Nerd Culture and God Culture Collide with Pastor Tony Talavera: Episode 8 hosted by Brian & Nathan

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It's just they're designed to hear it.

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Tony Stark and spoiler alert, by the way,

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if you haven't seen the Iron Man movies through endgame,

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just stop this podcast right now and go watch 20 movies

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and get caught up immediately.

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It's like, I just turned in for investing advice

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and all of a sudden we're talking about comic books.

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It's like, yeah, I'm sorry folks.

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My investment portfolio is a drawer full of

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steak and shake coupons.

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That's all I got for you.

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But I think people are ready to accept it.

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People want to accept it and hear the gospel in that way

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and that's nothing new because whether it's Tony Stark

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or whether it's Obi-Wan Kenobi or whether it's Aslan

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or Gandalf or going all the way back,

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this is a story that's written in the heart

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in the DNA of people to see and appreciate

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and resonate with the idea of sacrifice and redemption,

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that there's something valuable,

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that there's no greater love than when someone lays down

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their life for someone else and it's no mystery

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because this is the story that God is telling.

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This is the story that Christ demonstrates for us.

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Invested with purpose, making the most out of your time,

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talent and treasures.

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Pull up a seat and join us as we uncover powerful testimonies

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that are sure to move and inspire you.

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Meet Christians from all walks of life

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and hear their incredible stories that will both motivate

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and challenge the way you view the world.

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These men and women exemplify Christian values

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and biblical stewardship in areas of mission,

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finance, entertainment, sports and more.

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Welcome to Invested with Purpose,

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making the most out of your time, talent and treasure.

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I'm Brian.

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And I'm Nathan.

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And today we have one of the most unique

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and I think very interesting guests

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you will ever hear on a podcast like this,

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Pastor Tony, Pastor Tony, welcome to the Invested

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with Purpose podcast.

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Man, it is a pleasure to be here.

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I have been called unique and interesting before,

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but I feel like you meant it as a compliment.

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I certainly do.

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Thank you.

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It's a treasure to be here.

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So Pastor Tony, I just got to say this before we get started.

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Normally this is a very professional,

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stuffy room that we're in,

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but we are so happy to have you here

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because we get to talk about fun topics

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and a little bit about you, where you're from,

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the church that you serve.

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So let's start there.

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Man, I went on your podcast, all right?

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And I've watched some things at Megacon that you've done.

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And-

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I'm sorry?

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Yes, yes.

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Did you hear me?

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Yeah, you got it, right?

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Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I'm just saying, I'm sorry that you had to listen to my-

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Oh, no, no, no, it was great.

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I mean, I thought to myself,

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man, I didn't know there was anybody that did this.

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I know, right?

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Or that does this, you know?

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So it was really cool to see,

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and I'm a pastor's kid,

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so I've just about seen it all,

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but for you, you know, this is-

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I haven't seen anything like this, totally different.

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So let's talk a little bit about Nerd of Godcast.

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So this morning, I just want to tell you something real fast.

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I was walking around the office and I said,

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man, the Nerd of God, how cool is that title?

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And they were like,

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dude, you can't call him the Nerd of God.

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That's not, I said, I think that's what he goes by.

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So clear that up for me, Tony.

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And then tell me about the podcast.

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Yeah, you know, I guess, I don't know,

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does Superman ever call himself Superman?

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I think he lets other people do it for him, right?

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You can call me the Nerd of God if you won't do.

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Yeah, I'm just Tony, I'm just me.

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Yeah, the Nerd of Godcast is, that's our podcast.

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That's our ministry.

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That's an outreach that we do.

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It's a lot of fun and a lot of crazy.

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That's awesome.

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All right, so Pastor Tony,

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you have written, at least there are words

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that are written about you on some of these websites.

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You are unrepentant in your love of Nerd culture.

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I love the way you phrase that because you know what?

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If you like it, own it, right?

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What was your gateway?

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What got you into, quote, Nerd culture?

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Well, you know, the fun thing about Nerd culture

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is growing up the very things that would get your head

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put in the toilet in between classes

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are now cool and acceptable parts of the zeitgeist, right?

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So I think I grew up just like all kids liking comic books

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and liking video games as child of the 80s.

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I think that the nerdy part of it was when you held on

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to those things past the acceptable times.

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There was a moment where I'm sure all of my friends

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turned in their comic books and action figures

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for girls or football or something,

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but we just stuck around the comic shops

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a little longer than most others did.

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So yeah, and I don't apologize for that.

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You make great relationships.

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You discover wonderful creativity.

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That's just who I am.

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I don't apologize for it.

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Some people are one thing, some are the other.

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I'm an indoor kid.

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That's what I am.

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Look, I try to explain this to my wife all the time

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because I grew up with the comics and everything.

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I mean, that was my gateway into this.

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And my dad introduced me to Star Trek

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when I was a really young and I watched all of it,

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all the way through.

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And we took us to the theaters

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and we had a special experience to watch the movies

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in the theaters when they came out.

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And so, I'm trying to explain to her

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with the advent of comic book movies

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that have been now some of the more recent ones

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have been a let down.

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We don't talk about the more recent ones.

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Let's talk about the arc from Iron Man up to Endgame.

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That was like my dreams come to life.

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I read this stuff in the comic books

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and then I see it on the TV screen and on the movie screen

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and I'm like, this is amazing.

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You don't understand.

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I never thought this could happen.

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Yeah, and it was for a nerdy kid, it was like peak nerddom.

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It was almost like being the only Christian at your school

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and then walking into like a Christian youth camp

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and you're like, everybody loves kids.

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And so it's like you suddenly you see the football team

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are wearing like Avengers shirts and stuff.

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And you're like, all right, you guys,

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you know, you made fun of me for this,

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but I guess we can all like Batman now.

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Yeah, how in the world did Iron Man

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become the representative of this?

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Iron Man wasn't even a major character in comic books

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compared to like Captain America.

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I mean, like.

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Yeah, because Sony couldn't, Sony has Spider-Man.

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You know, Marvel couldn't make the Spider-Man movies.

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So they said, well, what are we gonna do to take what we got?

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I remember when Spider-Man 3 came out,

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there was an interview with Stan Lee

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and they were talking about, oh, Spider-Man 3

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is gonna be great.

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We're so excited about it.

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And he said, yeah, but Iron Man's also coming out

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and we're really excited about that.

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No one believed him.

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They're like, oh, sure, Iron Man.

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And here we are now in a whole new world.

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Tony Stark's the coolest man to ever grace this family.

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So speaking of Tony Stark, you know,

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I went back, listened to several of your podcasts,

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which I enjoyed thoroughly and you had an episode.

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Thank you.

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I think it was episode 90 on your podcast

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where you discussed Endgame

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and basically we're discussing, of course,

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the character arc of Tony Stark

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as he started in Iron Man 1 all the way up until Endgame.

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And the way that it progressed

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in that he was like a Christ-like figure,

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the sacrifice that he made for the world,

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the sacrifice that he made for his friends and his family.

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And it was always gonna be Tony Stark.

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It was always gonna be, you know,

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you see that in the beginning now

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and you look back and you see it.

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And all these movies,

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they draw so much parallels to the life of Christ

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and his forgiveness and his love for us.

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How do you go about, like, you know,

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you probably look at all these movies,

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do you spend a lot of time drawing that out

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to the culture, the fandom culture?

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Do they hear this message?

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Yeah, absolutely, because it's just,

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they're designed to hear it.

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Tony Stark and spoiler alert, by the way,

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if you haven't seen the Iron Man movies through Endgame,

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just stop this podcast right now

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and go watch 20 movies.

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20 movies.

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And get caught up immediately.

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It's like, I just turned in for investing advice

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and all of a sudden we're talking about comic books.

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It's like, yeah, I'm sorry, folks.

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My investment portfolio is a drawer full of

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steak and shake coupons.

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I got that, that's all I got for you.

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But I think people are ready to accept it.

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People want to accept it and hear the gospel in that way

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and that's nothing new because whether it's Tony Stark

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or whether it's Obi-Wan Kenobi

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or whether it's Aslan or Gandalf

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or going all the way back,

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this is a story that's written in the heart,

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in the DNA of people to see and appreciate

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and resonate with the idea of sacrifice and redemption,

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that there's something valuable,

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that there's no greater love

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than when someone lays down their life for someone else.

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And it's no mystery because this is the story

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that God is telling.

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This is the story that Christ demonstrates for us.

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And the reason is because we expect rescue.

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We expect resolution.

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It's a hunger that's in our hearts

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and when we see it played out on the screen,

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even if the writers don't fully understand

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what they're representing,

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even if the audiences don't really fully articulate

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what it is that they're experiencing,

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there's something fundamental in the heart of man

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that expects and desires rescue and redemption.

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Absolutely, absolutely.

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And in another episode of your podcast,

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we're jumping a little bit around topics,

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but this is where I jump around.

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This is where we are literally all the same age.

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I know we're all like child of the 80s,

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grew up in the 90s.

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That's right, that's right.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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So we had the best toys, we had the best music,

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we had the best effort.

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I tell everyone we did the best timeline

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because we grew up in a log and now we're digital,

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so we got the best of all worlds.

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That's right.

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So I'm right at the perfect age

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where my teenager years, I didn't have social media,

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so none of it can come back to life.

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That is right.

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Nobody knows what we truly did.

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No.

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That's exactly right.

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I don't know.

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That never happens.

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So, a much more recent episode,

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00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:10,920
it looks like it was episode 199,

264
00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,040
it was the one titled, John Rdisforia.

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You all were discussing a lot of stuff

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and at the end, I thought you said something,

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now, Ken, we talked about Star Trek,

268
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my love of Star Trek,

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but I thought that you said something

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that really, it made so much sense to me

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and if anyone grew up watching Star Trek,

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it should make sense to you too.

273
00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,760
But I wanna read it here so I don't get it wrong.

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00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,800
So you talked, I quoted it, you said,

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the Romulans are not going to eat Klingon soup.

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You have to know how to feed a Romulan

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and it's not the way you feed a Klingon.

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And I looked at the way you approach this community

279
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and it makes so much sense to me

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in the way that you're going about

281
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,000
and witnessing to them and not giving them something like,

282
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well, you're eternally damned

283
00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,280
and I'd love to share Jesus with you,

284
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but there's gotta be another way

285
00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:02,000
to approach this community, right?

286
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:03,320
And that's kind of what you're doing

287
00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,040
in this whole ministry and mega-con and everything else, right?

288
00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,840
Well, sure, because we wanna speak to people

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and the voices that they hear.

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I mean, this is a fundamental thing of the church.

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I mean, Paul says, to the Jews, I became a Jew

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in order to win Jews, to those under the law,

293
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I became one under the law,

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though being not myself under the law,

295
00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:22,760
that I might win those under the law.

296
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It's the adaptability and the universality of the gospel

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and that we don't change the fundamentals of the message,

298
00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,760
but we definitely can change the flavor of the message

299
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so it reaches the palates of the people that need to hear it.

300
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,160
And I know a lot of pastors

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00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,800
that will make football references.

302
00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:42,200
They'll talk about the sports games

303
00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:43,720
and those were always lost on me.

304
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,440
I played football, I'm aware of football,

305
00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:48,520
but I don't follow football.

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00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:52,800
And I remember one time a pastor talking about

307
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:55,440
admonishing a Sunday school teacher

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for making Star Wars references.

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And then that same Sunday,

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00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:00,720
he made a football game reference.

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00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,320
And I thought, I guarantee more people in this church

312
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,240
have seen Star Wars than watch the football game on Sunday.

313
00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,320
So there are certain people that you can't reach

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00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,080
talking sports and there's wonderful organizations

315
00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:14,160
like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,

316
00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:16,560
but there's a group of kids that are playing Dungeons

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00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:19,000
and Dragons right now that that doesn't minister to them.

318
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,360
There's a group of kids that are reading anime

319
00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,120
and manga and watching anime right now

320
00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:26,800
that that's not going to minister to.

321
00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,320
So how do you take the fundamental truth of who Jesus is

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00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,040
and present it to them in a language that they understand

323
00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,160
so that it's palatable to them

324
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without compromising the message?

325
00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,200
And that's a difficult thing to do

326
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:42,400
because you can bring the gospel and guss it up

327
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,760
and sparkle it with all of the flavors

328
00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,160
and miss the essential nature of it.

329
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:48,760
Or you can just bring the gospel

330
00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,320
and you're not communicating in a way that the hearer can hear

331
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,120
and you're just beating with it.

332
00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,160
So threading that needle is a very tricky thing.

333
00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,760
You've got to have street cred in both worlds

334
00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:00,600
to be able to do it.

335
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:01,440
That's a good description.

336
00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,480
Just like any other missionary.

337
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:03,480
Yeah, that's a good description.

338
00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:04,680
You're talking about street cred.

339
00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:05,840
You have nerd cred, right?

340
00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,120
It's absolutely, I hope so.

341
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:09,600
I certainly hope so.

342
00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,440
So both, I spent a lot of money on action figures at the beginning.

343
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,440
So both Nathan and I spent a good bit of time.

344
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,840
We watched the service that you had at Megacon

345
00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:20,920
just a couple of weeks ago.

346
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,440
Oh yeah, that was incredible.

347
00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:23,280
Yeah.

348
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,680
And for those that maybe listening or watching this

349
00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,480
that don't know what Megacon is,

350
00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,040
like Megacon is thousands of people

351
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:35,040
descending upon Orlando annually.

352
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,200
Hundreds of, 100,000 plus people.

353
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:38,040
Hundreds of thousands.

354
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:39,360
See, I'm shooting it low.

355
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:40,200
Yeah.

356
00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:44,160
And all of them are living out this nerd fandom

357
00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:45,080
to the extreme.

358
00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,520
I mean, everything is there.

359
00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,480
If it's a comic book, if it's a movie, if it's anime,

360
00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:52,960
if it's anything in this realm, it is there.

361
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:54,160
And people are dressing up.

362
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,280
I mean, it's incredible.

363
00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:58,920
So you had a church service in this atmosphere.

364
00:13:58,920 --> 00:13:59,760
Full on church.

365
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:00,600
That is wild.

366
00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:01,440
Yeah, absolutely.

367
00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:02,720
And from the video that we were watching,

368
00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:04,960
it sounded like it was pretty full.

369
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:06,200
Right.

370
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,280
It was, and we didn't know what to expect.

371
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:09,440
This was our first crack at it.

372
00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,720
We've been working with the folks at Megacon

373
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,600
for a few years now trying to build good relationships.

374
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,840
They don't, they're not in the ministry business.

375
00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,240
And that's not their motivation.

376
00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,320
That's ours, but how do we work together?

377
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,200
How do we come and build a relationship

378
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,560
with these promoters in such a way that they're benefiting

379
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,280
from the relationship as much as we are?

380
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:30,360
So it's been a slow roll.

381
00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:32,440
And it actually started by a relationship.

382
00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:33,600
If you don't mind me taking you back.

383
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:34,440
Yeah, let's do it.

384
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:35,760
I'm a little bit of a friend of mine from college.

385
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,360
He's not a Christian, he's not a believer,

386
00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,720
but he promotes anime conventions across the country.

387
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,280
And he reached out to me and said,

388
00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:44,880
have you ever seen this show called

389
00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:46,920
Neon Genesis Evangelion?

390
00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:48,040
I have not seen that.

391
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:49,640
I've never heard of such.

392
00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:51,920
He said, there's a lot of religious symbolism in it.

393
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:53,240
I'm gonna send you the DVDs.

394
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,600
I'd love for you to watch it, come up with some ideas

395
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:56,920
and then come to this conference.

396
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:58,880
We're having a convention.

397
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,000
We're having the voice actors.

398
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:01,120
It's the 20th anniversary.

399
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,120
So I said, sure, this is back in 2015.

400
00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:04,880
I watched it, I took notes.

401
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:06,000
Fascinated by it.

402
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:07,160
And I went into this room thinking,

403
00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:10,560
I'm bringing an anime themed gospel presentation

404
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:12,520
to a room full of kids and costumes.

405
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,200
And I am going to get pelted with vegetables

406
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:19,120
and eggs and plastic swords.

407
00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:20,520
It's gonna be bad for me.

408
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,520
But people heard and they were so, so receptive

409
00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,520
and so interested in what I had to say.

410
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,800
And I didn't think that was gonna be the case.

411
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,600
There were a bunch of kids there that were not Christians

412
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:35,600
that had never heard the gospel that came

413
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,400
and they were lined up to talk to me afterwards.

414
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,440
And they said, this was interesting.

415
00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:41,040
I never really thought about things like this.

416
00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:42,880
And then we had other kids that came up that were

417
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,320
in full costume that I'm a Christian

418
00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,680
and I didn't know that it was okay for me

419
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:49,320
to be a Christian in this environment.

420
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,200
So that really was the birth of where this ministry started.

421
00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:57,640
So year after year, we would present these different panels

422
00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:59,320
or we would try to do a live podcast.

423
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,360
But this year, they allowed us to do three different panels

424
00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:03,960
at Megacon.

425
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,720
I did my neon Genesis Evangelion talk.

426
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,400
We did a live podcast, our 200th episode.

427
00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,600
And then on Sunday morning, we had a church service

428
00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:15,760
and we thought, okay, if 10 people show up,

429
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:16,600
we're gonna be fine.

430
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:17,440
This is gonna be great.

431
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:18,280
As long as there's more of them,

432
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:19,800
we'll be good.

433
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:24,800
But what happened was, there was I think over 108 people

434
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:26,680
was the total count that showed up.

435
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,520
We had worship, we had ministry, we had prayer.

436
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,240
We had devotions that we were able to give people books

437
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:33,920
that we created to hand out.

438
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:35,600
So on their way out, everybody got to walk out

439
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,960
with a 70 day Bible reading plan inspired by fandom

440
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:43,000
from Star Trek to Star Wars to Battlestar Galactica,

441
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:43,840
everything in between.

442
00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:47,000
So it really was an amazing experience

443
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,720
and one that we never, never would have thought

444
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,720
would have been possible without the lips.

445
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,280
I have to feel like something like this,

446
00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:56,200
if you can do it year over year,

447
00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:57,920
has the potential to really grow

448
00:16:57,920 --> 00:16:59,480
because you're gonna get some word of mouth

449
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:01,240
out of this thing.

450
00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:02,080
Absolutely.

451
00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:05,280
I have to be honest, I watched it and I was wondering,

452
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,200
how's he gonna thread this needle?

453
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:10,280
Because it's gonna be tough, right?

454
00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,720
But you put that hype video on,

455
00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,120
when it started and you're leaking in Matrix Terminator,

456
00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:18,880
all these Marvel movies, you reference Spaceship Earth

457
00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,280
and the message, I'm like, this,

458
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:22,280
of course Lord of the Rings

459
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,480
because you can't do anything without Lord of the Rings.

460
00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,560
And I watched that and I'm like, man, I feel hyped.

461
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:28,920
Like this is exciting.

462
00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:30,760
And then you come out and you talk about you

463
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:33,720
stepping into the story and you just go.

464
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,240
And it's like, that message resonates

465
00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:36,720
whether you're a nerd or not.

466
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,520
That was a phenomenal message.

467
00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:40,840
So yeah.

468
00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,000
And I was definitely co-tailing on the creators

469
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,400
of all of those movies, stories and franchises,

470
00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:46,400
building that momentum.

471
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,320
Hey, you might not know who I am,

472
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,240
you might not care about what I'm about to say,

473
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:52,080
but you've seen the Matrix before,

474
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:53,600
you've seen Back to the Future before,

475
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,120
so get at least a little bit excited

476
00:17:56,120 --> 00:17:58,920
and we'll try to turn it into a Jesus thing.

477
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,960
Real quick, before we go any further, Tony,

478
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,440
I wanna ask, so how do you get these people

479
00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,840
that are attending into the room?

480
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,320
Is this something that you're advertising

481
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:11,880
that, hey, we're gonna have a church service?

482
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,520
Or is this, are you walking a line

483
00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,880
in between Megacon and church and somehow you're,

484
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:18,880
so tell me a little bit about that.

485
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,000
How do you get them there?

486
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,920
When we first started, that's a great question,

487
00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,000
when we first started, we were very,

488
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:27,120
very much walking on eggshells

489
00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,160
because we didn't know how much we could get away with

490
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:30,000
when we were there.

491
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,080
All right, hey, listen, we're just kinda here selling

492
00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:33,760
stickers and t-shirts, but we're also

493
00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,400
representing the gospel.

494
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,320
We purchase a booth in the artist area

495
00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:39,520
where creative types come.

496
00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,080
There are different artists and content creators, writers,

497
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,000
and so we have a booth set up,

498
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,800
we're at a fixed location throughout

499
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,160
the four days of the con.

500
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,040
So people will come by and question,

501
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,720
oh, hey, what is this all about, nerd of Godcasts?

502
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,240
We have people that are saying, is this for all religions?

503
00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,960
Some people will think, are you making fun of religion?

504
00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,560
And it creates great conversations.

505
00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,880
And I would say 99% of them are all extremely positive.

506
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,200
People are very curious about it.

507
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,560
We have t-shirts that, we try to make them clever

508
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:11,480
and attractive so people will look at them and go,

509
00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:13,360
oh, that's funny, I like that.

510
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:15,840
So it creates great moments of interaction.

511
00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,000
So throughout the days of the convention,

512
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,280
we're letting people know as we form relationships,

513
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:21,760
hey, come on out and check this out.

514
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,800
But honestly, when we had our church service,

515
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,720
we were on the official Megacon app

516
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:27,520
as a promoted event that was happening.

517
00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,080
So people that we'd never met saw,

518
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,480
they're having a Sunday morning service, what is this?

519
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,560
So the curiosity drew them in.

520
00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:35,880
Now the timing that we had it,

521
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:37,800
because we thought Sunday morning would be great,

522
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,200
it was the first thing that happened on the Sunday morning

523
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,200
and parking when you're going to the Orange County

524
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:45,240
Convention Center with 100,000 of your closest friends

525
00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,960
was not exactly the smoothest and most efficient way

526
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:50,240
to get into the building.

527
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,280
So we had a lot of people that came in and said,

528
00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:53,640
oh, we can't believe we missed it.

529
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:54,480
We were parking.

530
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,240
So I think that year after year,

531
00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,520
if the Lord allows us to continue having this experience,

532
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:03,440
I do think it's going to continue to grow.

533
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,080
We've had many people that saw it or experienced it

534
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:09,280
that said, how can we help next year?

535
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:10,760
What can we do to be a part of it?

536
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,640
So it really was, I think, to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi,

537
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,000
our first step into a larger world.

538
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:17,360
There you go.

539
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:19,360
Never missed a chance to quote Obi-Wan Kenobi.

540
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:24,360
So how do you personally, you've kind of talked about it some,

541
00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:26,800
but maybe you could flush it out a little bit more.

542
00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,080
How do you straddle that line between maintaining

543
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,640
your nerd cred, your street cred,

544
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,480
and then not, of course, not diluting the gospel

545
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,040
in any way too, because I know it can be a challenge.

546
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:39,240
Like you kind of said earlier,

547
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,280
you don't want to water this down to a point

548
00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,560
where it's just a self-help session

549
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,440
and not a come to Jesus session.

550
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,200
So like, yeah, how do you go about doing this?

551
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,720
Yeah, that's a tough one to balance

552
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:59,920
because we want to be invitational and attractive

553
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,520
to people that are just kind of casually seeking it out.

554
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:03,680
But at the same time,

555
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,400
I think it's just been a consistent commitment

556
00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,800
to making sure that every episode of our podcast

557
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:09,840
and everything we put out

558
00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:11,920
has a scriptural application to it.

559
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,200
We never want to go into any conversation

560
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,040
that doesn't bring it to a Christ-centered resolution,

561
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:19,840
because we could talk about these things all day long.

562
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,440
We could talk about them just casually and socially,

563
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:23,720
but we want to make sure

564
00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:25,560
that we bring it to a spiritual thing, A,

565
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:26,840
because that keeps us accountable

566
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:28,680
to make sure that we're always making the main thing,

567
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,280
the main thing, and B, I think it's inspirational

568
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,520
to keep us looking, to keep our eyes open

569
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,160
when we're watching movies,

570
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,560
when we're reading books or when we're playing games,

571
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,880
to be looking for the spiritual content,

572
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,080
to be looking for the application.

573
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,560
So that keeps us sharp as well.

574
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,600
We want to make sure that we're also not endorsing,

575
00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:50,760
and it's difficult.

576
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:51,880
So I'm a little more old school.

577
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:53,280
I'm the old guy on the show, right?

578
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:58,280
We have, most of our crew are in their late 20s,

579
00:21:58,280 --> 00:21:59,680
couple early 30s.

580
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,160
I'm getting to late 40s.

581
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,160
And we, so for me,

582
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,160
I didn't grow up in the age of reading Harry Potter.

583
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,560
In fact, I thought, well, I was always told

584
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:12,600
that Harry Potter is the way that Satan

585
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:14,360
enters into your gallbladder.

586
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,040
So I heard something a little similar.

587
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,160
String verboten on the Harry Potter.

588
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,800
But the younger people on our show, they've all watched it.

589
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,160
So for me, I've always been, I gotta be really careful.

590
00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:26,920
I don't want to be talking about Hogwarts School

591
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:27,920
of Magic and Wizardry,

592
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:31,120
and inadvertently send someone to H.E. Double Hockey Sticks.

593
00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:36,120
But, and there's certain things that we do.

594
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,200
There's great masterful things out there

595
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:39,560
that we want to maybe reference

596
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,520
that we do have a hard time saying,

597
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,080
hey, go watch this, you guys.

598
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,800
So we always try to create a good buffer of,

599
00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,240
there's good content out there,

600
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:51,720
there's life-giving content.

601
00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:53,960
Let's always keep our filters on to make sure

602
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,200
that if we're watching something,

603
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,160
we're watching it in the right context,

604
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:58,600
or that maybe there's some things

605
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:00,640
that we just give a hard pass to,

606
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,400
because fandom or not,

607
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,440
that doesn't really mix with the testimony of a believer.

608
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,160
So it is, it's a constant juggling game,

609
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,760
especially as the culture gets more.

610
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,560
And I hate to put, use this broad stroke word,

611
00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,480
but as the culture gets more woke,

612
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:22,480
as the mainstream deliverers of our fandom

613
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,240
continue to try to present a message,

614
00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,800
or force upon us a very worldly message,

615
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,000
it does become difficult.

616
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,280
It's harder to avoid,

617
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,560
but I think that when you're creating a conversation

618
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,600
where everything comes back to a spiritual standpoint,

619
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,040
we don't have to be afraid of those things,

620
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:39,280
because we can always hold it up

621
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:40,960
to the light of God's word and say,

622
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,600
this is good, this may be not so much.

623
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:45,880
Yeah, I mean, there's so much good

624
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,240
that can come out of just Harry Potter alone.

625
00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,320
If you have your eyes adjusted correctly,

626
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:52,680
if you're looking at it correctly,

627
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,480
yes, there's a great story there.

628
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,920
It's not all, it's gonna send people

629
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:57,320
to H.E. Double Hockey sticks.

630
00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,820
And maybe we just don't merge right into Game of Thrones.

631
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:05,360
Maybe that one might be off limits.

632
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:06,280
I don't know.

633
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:09,040
But then we start playing the game

634
00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:10,360
of where do we draw the line?

635
00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:11,680
And we're like, I'm not gonna,

636
00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,840
turn my eyes from every wicked thing.

637
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,240
And then we say, well, now we're just gonna be watching

638
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:17,960
old Veggie Tales VHS

639
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,800
and not opening the windows anymore.

640
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,160
So it is difficult to be in the world

641
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,040
and not of the world,

642
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,880
but it's doable if we're consistently putting the gospel

643
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:30,800
first, if we're consistently making sure

644
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,320
that everything is looked at through the light of eternity,

645
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,600
through the light of honoring God

646
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,880
and honoring our hearts, minds, our eyes and ears.

647
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:39,720
Absolutely, right.

648
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:40,840
I also noticed on your website,

649
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,280
you're doing like little daily devotionals too.

650
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,440
And these are, this is some of your staff as well,

651
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,280
I think that are doing them and not just you.

652
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,480
If you, you're using the word staff.

653
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,680
Staff, I'm sorry, I was just saying staff, I mean like.

654
00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:56,560
Your companions.

655
00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:01,560
Well, so yeah, it's a very loose, yeah, no, no,

656
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,560
it's really not, this is one of the craziest things

657
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,920
about how this thing has blown up because we have our team.

658
00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,320
There's 10 solid people on our team,

659
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:12,640
which is a lot for a podcast crew.

660
00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,000
Imagine cramming 10 people into your room right there

661
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,000
and everybody talking at once, it's madness.

662
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,440
And a nightmare to edit, but we have a network of people.

663
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,680
There's a young man who lives in Tennessee

664
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,880
who got connected with us through the magic of the internet.

665
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:29,560
And he said, hey, I wanna help out with this.

666
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,560
So he became our DM, our divo manager.

667
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,200
And he has a network of people that he's just,

668
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,640
we've found that we've met through the podcast of pastors

669
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,240
and content creators and just creative people

670
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:43,280
who love Jesus and love nerdy stuff.

671
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,320
And there are people, I'll listen to the Daily Nerd Divo

672
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,960
podcast that we produce and I'll go,

673
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:50,280
I don't even know who that person is.

674
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,120
I've never met that person in my life, not a clue.

675
00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:55,640
You know, we invite him in, we vet him,

676
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,480
but there's people from Canada, from all across the country.

677
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,880
I think there's a guy from Germany that gets on there

678
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,280
and talks about magic, the gathering.

679
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,560
I don't, so a lot of that stuff is kind of,

680
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:07,680
I oversee it, I help direct it,

681
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,960
but no, our divo manager, boy, he's just got a squad

682
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,840
of probably 50 or so people from across the country

683
00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:17,600
and beyond that contribute to it.

684
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,760
So it's a delight for me to listen to every day.

685
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,000
I'm usually surprised and encouraged as well.

686
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,120
I gotta say, I mean, I listened to the most recent one

687
00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:26,560
and this one speaks very close to me and to Nate

688
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:28,560
because we are both big wrestling guys.

689
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:29,400
Oh yeah.

690
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:30,960
Oh, it was the Sting one, right?

691
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,400
Yes, I mean, I grew up with Sting

692
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,480
and I loved him in the NWO and WCW,

693
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:40,400
like I love that stuff.

694
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,680
I loved it, especially with Hulk Hogan Turdhill.

695
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:46,400
Hold on, before we go any further, Tony,

696
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,120
I'm on a flight, I'm on a flight, on a flight.

697
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,520
Brian's sitting across the aisle and I'm sleeping

698
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,840
and I look up and what is he watching?

699
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:56,680
He's watching wrestling.

700
00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:57,640
I'm watching wrestling.

701
00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,080
Watching wrestling, man.

702
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,120
Little kids around him, you know,

703
00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:04,000
here's a 40 something year old man watching wrestling.

704
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,400
And I realized he was like me, you know?

705
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,640
I was keeping it in the closet for a long time.

706
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:10,880
I don't have it in the closet.

707
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:12,880
No, no, so go ahead.

708
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,320
I just want to be in the closet.

709
00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,880
I have Sting's heavyweight championship belt

710
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,400
hanging on the wall right behind me here.

711
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,680
The champion, we do a fantasy football

712
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,640
and our championship is the championship belt.

713
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:25,600
I love it.

714
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:29,600
So anyways, world's co-eyes, sports enders.

715
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:30,520
That's right.

716
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:33,080
But yeah, I'll be the eat.

717
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,600
I think that's what wrestling is, right?

718
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,880
That is the crossover of like superheroes and sports, right?

719
00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:38,720
Sports absolutely.

720
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:41,000
But he took five minutes, or not even,

721
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,200
and the parallels that he drew to Sting's retirement

722
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,720
and then, you know, Sting, his personal life,

723
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,920
he is a Christian and then you watch someone grow up with this

724
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,600
and then, you know, he drew out the story of Saul

725
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:57,200
who persecuted Christians ultimately

726
00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:01,200
on the road to Damascus, you know, became Paul

727
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:05,760
and became one of the shining lights of Christendom,

728
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:07,480
you know, that we'll ever see.

729
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:11,480
And it's just so cool that you can take something like that

730
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,160
and turn it into like a little tiny devotional

731
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,960
and then hook in somebody that just loves wrestling.

732
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,400
And all of a sudden, now you're hearing a Bible story

733
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,200
in five minutes.

734
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:22,240
And they don't even realize it.

735
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:23,080
They don't even realize it.

736
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:23,920
They don't even realize it.

737
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:25,760
That's what's cool about it.

738
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:27,160
Do you remember when we were kids,

739
00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,720
we don't, it's hard anymore that these days,

740
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,040
you know, you drive home, you pull into your garage,

741
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:34,120
you close your door, you don't know who the neighbors are

742
00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:35,160
like we once did.

743
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,120
We're in the most connected time in human history

744
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,680
and yet we're disconnected from one another.

745
00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,720
But remember when you're a kid and you're out of the playground

746
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,800
and you see other kids and it's how easy it is to make friends.

747
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,120
It's like, oh, you like cherry soda, I like cherry soda.

748
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,840
Let's be friends, you know, you wanna watch Transformers

749
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:53,480
come over to my house, we'll watch Transformers

750
00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,240
and eat Oreos, whatever the thing is,

751
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,000
we could find connection and friendship

752
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,400
based on those common things and it didn't take much

753
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,280
for us to relate to one another.

754
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,360
If I'm having, if we're sitting at dinner,

755
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,200
we're out at a restaurant and we overhear a conversation,

756
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,040
my wife will always watch my radar just go ping,

757
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,200
if somebody talks or mentions something

758
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,160
that that's something that I like,

759
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:16,000
she'll be like, don't do it.

760
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:16,840
Don't do it.

761
00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,360
Don't do it because my temptation is to turn and say,

762
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,400
oh, actually, hey, and then now I wanna be part

763
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,280
of that conversation because they're talking

764
00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:24,640
about something I care about.

765
00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:26,920
And that's what a wonderful and beautiful way

766
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,640
to communicate the gospel is to open the door wide

767
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,080
with something somebody actually cares about

768
00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:34,520
and then say, oh, by the way, it's kind of like this.

769
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:36,640
And you say, huh, never thought about it that way.

770
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:38,000
Well, thank you so much for that.

771
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,120
You know, it's just, it's like putting a little,

772
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,200
Chris Pratt did a speech, I think at some MTA once

773
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:46,800
or something several years ago.

774
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,960
And he's given this list of rules for life

775
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,640
and it's funny because every other one that he's talking

776
00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:54,960
about, he's Chris Pratt, he's charming, he's disarming,

777
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:56,160
he's a little goofy.

778
00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:58,840
So every other thing that he gives on this list

779
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:00,360
of things is kind of a goofy one.

780
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,640
And then he'll throw in like a really, really serious one.

781
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,400
And he gave what I would consider

782
00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:06,200
a very powerful gospel presentation,

783
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:07,320
but right in the middle of it,

784
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,640
he threw one of his silly little rules for life.

785
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,480
And he says, if you wanna give medicine to your dog,

786
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,600
take the pill and put it in a little bit of hamburger

787
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:15,640
because he'll eat it up,

788
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,640
not realizing that he's eating medicine.

789
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:19,880
And I thought, he just telegraphed exactly

790
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,160
what he was doing to America right now.

791
00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,400
He knew exactly what he was doing.

792
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:26,840
And how beautiful and powerful and people ate it up

793
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:27,880
and they cheered for it.

794
00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,000
As opposed to if he got out there

795
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:30,400
and he just opened his Bible and he said,

796
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,320
the Lord says and Leviticus,

797
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:35,640
you know, then people will be like, walls up, shields up,

798
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:36,480
not listening.

799
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,800
So we're not compromising the gospel,

800
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:42,640
but we are just presenting it in a way

801
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,040
that makes it appetizing for someone

802
00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:46,600
who doesn't know that it's good for them.

803
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,160
Tony, I gotta say, you've got a skill for this.

804
00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:50,280
You really do.

805
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,160
And I am excited to see what God is gonna do

806
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,680
in this nerd community, especially with events like Megacon

807
00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:58,920
and there are others around the country.

808
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,800
I mean, who knows, maybe you might go elsewhere.

809
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,760
Some of these other big events.

810
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,400
Because I mean, if we can bring the gospel and Jesus

811
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,560
to these places, to these people,

812
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,040
and I started out in the podcast,

813
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:14,080
I think it's a vastly underserved community.

814
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,600
They don't hear anyone talking about this stuff.

815
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:18,440
Like that is incredible.

816
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,080
We call them an unreached people group.

817
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:21,600
I mean, they have their own costumes,

818
00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:22,800
they have their own language.

819
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,080
It's just like going to Papua New Guinea

820
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:25,920
or something like that.

821
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,120
I mean, who knows how to speak the language?

822
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:29,800
Who knows how to fit in with the culture?

823
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:30,800
Very few people.

824
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:31,800
And there are others.

825
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,200
There are other great ministries out there

826
00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:35,560
that do what we're doing.

827
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,720
And some of them are just taking their first steps.

828
00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:39,360
Some of them do it way better.

829
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:41,160
But we wanted to be a part of the conversation

830
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,000
where we were.

831
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,280
And we'd love to go all around the country

832
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:45,280
and do all these kinds.

833
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,640
It's just time and money.

834
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:47,480
Time and money.

835
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:48,520
That's why I'm listening to your podcast.

836
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:50,680
Learning how to make the most of my money.

837
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:52,520
We're listening to the brilliant people of you guys.

838
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:53,520
You guys bring on.

839
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:54,520
That's what I'm saying.

840
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,840
I'll be like, scrolling through my episodes, going, all right,

841
00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:58,880
how can I take my steak and shake coupons

842
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,000
and get to San Diego Comic-Con with them?

843
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:02,000
So.

844
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,440
Well, go ahead, David.

845
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:04,880
One question about that.

846
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,160
Is there any kind of fundraising that you do?

847
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,080
Is there any kind of, is there any way

848
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,280
to get money to do these things that you're talking about wanting

849
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,040
to do?

850
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:14,040
Yeah.

851
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,680
So we check the couch cushions in the church

852
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,320
after every server just to see if any money fell out.

853
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,960
No, we create products.

854
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:24,200
It's a simple thing that we do.

855
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,920
We have a web store on our website.

856
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:28,080
I don't want to, in my last slide.

857
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:29,440
Yeah, we're getting to the part where you can start plugging

858
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:30,240
some stuff in.

859
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:31,240
You gotta, people gotta know where to find.

860
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:32,400
Got you.

861
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,040
So on our website, which will be named at the part where

862
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:36,880
we plug stuff, we have a web store.

863
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:38,160
We make t-shirts and we sell them.

864
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:39,960
We don't make a whole lot of money on there.

865
00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,840
We also do sell our divo books, but we really sell them

866
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,040
at cost because we just want to get the word of God out there

867
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:46,560
for people that need it.

868
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,320
So we do sell stickers and buttons and shirts.

869
00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:53,320
When the time comes for Megacon, we do have a little bit

870
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:55,720
of a giving campaign, a shareathon, if you will.

871
00:32:55,720 --> 00:33:00,440
But our costs are not exorbitant.

872
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:01,680
They are high.

873
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,040
They're high for me, but they're not crazy.

874
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:07,360
And God has just always, always provided.

875
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,960
Their story after story, which if we had a whole other episode

876
00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:13,080
to talk, I could tell you some of the amazing stories

877
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:14,040
about how God provided.

878
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,600
But it's almost ridiculous.

879
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,120
It's almost like, seriously, like, these are the stories

880
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:21,480
that I've heard other people talk about saying, well,

881
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:25,280
I just, I only had a dollar to my name and I just sewed it.

882
00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,800
And then a check for $1,000 was in the mail the next day.

883
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:30,920
I've heard those stories again and again and again.

884
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,320
It's like, well, that's great for you.

885
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:35,200
And then God does it.

886
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,360
We had a fellow that came to Megacon last year.

887
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:39,280
We're praying.

888
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:40,840
My wife and I prayed Saturday.

889
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,440
We found out we've got to renew our application

890
00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:45,280
for the next year.

891
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,200
We've got to register for the next year that day.

892
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,120
And it was going to be close to $1,000.

893
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:51,080
We didn't have $1,000.

894
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:51,920
We didn't have any money.

895
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:53,680
We spent all of our monies together where we were.

896
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,120
And we said, well, let's just pray God will provide.

897
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:57,800
And, okay, all right.

898
00:33:57,800 --> 00:33:59,720
Like, I'm a faithful person,

899
00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,080
but I'm also kind of like lightly eye-rolling a little bit.

900
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,840
Okay, we're gonna just pray and see.

901
00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,000
And like two hours later, this guy comes over.

902
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:09,440
He's like, I'm here with my daughter

903
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:10,760
and I like what you're doing here.

904
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,320
This is really, really interesting.

905
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,760
And we just struck up a conversation.

906
00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,200
And something in my heart said, this might be the guy

907
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:19,920
that's gonna help you pay for it.

908
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,800
How do you make, how do you make a move?

909
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:22,640
How do you ask?

910
00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:24,800
Oh, by the way, did the Lord send you

911
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,760
and do you have your textbook on you?

912
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:30,080
So I'm like, how do you say that?

913
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:31,800
And as I'm talking with him and I'm thinking this

914
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,000
in my mind, he said, so how much does one

915
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:35,360
of these tables cost anyway?

916
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:37,800
And I'm like, well, I'm glad you asked, sir.

917
00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:41,360
And I just told him and he said,

918
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:43,200
I'm gonna go ahead and take care of your table for next year.

919
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:44,920
And I'm like, oh, shut up.

920
00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:45,760
Shut up.

921
00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:47,120
Shut up.

922
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:48,480
It was just little things like that

923
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,160
and they happen again and again and again.

924
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:51,920
And it's like, okay, well, it's kind of hard

925
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:54,960
not to believe that God is helping us

926
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:56,880
when he just keeps helping us.

927
00:34:56,880 --> 00:34:58,680
And it's so obviously, God.

928
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:00,720
Look, I mean, Pastor Charlie, there are so many parallels

929
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,280
to that and just the story of Timothy playing

930
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,440
and the fact that we could have closed our doors

931
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:07,560
year over year when we first started back

932
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,480
in the 1900s, as my son would say.

933
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,240
You know, I mean, God comes through.

934
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:16,720
God comes through and we have to have the faith.

935
00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:17,560
We have to believe that.

936
00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:18,400
We do.

937
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:19,240
I mean, we're Christians.

938
00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:20,280
We can't be doubting.

939
00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:21,120
Yeah, that's right.

940
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,920
So in all seriousness, where can people find you,

941
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,320
this podcast, all this stuff?

942
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,440
Where can they find this stuff?

943
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,160
Yeah, the best hub to kind of direct you

944
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,680
on the many paths of nerdy Christian living

945
00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:36,880
is the Nerd of Godcast.

946
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:41,640
It's at nerdyofgodcast.com, www.nerdyofgodcast.com.

947
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:44,520
We have a Facebook small group called the Nerd of God Squad.

948
00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:47,800
If you go to nogsquad.com, it'll leap frog you straight there.

949
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,720
Or you can just search Nerd of God Squad on Facebook,

950
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:52,920
share some memes and live your dreams.

951
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,720
We also have a couple of Discord groups for,

952
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:57,200
we have a guys group and a women's group.

953
00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:00,560
We found that there was a lot of people that were struggling

954
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,080
and they needed somebody to open up.

955
00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:03,560
So we created these online small groups

956
00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:04,960
where people can go and just be real

957
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,000
and pray for one another and be transparent.

958
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,560
And you can request access to that through our website,

959
00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,840
nerdygodcast.com and also links to our store, our YouTube,

960
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,960
anywhere on social medias at Nerd of Godcast.

961
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,720
If you Google it, we will solve them.

962
00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:19,920
I did that and it showed right up.

963
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,080
And of course they can find you pastoring

964
00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:24,640
sanctuary church in Longwood as well.

965
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:27,240
Correct, sanctuary church for the moment.

966
00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:29,840
We're announcing our new name on Sunday.

967
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,840
But yeah, you can't tell us.

968
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:33,680
You can tell us off here.

969
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,640
I would, I would.

970
00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:38,640
But as long as nobody from my church finds out

971
00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:39,840
that I told you guys first,

972
00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:40,680
there's nobody from my church there.

973
00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:42,040
Oh, there could possibly be.

974
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:43,440
Oh, I don't know.

975
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:44,280
Oh.

976
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:48,320
Well, Tony, we've, this is great.

977
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,880
This is honestly, it's probably the funnest episode

978
00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:52,120
we have ever done of this stuff.

979
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:52,960
That's right.

980
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:53,800
That's right.

981
00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:54,640
And it's so great here, what you're doing

982
00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,840
for the community and we'll be praying for you seriously.

983
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:02,120
And honestly, I mean, you got me excited, man.

984
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,200
I might have to find some change

985
00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:05,800
in the couch cushions here to help you out.

986
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:06,640
Sure.

987
00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:07,480
Sure.

988
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,200
Well, that's very kind.

989
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,120
You know, we really do want to make a difference.

990
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:13,640
These kids, nobody's reaching them

991
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,040
and they desperately need it.

992
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,440
We had, I know that you had the landing gear down.

993
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,640
So let me, let me, you know, derail it.

994
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:23,720
We had a kid that came by our booth.

995
00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:28,240
I misquoted Lord of the Rings in our podcast at Megacon.

996
00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:29,960
And this young man came to our booth.

997
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,520
He came and found me to correct me on my Gandalf quote,

998
00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,000
which started a conversation and he, you know,

999
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,280
he's very stoic, he's in full costume.

1000
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,040
I recognized his costume, said,

1001
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,160
oh, you're dressed up as so and so from so and so.

1002
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:44,280
And he's like, yeah, I am.

1003
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:45,480
And he felt very seen.

1004
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:48,760
It was just interesting to see him open up

1005
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:50,360
and we began to talk and he assured me,

1006
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:51,640
I'm not religious.

1007
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:53,400
I don't believe this stuff at all.

1008
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:55,800
I'm agnostic at best.

1009
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,360
And hey, cool, you know, we're just here to show you

1010
00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,680
that you're loved and as he began talking,

1011
00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:02,600
he told us about his father.

1012
00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,040
He said, my father just got diagnosed with cancer.

1013
00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,560
And I said, can I pray for your dad?

1014
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:10,360
He wasn't, he, well, I don't really believe in it,

1015
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:14,720
but you know, if you want to, absolutely.

1016
00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:17,120
So we prayed for him, prayed with him.

1017
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,480
And boy, he really just kind of got shook up.

1018
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:22,720
One of our guys that were with us on our team, Stephen,

1019
00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:24,560
he shared a little bit of a personal story

1020
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:25,600
about his mom going through cancer

1021
00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,120
and he invited him to come to our church service

1022
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:28,440
at Megaconin.

1023
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,080
He's like, I'm not really, I'm not religious.

1024
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,320
So thank you, that's not for me.

1025
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:35,000
We set up for church, we showed up,

1026
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,320
we're there doing the thing and who walks in,

1027
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,800
but this agnostic kid in full anime costume.

1028
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,400
And I just thought he would never in a hundred years

1029
00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,320
have walked into the doors of any church in this city

1030
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,960
on a Sunday morning, but we went to where he was.

1031
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,480
So it really made a difference.

1032
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,520
It gave an opportunity for him to hear a message

1033
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:57,760
of love and hope that he would have never heard before.

1034
00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:02,320
So what we do, what we do really does matter to somebody.

1035
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:03,160
Absolutely.

1036
00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:05,360
And I really thank you guys for the opportunity

1037
00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:06,720
to come on here and talk about it

1038
00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:08,480
and brag on God a little bit for what he's doing

1039
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:11,400
and just let everyone know who maybe didn't know

1040
00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:12,440
that this was a thing.

1041
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,520
Just give me a reason to talk about comics and wrestling

1042
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:16,440
and we're in.

1043
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:17,760
We're in.

1044
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:18,600
We're with you.

1045
00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,800
Well, listen, I got a podcast too

1046
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:22,720
and this swings both ways.

1047
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,240
Let me know what you guys want to come by.

1048
00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:26,000
As long as I can wear a T-shirt,

1049
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:27,640
Pastor Tony, I'm there.

1050
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:28,480
I'm there.

1051
00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:29,320
Absolutely.

1052
00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:30,680
And we don't have to just mess with Madame Webb.

1053
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:32,080
I don't want to talk about that.

1054
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,400
I don't want to talk about that.

1055
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:34,520
I don't want to see it.

1056
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:36,360
You have to heck with that.

1057
00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:37,200
Oh my goodness.

1058
00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,000
You know, I think people are seeing it just because they

1059
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:39,800
heard how bad it is.

1060
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:40,400
It's a dream, Rick.

1061
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:42,360
You've got to see this.

1062
00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:42,920
I know.

1063
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,360
It's like this milk tastes bad.

1064
00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,640
It tastes like it was like war against when it was so bad

1065
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,680
and they went out of theaters and they somehow did a campaign

1066
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,120
to get it back in the theaters.

1067
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:53,560
And it's like, did you guys watch this the first time?

1068
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:54,600
It was terrible.

1069
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:56,560
What are we doing?

1070
00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,200
They thought it would get a little traction

1071
00:39:58,200 --> 00:39:59,520
because of how bad it was.

1072
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,240
They thought, well, everyone's going to come see it now.

1073
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:03,400
It didn't work the first time, but it seems to be working

1074
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:04,080
with Madame Webb.

1075
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:06,080
So what are you going to do?

1076
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:07,640
They can't all be trashed.

1077
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:08,280
No, that's right.

1078
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:08,680
All right.

1079
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:10,680
Well, Pastor Tony, thank you so much for your time.

1080
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:11,920
We really appreciate it.

1081
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:12,840
Thanks for being on the show.

1082
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:13,600
Absolutely, friends.

1083
00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:14,400
Thanks for having me.

1084
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:15,080
God bless you.

1085
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:16,840
Best It With Purpose is brought to you

1086
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,800
by Timothy Partners-Linus, advisor to the Timothy Plan Fund.

1087
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,800
Timothy Plan is a family of biblically responsible mutual

1088
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:25,560
funds and BTS.

1089
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,520
For more information, please visit Timothy Plan's website

1090
00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:32,120
at www.timothyplan.com.

1091
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:34,360
Some of our podcast guests may have a relationship

1092
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,000
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1093
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,200
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1094
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,680
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1095
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:45,640
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1096
00:40:45,640 --> 00:40:47,560
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1097
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:49,760
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1098
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,000
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1099
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,760
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1100
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:59,920
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