create on guitar, open chords, but you can create some good funky rhythm too.

Justin: 22:23

Like if you can do bar chords and I've done that long enough where I can do it pretty muscle memory and talk, and you know I can't do a lot two things at once, but I can sing and play and so I've just got a little groove and I just brought it in the moment and it just worked. I mean the audience, you know. I say audience, the congregation is there, we're feeding off each other as a community.

Justin: 22:44

I say audience, the congregation is there, we're feeding off each other as a community, like we're lifting each other's spirits, and I did say something in the middle of there where it felt like we had a podcast episode because I did make a comment. You know everybody may have had a. I think I said something like, as we're in a rhythm vibe here and Rhett's grooving, dax and Max are grooving on their instruments, and I said, you know, maybe you've had a great week.

Justin: 23:04

And of course, for those listening around the country, where I'm a huge, we're college football fans. I'm a huge Alabama Crimson Tide fan and Red is a huge Auburn Tigers fan, and so I just came to me and I said maybe you've had a great week. Hey, maybe Alabama has signed that latest five-star recruit. And the audience gives you a lot when you say that about football and where we're from. Yeah, red, you butt in.

Rhett: 23:31

but you have to follow through with a. If you're going to talk alabama football, there's no way you can't mention auburn because you've divided the. I've just divided, so red jumps in. He was like or auburn, yeah you know.

Justin: 23:42

So now we kind of are having this conversation as we're in a groove and it just felt so natural and it and the room felt so good and none of that was planned.

Rhett: 23:51

Yeah and then you've got to throw, uh, our coach under the bus without throwing our coach.

Justin: 23:56

I did. Yes, I don't know you're like we'll see.

Rhett: 23:59

There's been a lot of golf played lately.

Justin: 24:01

Yeah, we'll see talking about a lot of golf. Yeah, yeah you. Yeah, we'll see Talking about a lot of golf, can't you?

Rhett: 24:04

freeze playing golf and not recruiting.

Justin: 24:05

Is that what it is Supposedly See?

Rhett: 24:07

the thing is, when you recruit, early on and you nail all that and you get it, then you do get a chance to wrestle.

Justin: 24:11

Is that what it is? That's exactly what it is. We'll find out in late August. August 30.

Rhett: 24:17

We're playing the long game here. We're running a marathon, can you?

Justin: 24:23

imagine a money hungry entity wanting to give someone five years to build. Oh man. You know, I don't think they'll give Coach Freeze that much time, he better do it this year, yeah.

Rhett: 24:36

It's the world we live in. He's got two more years.

Justin: 24:38

You think? Okay, Well, I mean unless he just he's got two years. Yeah, and at the time of our recording right now too. Maybe the rumors have already been put to bed by the time I say this now, but at this moment in time there's a rumor Nick Saban's coming back. No way Not happening, but they're saying it wouldn't be Alabama, it could be LSU, and so Brian Kelly better be on guard right now, because Well, you know, know, if he has a bad season nick savin back at lsu would be.

Justin: 25:07

It would be very sad for me as an alabama fan because he would completely turn that program around he would do the.

Rhett: 25:14

He would absolutely under the current system with all the nil stuff. Until things are changed, he will. He's the only one, I think, that could turn a champ, get a championship team going again.

Justin: 25:25

Well, and now Congress has laid it down where they've got their whole the, the deal of what they can spend with NIL. It's starting to get regulated now, is there?

Rhett: 25:34

any regulation for the players to have to commit to a certain time frame without being able to just still working on that.

Micah: 25:40

Because, that's the problem.

Rhett: 25:41

It's really weird. Like that it's all a problem. But it's a good problem to solve because I do like the idea that players are getting paid and there's regulation to all of it.

Justin: 25:48

But what I don't like is the lack of commitment or the lack of loyalty to universities, like it used to be Well to have a great team in life, and wherever you can't just have starters, you've got to have a solid second team a strong third team 100% got to have a solid second team. A second, I mean a strong third team 100, which means you need humility if you're the third team person and there's character to be developed there too for these young guys going into the real world.

Rhett: 26:12

Now I get it. Yeah, there's so many arguments on both sides, but that's the thing. So I feel like, under even the new regulation, with these kids who can commit and uncommit and go where there's the highest paid money, whatever Like you know, this transfer portal stuff it makes it nearly impossible for anybody to continue to create a scalable, sustainable, winning team over time, and I do think that was a part of recognizing the time and season for Nick to go. Hey, it's time for me to move on, because I'm not going to be as successful as I want to be based off the way the game is played now financially. That's just my own personal take.

Justin: 26:47

It's a great thing, but I do think and this gets back more to I guess we could cover more areas in football. Yeah, we all need an opportunity to have to play second fiddle. I'm 100% and you have so much development and you are a strength to your team. The hidden people who seem like nothing, that's the strength of an organization, that's the strength of anything. And when you have that option of I didn't start this year, I'm out because I'm going to the people who want me to start, there's a lot of character development that we end up missing out on. Well, 100%. And before we go that road, let's finish this.

Rhett: 27:22

I didn't even mean to go down the road, but, and before we go that road, let's finish this I didn't even mean to go down the road, but I think we got a road to go down so if he does go to lsu, yeah, no doubt he will be successful, but not at the level that he was successful, yeah, previously at lsu and at alabama, unless things go back to where there's this loyalty and return back to you might be the best at a second rate college, but you're not the best here. But you can learn something here under somebody who's better than you, yeah, and and be an even greater athlete and human being and still maybe get drafted as a great second, uh, yes, String quarterback in the NFL.

Rhett: 27:59

He might be the best second string guy there ever was and when that opportunity hits, you're ready, your character's developed, your formation's developed and you're more ready than you would have ever been. Going to that second third string school being the man yeah, and then not ever getting a chance to get to the NFL yeah, because they're looking at a lot more than just stats. I know they are looking at stats, but they're looking for team players and people who can fit a system to make the team successful and play a role that's pivotal. That might not be the franchise player yeah, because every successful team is filled with non-franchise people.

Justin: 28:33

In my opinion, that's what makes it a team, which makes it a team, so, but all I can say, comfortable in your role as a team.

Rhett: 28:38

So the fact that we can mention now we didn't get into that depth conversation. This was like a 10 second blip.

Justin: 28:44

Yeah, we would have gotten all that. It would have been a little much.

Rhett: 28:47

Yeah, they would have been like okay, we didn't come for commentary on football, because I'm not the guy to talk about this, anyway, but it was fun enough to go a roll title War Eagle and still go. All right, we're moving into the presence of the Lord now.

Justin: 28:59

And it was great. And then we went right back into a song that we had just sang and the line was very appropriate to. If our God is for us, who can ever stop us?

Rhett: 29:07

Exactly Because who cares about football? Let's talk about God at this point.

Rhett: 29:12

It built us up together and what I loved about this is for those that don't know and again, I'm not throwing, I use this, we use this in the current culture of worship and it's needed, which most people. If you're watching or listening to your Sunday morning service, what you don't hear is what's happening in what we call the in-ears, into musicians' ears. That's a click track or a metronome it's usually a boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, right, which everybody plays to, and then you've got verse. Metronome it's usually a boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop right, which everybody plays to, and then you've got verse. You've got this little automated guide that's keeping you along what I call the train tracks of where this train has been prayed over. Like, hey, we feel like the Lord's going to do this, so we'll do this verse here, this chorus here, this bridge here, and move forward.

Rhett: 29:57

But we chose not to do that, to kind of give us the freedom to go. You know, we might want to start with a chorus, we might want to start with a verse, we don't really know. Let's just feel the moment of the room and to put our sons in that type of environment without to say look, you've got the bridge, you got the verse, you got the court. You got the chords, you know that. But then to tell them we don't know how we're going to do this? I know we practiced it as if we're going to rise and fall and there are some moments there, but at the same time, like just be willing to go with us that was what was cool, that was the takeaway, that was the lesson because it wasn't like okay, I've memorized this, I know we're going to do this exactly this same way, and some, we did some.

Rhett: 30:40

It wasn't as linear yeah, there you go.

Micah: 30:42

There's a lot of variations.

Justin: 30:44

Yeah, there's some train, we're on a train track, but we can hit that button and veer off to go. Are we going to Austria or are we going to go to France?

Rhett: 30:52

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'd 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. If you visually see a turntable for trains, where they pull the train on and there's like think of a clock, and out of the center there's like all these tracks that go out, we pull the train up on that little platform and now it's kind of rotating.

Rhett: 31:32

That's the transition, it's like okay what track do we want to go on now? Because we can keep moving this one or we could go left or right. So we're just kind of thinking through the decisions we want to make in this moment.

Justin: 31:43

But yet we knew we're going to arrive at whatever destination it is, in a certain amount of time.

Rhett: 31:54

Yeah, so we were under, we knew what the time frame was. I don't even know Was there a clock in there, because I couldn't see it. I was like are?

Justin: 31:59

we going long. We were good because it was communicated before yeah, y'all do what you do.

Rhett: 32:04

Well, let me tell you the first time I've sat through a two-hour service in a long time it was it was.

Justin: 32:11

I haven't been in a two-hour service and have kids a part of that service, and kids playing and a part of I was like man.

Rhett: 32:16

This reminds me what I was a kid like. These kids have their toys and stuff and they're playing and, yeah, this is good for them to.

Justin: 32:22

You know, see this experience, it was fun too, for ours, our um, summer brought the other three boys and they, they. I mean, it was just so cool to I would. I would glance at them every now and then just to see how are they responding?

Justin: 32:35

during this kind of flow yeah and they were into it, man, they were just looking. But I knew at some point, after about 50 minutes of when you think of worship and some of the transition moments, I knew that one of my second was serving at Highlands, so we knew the start time of this service. They would be able to leave about 45 minutes into this and still make it on time and get to serve for the 1130 service. So it was great to let them experience. In my opinion, I was kind of thankful they just got to experience that, yeah, and didn't have to sit through the two hour because I didn't know what my two youngest would do yeah.

Justin: 33:16

So it was a good starting point for them. But they would have gone to another service and did their normal.

Rhett: 33:24

You know what I love. By the time we went to a restaurant, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. Bro lunchtime was over there's something to be said about that.

Justin: 33:32

Lunchtime was over.

Rhett: 33:36

The lunch menu. That goes to like three. I was like well, that's about $2.55.

Justin: 33:40

Okay, we hit the lunch, we still get that lunch menu.

Micah: 33:44

Right, I can still get that lunch fajita price.

Justin: 33:47

No man, I can get my steak and shrimp fajita still at that lunch price right.

Rhett: 33:52

But I don't know, man. Community reunion we're using that word lightly. It was literally a service for Parkway that we were leading worship at, and we were taking the opportunity to also bring invite to people who have been a part of the youth. You know, um was a beautiful thing, and so I'm looking forward to more opportunities that the Lord will open um for us to get more opportunities to do that as friends and with our sons. Yeah, um and I. I don't know, man. There's something sweet about it.

Rhett: 34:24

So all that to celebrate it, and it sparked a fire in me too, just to remind me that in this season of life, even at 48 years old, you can still be relevant and lead people into the presence of God. You don't have to be 20-something. No, absolutely not. And that's the lie of the enemy. You're either too young or too old, no matter what you are. You're either too single or too married. You're either, you know, too young or too old, for whatever season. There's never the right opportunity or the right moment. And for those who are older and I say older because you know, 48 is not old Like we're crushing life right now.

Justin: 35:02

Not old Like we're we're we're crushing life right now, um in fact I was like I don't think we look as old as we are.

Rhett: 35:06

I don't know if I'm just being like is that egotistical for me to say but I like.

Justin: 35:11

I look at myself and I feel like I'm young.

Rhett: 35:13

I mean, hopefully I don't look as old as I am, but whatever, maybe I just see myself differently.

Rhett: 35:19

Anyway, um, but I'm in agreement with you but the the lie of the enemy is that, okay, well, now you're in your 40s, 48 you know, and you're two years away from 50 and nobody wants to see that age on the platform anymore. Yeah, that's a lie, I know. We've. Yeah, we've kind of talked about this type of conversation before. Yeah, um, you know, in a world full of where we're trying to put youth, youth, youth, youth, youth and that's, I think you need both, you gotta have both. It can't be one or the other.

Justin: 35:45

Well, you need to gain something from both, because in your youth you have a fire you have, you have availability, you have less responsibility, but you also just have the energy. You have a different kind of dynamic and people can frown on your youth, but it's a wonderful thing, absolutely. But then you start developing this thing called wisdom and discernment, and that's not necessarily an age thing. It's about your walk with the Lord, yeah, but things do come with time. If you have effective evaluation and dedication and discipleship and you grow.

Justin: 36:20

So about the time that you have something that you could say that actually has some life experience to it, I don't know if that's the time to exit that opportunity to really say something from a stage now, and so I think that is a misnomer, that I don't know if it's a trend. I don't know if you have the mind monsters speaking in your head telling you that we are flawed as people, and I think that we've talked about the mind monsters speaking in your head telling you that we are flawed as people, and I think that we've talked about this before. On doing the inner work, I think there were probably labels or people who talked out of their ignorance or not really understanding fully, and they spoke something and it became your truth Like I guess I'm too old for this Right or I'm too young for this.

Rhett: 37:00

You're always at the mercy of people and what they say, and their word and how much power and authority you give them to speak into your life, to write the narrative for you and to be the voice of the narrative.

Justin: 37:10

That's right, yeah, yeah. And so when you're talking about authorities like that in your life, at that time who've said it? You begin to then sabotage yourself or eliminate yourself when you've got words now that you could speak. So unless someone just comes and says, get off this stage, I think we can eliminate ourself too soon.

Justin: 37:31

And if we were getting rid of people on a stage who were at a certain age as a cutoff once again mind monster then in the same way we need to be getting rid of the communicators at that same age.

Rhett: 37:46

And let's keep it, yeah, yeah, it's like young and it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander I mean at the end of the day? When is it okay for just the pastor to be the oldest person on the platform, but the worship leaders have to be the youngest? I'm great.

Justin: 37:57

I'm grateful the pastor's older on the platform. Yeah, but, yeah, but I think that you can also have these worship leaders who are older, yeah, and they have so much wisdom to give and they're actually empowering those who are younger to become the best version of their self, like it's just this circle of life. We're strengthening each other we are.

Rhett: 38:20

You know, you mentioned earlier about the zeal that youth has compared to you know, maybe we always compare, you know, age to wisdom. Right, I'm not saying somebody in their youth doesn't have wisdom, but I was thinking the other day I was in this worship experience and there was this young lady next to me. It's my wife and I, just a big event and I know this young lady. She's worshiping God with all her heart and it's awesome. She hits her knees. It's a concrete, concrete floor. She's on her knees before just serving, like, just worshiping, and that's her postured heart in this song and I think we might've been singing holy, holy, holy or something. And my 48 year old self is looking there, going God. I wish I could get down on my knees right now, man, like there's something to be said about that age, you know, being in your 20s and just being able to get down on your knees on concrete oh yeah, man.

Rhett: 39:13

And just you know in worship and I'm seeing that and I'm going. God, that is my heart right now. My posture is that I am on my knees right now. That's my heart right now. My posture is that I'm on my knees right now. That's my heart. I'm standing and my head is bowed and my hands are lifted. But that right there is what I want to be doing right now. But if I did that, I might not get back up.

Rhett: 39:34

And so, after the worship set was over, in this transition or whatever, and I told her, I said you know it's so beautiful, your postured heart. I just want you to know that's exactly what my heart is doing right now. But my 48 year old body will not allow me to do that. But I want you to know that I'm a little jealous because your, your knees are fresh out the box.

Rhett: 39:58

My knees, got 48 years of life on them and about 10 of those removing furniture and a lot of heavy stuff, and I got a little arthritis in one of the knees. A little harder for me to do that.

Justin: 40:07

Yeah, that's right, and we're just.

Rhett: 40:10

you know it's so sad because there are people my age their knees are fine, oh yeah, but it's just different for me and so I'm working it out and I'm getting better and healthier and stronger in that area. So it's not like I'm I can't walk, cause I can, but it's just, it's a little bit different. And so there is something beautiful about the youth being able to do that, and so I love it.

Justin: 40:29

I love the innocence. We were at motion conference and my son is doing an internship right now, and they had a prayer service so I went and dropped them off, but I also attended and I'm seeing these young people. I mean they got more energy than they know what to do and it just, it always makes you reminisce, it always takes me back. I'm like, oh, I just I love the wonder, I love the, the, their hearts for worship.

Micah: 40:54

Yeah.

Justin: 40:55

But I love to, I love the older, who have experienced life and they've got so much to say yeah, and even what we were saying a while ago everybody has a right to have a method. If you've started, it's like a business. If someone started a business, it can have a method on how it does it. It's like Chick-fil-A it's got its method my pleasure.

Justin: 41:17

Right, and if you don't say it, that's, you need to say it there, but it doesn't mean you have to say my pleasure at every fast food restaurant. Right, but it was a method and there is a part of that method. Yes, that works, but it's just a method. Nonetheless, in the same way, you know, someone may have a method to say well, I just want 20s on stage, I just want 30s, and I don't know if people call out, I don't know if that's the thing where you call out numbers. But yeah, don't mistake the two. Method is definitely not God. Method can be part of what God is doing in this greater picture, but so many people disqualify theirself because they see the method as that just must be how it is, and so I can't tell you how many people I talk to and I just want to have an honest combo with them and they're, you know, they're once again older. What is older?

Rhett: 42:12

Yeah, what's the true definition? They're no longer viewed as youth. Yeah, when I was 20, old was 40. Exactly 40 is old is 70.

Justin: 42:19

Oh, and you look back at 70, thinking if I could could be 50 again. Oh man, because you can always look back and realize, wow, I was disqualifying myself. There's nothing new under the sun. Yeah, but if I was, I'll go up to someone who I know is a musician and.

Justin: 42:33

I'll say, man, you still jamming out, and the first thing they will go to I mean I know I'm old and I'm too old for a stage. I mean I know I'm old and I'm too old for a stage, but I jam out at my house. I'll tell them I'm like, well, that's what I'm asking you. I said I don't really care what you think about a stage right now. I'm asking you are you still playing? So don't throw everything out Like you are.

Justin: 43:00

If you have this gift, are you still operating in this? Yeah, to me, this stage whether that's something or it's nothing, that does not define who you are. Yeah, cause what that tells me is, if you get that opportunity and you're up there, you're going to be up there thinking I'm too old for this and now you're not going to give us as a leader, you're not going to help lead the people in a true way, because you're too busy disqualifying yourself. But there has to be a confidence in Christ, because it's not a performance, just like on Sunday that we were at this church. Our goal is to we're just worship leaders, if you will.

Micah: 43:38

We can even break that down.

Justin: 43:39

We're just up there with everybody in this shared experience of lifting up the name of Jesus. That's it, that's all it is.

Rhett: 43:48

So one of the thoughts that I've had recently, especially after this experience, is that there's a gift in me that I still need to fan into flame and I do not need to let that die. I do not need to let that die. So I would have said that there was a season of my life, especially moving more into founding a church, planting a church, seeing it grow the first three years, two and a half three I was leading worship and preaching, you know, to which everybody would say you're insane, you don't need to do that. And I insane, you don't need to do that. And I agree you didn't need to do that. But yet trying to lead it at the level that I wanted it to be led at, to start and create this culture so people get used to it.

Rhett: 44:34

But I got to a point where I was like I'm tired of leading worship, I'm tired of this, I'm ready just to move into being the pastor and preaching messages and getting better at that and communication, and then, if I'm honest, like I would worship the Lord, I just would not. When I got to the place where I started handing it off and not being up there as much, I would not use that gift in my own personal life anymore. So like when I would prepare for a Sunday, I would be playing through songs but then I would take a time and just play before the Lord and just have some moments. You know where I'm just just me and Jesus in a piano. And then, as I pass that baton over, if you will, to the team and I focus more on message prep and communication and series and hearing from God on the work, like I laid that down in a way that I felt like I was never going to pick it up again and not just never pick it up again, like I'm done my time and my season is over for that.

Rhett: 45:34

Yeah, you know whether I I believe the mind monster. I think that's a great title for an episode the mind monster of you're either too old or you've moved on and that was a season in your life. But then I began to realize worship was always the grace gift that God has given me to connect with him and to lead me and open doors of opportunity and relationship and whatever. It's just always been the door that opened up the next for me and it was a grace gift God gave me never to lay down, but it was always just this beautiful thing from me to him right, and when I laid that down it really led to more of a time of going. Why am I depressed? Why am I worn out?

Micah: 46:19

Why am I?

Rhett: 46:19

exhausted. Well, when's the last time you really operated in the grace gift God gave you that you laid?

Justin: 46:25

down that I'd never asked you to lay down. It was a formation happening. Yeah, it was forming your spiritual life.

Rhett: 46:31

Yeah, it was a part of the formation. Yeah, spiritually, mentally, physically, in ways that I didn't know, in every way, in every aspect. Now, that might not be the gift that a listener has as a friend right now. It could be something different. But for me.

Rhett: 46:45

That was it. And when I think back to 16-year-old Rhett 17-year-old Rhett, 18-year-old Rhett sitting around a piano, tinkering and just going, I don't know why this makes sense. But this sounds good in my head and I'm singing before the Lord and it's just me and him and I'm praying and it was just a vital. It was like David and his harp or David and his lyre or whatever you know, and and his instrument and whether it was good or not, it was just something that God used to just kind of and go with me.

Micah: 47:13

I'm not trying to over-spiritualize things but it's kind of like an open heaven moment in my quiet time where it just was like I feel like God is just downloading into my spirit something that I can't even explain.

Rhett: 47:26

That's happening through this spiritual transition from heaven to earth. There's like a transaction.

Justin: 47:32

Yeah, it's a transaction.

Rhett: 47:32

It's Christ Jesus, in being thankful and singing of how grateful I am for his love, for his faithfulness and all that he's done for me and the blood that covers not only my sin but restores me into a relationship with God. So as I'm singing, as I'm playing, I don't even know what's coming out my mouth, really, but just just singing like Lord, I love you and I praise you and thank you. That simplicity, whether it is in tune or not, didn't matter. It was just his holy transaction. Um, that was always happening. And then the more I I hate to say this, and this is bad language climb the ladder of whatever you think is. You know you're supposed to Like. You know you go from worship pastor to you know, associate to you know, small group to executive to filling all these different roles. Associate to you know, small group to executive to filling all these different roles. You know it's like the very thing that was filling you and connecting you. Now you're getting further and further disconnected from that.

Justin: 48:31

Yeah, because it was a role. It was not a main staple of our life.

Rhett: 48:36

Exactly, and so worship to me was never about being on a platform and singing songs. It was always just about my engagement with the Lord one-on-one, and music was a part of that. It doesn't have to be worship. Music is not worship. Music is music Handiwork.

Justin: 48:51

If you have this gift set in you to frame something and build something. That's why someone could go out there after their hours of work and they'll go out and build something. They might be building their next house and it is a form of worship because they're operating in a gift set.

Rhett: 49:08

Right. And so when we say worship, and our American culturized context of that is wow, you got to have a guitar, you got to have a vocalist, you got to sing and that can be a form of worship, right.

Micah: 49:20

It's a little misleading.

Rhett: 49:27

And you praise the Lord lift your voice, clap your hands, sing a song, shout, symbols, all that, yeah, it's all a part of it. But when it talks about living that out in your life, like if you're called to frame houses, frame houses, and that is worship before the Lord, when your heart's connecting with him, there's this holy transaction happening there of him teaching you principles about his goodness and how he wants to build things in your life and do it in an excellent way. Same thing with music, and I just found myself not doing it as much and I'll never forget um, you know, it doesn't matter who it was, but heard a message of a pastor and he was a pastor in california and he was sharing a message about he was walking through a season of depression and the lord said when's the last time you picked up your instrument and play through a season of depression? And the lord said when's the last time you picked up your instrument and played? And he was a worship leader before. He was a pastor, you know, and he had given up that gift and he started to fan that flame, that gift, back into flame. You know I'm saying that wrong. He started to fan the flame of that gift back in his life. Yeah, and it was that that was all of a sudden, now that that regeneration whatever that word is to just filling that heavenly transaction, if you will started to restore him and the depression, over time, began to leave, because it was the very thing that was filling him.

Rhett: 50:32

It was his time with the Lord in a special way, and at that moment he was like I never will go another day or a week without at least taking a few minutes and just playing before the Lord or singing before the Lord. And so it was at that moment I began to realize, and just playing before the Lord or singing before the Lord, and so it was at that moment I began to realize, you know, it was like, wow, this is the same thing I did, so I need to pick it up. And so I picked it back up and it helped me in through some seasons of walking me out of depression in some seasons, but I never really have picked it back up to the extent of leading like we used to. Yeah, and so this past weekend was just a moment of reminder that the gift isn't dead, the grace is still there and I still want to do something special through it, and it may look different. It may be in scenarios and settings that you weren't expecting, yep, but I still need you to operate in this and I don't need you to shove this. In fact, I need you to continue to cultivate this with me in order to finish, well for you.

Rhett: 51:36

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 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 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.

Justin: 52:17

You know, as we're talking about music in our case, please, as you're listening, I encourage you to think of your gift set and how you can work that for you. But yeah, I mean music was so much. I mean that guitar. There's something about having that guitar or that piano. My main one would be guitar and just just play. Like how many years? The one constant for me? Since 19 since, since 15 years old 1993, it was playing this instrument and we know we can still worship the Lord without this instrument. But this gift of learning an instrument and it, it, it helped me in ways I never knew. I never knew there were parts that I could have been grieving as I was getting older and maybe like childhood or something I'm dealing with, maybe, like you said, depression or an anxiety, and you're just strumming the guitar.

Micah: 53:11

Yeah.

Justin: 53:12

And you're singing before the Lord and how. That was probably how people would call it their therapy.

Micah: 53:17

Yeah.

Justin: 53:18

You know what I mean. It was like therapy to me. But I look back and realize that was intentional work, that I didn't realize was intentional work. It was actually helping me, these moments of crying out to God. It was confessions. It was all these things that we would hear now in modern terms, where people open up to a therapist or they open up to their pastor, they confess to a priest, they confess to a friend. It opens you up when it became seen as like a role and you're operating. Now you've become, if you will, the expert or the professional, and you're still the little kid strumming a guitar, but now it is potentially your job, what you're doing. But then new opportunities come open. As you said, pastor, associate pastor In my world it was campuses came out of nowhere and we started growing to a point that man, the community is so important, I need to get around.

Justin: 54:18

So I go, and I began to get around to make sure I'm seeing all the other worship leaders. Well, when I'm thinking position, that meant to do that effectively. I need to stop this and you stop that. And I remember going through a season where it was almost like to stop that. What did not happen for this two, three year period, I no longer played the instrument at my house.

Justin: 54:44

I no longer I mean the calluses on my finger were gone, like they were soft again, and that had never happened to the point, um, I remember someone asking me one time hey, I know, I don't even know if you still do this anymore Would you ever come and lead for this event? And enough time had got in, and I would even say the mind monsters as we talked about. And I remember telling the person I don't sing. And they looked at me and they smiled because they had been to an event before that we used to go do. And he smiled at me. He said, no, seriously, can you come and sing for this event? I was like, yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't do that.

Justin: 55:30

And, rhett, I said it so matter of factly, like I believed it, and so that smile he had kind of turned to a smirk and he's like all right. But I said, but I can try to find someone for you who knows how to do that. Yeah, but yet I was over here killing this other thing, shepherding, taking care of people. But this moment of this gift set, I had set it down, I had shelved it and I would say you know, prematurely I don't even know the right word to say it.

Justin: 56:01

Maybe prematurely is not even the word, just deceptive deceived in setting something aside, and when that moment came of realizing that, I remember one time thinking I have, of course, at this time, maybe there's three boys. You know, my youngest is eight. I told Summer, the sounds of music in the house have gone away once again. This is my gifting. That's good. Their brains have not heard daddy sing yeah they don't even know.

Justin: 56:32

He really knows this world, yeah. Yet they're going to places and seeing it and they have no clue. Daddy over here can bring in if he needs to, because I had not promoted that to them. And so I remember beginning to just play a little bit more around the house and it began to light up. It was lighting up the rooms again.

Micah: 56:56

And.

Justin: 56:56

Summer would come to me and just say, god, I miss this so much. And it would be that affirmation of realizing that there was something awakening inside and I realized you can correlate. Looking back during those years of silence, those were years of doubt. Those are some of the greatest years of identity, wondering like who am I, not to say being on a stage is what dictated that, for me, had nothing to do with the stage. It had everything to do with operating in this gift set and taking whatever talent there is. I buried it in essence to play it safe, as opposed to pulling it out and ministering before the Lord, knowing that we minister to Him because he's worthy. But there is a byproduct we get from that when we worship God. It restores our soul, he shepherds us, he speaks life into us, he takes what could be depression and you know what you might still be suffering and things but he comes and he speaks to you in those moments and meets you and he brings sustenance and he brings restoration to your heart.

Rhett: 58:12

Man, when you're saying this, it's correlating to me, for people who are listening and maybe they can't relate to the music side. And we're framing it this way on purpose, because we want you to understand. This is our grace gift and I love the framing, the house, the builder, the craftsman, the painter. There's something beautiful about taking the talent in the gift that God has given you and using that for his purpose. There's one thing to build your own house. That's great. You're taking care of your family. But something lights you up when somebody is like, hey, I'm doing this project, I don't know what I'm doing. And they're like, oh, I can help you with that. And then you go and you help them with that project, to something that seems so easy. Yeah, hey, I need to build a storage shed in my backyard. I have no clue what I'm doing. I don't want to spend $10,000 on these prefab things.

Justin: 59:02

Could you help me, yeah, man.

Rhett: 59:03

I got you. This is fun, this is easy. Let's go Right. So, doing that in service to other people whether it's music, whether it's framing, handiwork, painting, cleaning, landscaping, knitting, sitting down over coffee there's something beautiful that happens. Now I know we frame that in the context of a lot of the churches and people we're in relationship with or make a difference with your life. But as I'm sitting here and we're talking, I'm thinking making a difference with your life is living a life of worship to God with your gift. That's really what it is Expression.

Rhett: 59:40

It's not about doing something just to do something Right. It's about operating in the grace, in the gift that God has given you. And there's more that aren't platform type stuff that are needed and necessary. That's right. So when you hear your pastor say, man, it's so important to make a difference with your life, what they're naturally saying and what we're naturally saying through this is fan the flame Right. Yeah, and what God's given you so that you can experience a relationship with him like none before, but also the transformative things that happen with your relationship with him when you're operating in that gift, serving other people, living a life of worship, is what we're really saying when we say make a difference with your life, live a life of worship, honoring God with the gift that he's given you.

Rhett: 1:00:28

So, as I reflect on this past weekend, which is now two weeks past by the time people hear this, it was just another moment for me to fan into flame something that I have not shelved but I've set aside. Yeah, collected a little dust that I need to, maybe like an old bible that's sitting in your yeah, you haven't read in a while. You blow off the dust. I need to open this thing up and read it a little bit, yeah, like whatever that might be for you, that's good. Um, that just lit me up like a Christmas tree a little bit to remind me.

Justin: 1:00:58

Hey, yeah, I wired you this way on purpose, man. It reminds you that maybe you've allowed too much time to pass. Yeah, 100% I have Before letting something like this happen.

Rhett: 1:01:10

Yeah, because, in full transparency, when somebody asks me to lead worship, I'm usually like oh, you can find somebody else, I can do it. Lead worship. I'm usually like, oh, you can find somebody else, I can do it, but you really.

Rhett: 1:01:21

There's other people who are longing to need to have that opportunity rather than me, so let me try to find you anybody else but me. Yeah, when God's going, you need to do it. And honestly, transparency when you first mentioned this to me months, know, months ago, I was like it sounds fun, not really sure, we'll see, you know. And then I'm grateful that it worked out. I'm grateful that we did it and we moved into it, because I was like, okay, you know, it's just a little god wink again, yeah, and so all that to say as we reflect on our conversations in our life, I'm very grateful we did it. I hope it was a blessing to people. I feel like it was from some texts we received from friends and people in the room and everybody's encouraging and kind. But if anything for me and not that I did it for selfish reasons, because I didn't but it's amazing how you can receive even more when you give. It really is With a heart of just. I'm here to worship, I'm here to serve, no expectations, let's just have fun.

Justin: 1:02:21

When you have the art of worship the thing you have that heart. It really is. It's of service. I mean dude, and you're giving your gift to somebody. And it really does.

Rhett: 1:02:31

It, just it lights you up. When we started singing how Great Is Our God and we started with the chorus, we were going to start with a verse and then we started with a chorus because it was just a moment connecting that. It just the moment I felt like we needed to do just set that song and I started hearing the voices. I mean, yeah, dude, just even now, reflecting on it, as you can probably hear in the reflection of my tone on this microphone, and like the motions are coming back. It was just getting to be a part of that.

Justin: 1:03:02

Yeah.

Rhett: 1:03:03

With a hundred people, yeah. It's powerful, powerful man, and there's no greater joy in my opinion. Yeah, I'm not going to apologize for the emotions, but golly man, what are they saying? Radio, you shouldn't have silence, people disconnect, but it's just beautiful. I mean, if there was a reason a rat was created, it was for that, and I'm grateful.

Justin: 1:03:49

Yeah, it was a great expression. Yeah, naturally we're encouragers to people. You know, without your gifting you're an encourager. That's part of the gift set that's in you is in the Holy Spirit, like when Jesus gives gifts to men and women. It might be in the form of encouragement. We've talked about the hot tub talks. You can go walk in the moment with anybody and be an encourager to them. But then you have these expressions in our society on how you do that. So 12, or, I'm sorry, six string guitar wasn't around.

Justin: 1:04:30

Yeah, no, it wasn't those days, I would imagine, if you listen to the harp, it might've sounded pretty awful. I don't know how the, how, the, the tuning worked then.

Micah: 1:04:39

Yeah.

Justin: 1:04:40

But I do know, in what we've been given in the time that we've been created, there are these expressions, whether it's using guitars, whether you know, no matter what it is, whether you have the patience as a stay at home parent, to homeschool your child and make that light up for them, and you have that ability in this modern day to be able to have income coming in from one of the sources so that you're taking care of and you've sacrificed, making a substantial income for a season that you are going to barely get by, a substantial income for a season that you are going to barely get by because you're offering a gift that you have to your children, to educate them.

Justin: 1:05:27

All these can be grace gifts that's been placed on our life, but there's always a shadow to the grace gift that will always say but there's something else you could be doing better. If you're that parent that's staying home, you're always going to see the parents that are out there killing it, making a ton of money and letting you know and having their kids, you know, in school and all these are fine, but you're going to see a shadow that's the opposite of what you feel like you've been called to do. Yeah, so true.

Justin: 1:05:58

It's the same thing with you, if you've been called to do yeah, that's so true.

Justin: 1:05:59

It's the same thing with you. If you're an instrumentalist, if you're a vocalist, if you're a worship leader, you're going to see the fresh vibrancy of the youth doing it at a high level, hitting notes oh God. I mean. Pavarotti really needs to be singing, but somehow that's a style. So those of us who can't sing how? We've already disqualified ourself as I don't really fit. I'm not a singer because you're not fitting in this mold. You're looking at a shadow side as opposed to saying no, I've still got to take my sling and my stone and go fight a giant.

Rhett: 1:06:38

I might look good, but I might not fit as good in that armor. I got to do the best that I can with what I've been given. You've got to do it.

Justin: 1:06:44

And so, but there's always a shadow side. Yeah, if you're a communicator, 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. Yeah, 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 as 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've created buildings and we're so thankful for our buildings that we get to meet On Sundays. I'm not here to say that that's something we shouldn't do. I'm a big believer in it.

Rhett: 1:07:33

That's what I get to do.

Justin: 1:07:35

But the church. We are followers of Christ, we are the bride of Christ 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 is, 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: 1:07:59

You know, we always see our shadow when we're walking opposite of the light, when you're walking toward the sun. Wow, you can't see the shadow. It's behind you.

Justin: 1:08:10

Come on Do you make that up.

Rhett: 1:08:13

I don't think I made it up, I just I'm literally having this epiphany right now.

Justin: 1:08:17

That's really good. I like that.

Rhett: 1:08:20

But if you think about it when you're walking towards the light, yeah, you don't see your shadow. It's behind you, it is where it should be. Yeah, keep your eyes fixed on the sun. It's the shadows that will distract you.

Rhett: 1:08:34

I do want to speak to my emotion earlier. I've never had that happen in the history of our conversation on the podcast. I didn't want to. The old me would have suppressed that. The old me would have apologized.

Rhett: 1:08:47

And I've realized in health like that, emotion is important because God's doing a work in my own life and continue to reveal things into me and to remind me of my own personal journey.

Rhett: 1:08:57

So there weren't tears of sadness. They were actually tears of joy and tears of appreciation and tears of gladness and tears of a heart of thanksgiving for what God has done, what he's doing, but obviously to what he's, what he's wanting to continue to do in my life. Three or four years ago I wouldn't have been able to articulate that with tears or to articulate an emotion and even allow that to be what it is. I would have suppressed that towards weakness or a sign of I got to be strong, and so I share that with you and my friends who are listening to say it's okay, but give yourself a chance to process it and ask yourself what are these here for? You know, and and I kind of love myself I was fighting it and I was like, no, don't fight it, just let it be. So thank you, as a friend, for letting that just be that moment there for me and not rushing me through it, but allowing that chance to be there for me. So I'm grateful.

Justin: 1:09:52

There's discomfort in silence. But what's wrong with discomfort? Nothing. But our natural reaction is to fix that because it feels like we're getting near awkwardness, right, and if you or I begin to cry or speak out, there's a risk that that that it's going to expose a vulnerability in me that I might not be ready to. I'm not going to be able to fix you Right.

Rhett: 1:10:22

But who said you're supposed to fix Exactly? Silencing the mind monsters. Is that this episode's title?

Justin: 1:10:28

It might be, I like that.

Rhett: 1:10:32

I don't know if that ties into the whole context of everything we talked about, but there you go.

Justin: 1:10:36

It doesn't really matter.

Rhett: 1:10:37

Thank y'all for the journey today. Love you go. It doesn't really matter, man. Thank y'all for the journey today, love you guys. Can't wait to the next episode. On the next episode of armchair authentic. Well, this is interesting. Micah solomon, one of our buddies, is giving me a call right now and I know we're in the middle of recording this thing. You want to take this all totally quick, micah. What is up? Dude, you're actually on the podcast here at armchair Authentics, so be careful with what you say. Ah, let's go. Hey, fellas, we would go in and try suits that we could not afford. No, no.

Rhett: 1:11:07

But like yeah, and they would give us drinks and stuff.

Justin: 1:11:10

And that looks really good on you, anything I can show you. We're like well, we're just looking right now. He said well, may I see if you'd like a beverage of some sort? We're like yeah, so Coca-Cola would be delightful. And Rhett's like I'll take the Sprite. That's delightful.

Rhett: 1:11:27

I can remember many times where we're counting how many steaks or whatever we need. Dad would be like well, you got to get two more, justin and Rhett, you know they'll be there.

Justin: 1:11:36

Did he really that's?

Micah: 1:11:37

awesome man. Oh, all the time, you know, don't be there, did he really? That's awesome man. Oh, all the time, yeah, all the time.

Rhett: 1:11:41

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.