184 - “Peace”

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in to the Recovering Fundamentalist podcast. We're your host. I'm J.C. that's Nathan, that's Matt Dudley. Here we are, boys. [00:00:10] Speaker B: Man, what. Who's that lurking? And who's that lurking over your shoulder? J.C. he's alive. [00:00:17] Speaker A: He's here in person. We're finally back in the same studio after all these years. [00:00:22] Speaker C: It's been a long time since we've been in the same studio. [00:00:25] Speaker A: We did this at J103J radio back in the day. I was listening to some of those the other night. Actually ran into Bob LaBelle, the president of J Radio, and we were talking, and I was like, man, we. We got started there. We only had to look at Brian on the zoom call. We sat right across from each other. That was some good episodes. [00:00:44] Speaker C: Yeah, it was good times. I remember recording with Clay Maynard there. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Yep. [00:00:48] Speaker C: Remember Lois came in for an episode there? [00:00:51] Speaker A: A lot of people. [00:00:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I could. I could keep going. [00:00:54] Speaker A: I really don't remember. [00:00:55] Speaker C: Some good ones, some bad ones. [00:00:57] Speaker A: We've had a lot of those. [00:00:58] Speaker C: But wait, we were there for the infamous Phil kid? [00:01:02] Speaker B: That's what I was thinking. Yeah. Yeah, I was about to say that, but I didn't know for sure. [00:01:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I think Brian might have been in studio with us for it. I think we all three were there. [00:01:10] Speaker A: You know what? That is true. Yep, I do remember that. [00:01:14] Speaker B: So Phil was in person, huh? [00:01:17] Speaker C: No, no, he was his son. But, Paul, we're zooming in, but the three of us were in one studio, which is crazy. [00:01:25] Speaker A: Well, we're back for today, and, man, last time you heard from us was Christmas Eve, and it was Dudley and I, and it was a little somber. Little. A little bit more. Well, Merry Christmas. [00:01:39] Speaker B: You, too, buddy. [00:01:41] Speaker A: And. And here we are. Wow. What is this month? Is this March? Today is March. [00:01:47] Speaker C: March 1st. Yes, sir. [00:01:49] Speaker A: So three months later, he's breathing, and we're back. Dudley, how's life in Missouri? [00:01:56] Speaker B: It's great, man. Busy, but good. That's good. Yeah. Just got back off of a cruise, and then I'm headed to Greece next, a week from Monday. [00:02:07] Speaker C: Shut up. [00:02:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:08] Speaker B: Yeah. Going with Marcus Merit, Dr. Marcus Merritt. [00:02:13] Speaker A: It's going to be fun. [00:02:14] Speaker B: Yep. [00:02:15] Speaker C: Are there. Are there still any openings for that trip, or is it pretty much closed now? [00:02:19] Speaker B: No, it's closed. [00:02:22] Speaker A: It's gonna be a good trip. [00:02:23] Speaker B: It really is. I'm excited about it. [00:02:25] Speaker A: Good luck getting on a plane right now. [00:02:26] Speaker C: I'm asking for a friend. You know, I'm not allowed to travel right now, but I'M asking for a friend. [00:02:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Weren't you allowed to travel? You had a little bit going on, dude. [00:02:34] Speaker C: My family put the lockdown on me. They threatened to kidnap my. My passport. [00:02:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:40] Speaker C: Put me on the no fly list and all this other stuff. So pray for me, please. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Your little trip to Nepal was gonna have to do you in for quite a while. That's it. Well, for those of you that haven't been tuning in to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast, maybe this is your first time here with us. We are three pastors, and we've been doing this, man. How long we've been going is this five years? [00:03:03] Speaker C: This is our sixth year. [00:03:04] Speaker A: Episode number 184. And we're glad to be here with you. We want to help and encourage those whose lives have been negatively affected by fundamentalist legalism in the church to challenge those who promote tradition over scripture. And that's what we've been doing here for the last six years. 184 episodes. And honestly, a couple episodes ago, we thought this guy would not be with us anymore. And we're going to just let him share his story today because he's breathing and here and, man, it was crazy there for a while, buddy. [00:03:34] Speaker C: Yes, it was. And we'll get around to that in a minute. Yeah, I'll get all emotional. Starting to talk about it right now on the front end. And we're supposed to hold that for later. [00:03:42] Speaker A: Hold the banter for later. [00:03:44] Speaker C: So thankful to be here, man. And I think everybody probably knows what's been going on in my life. [00:03:50] Speaker A: Sure. [00:03:50] Speaker C: But I definitely want to talk about that. And I have a whole lot of thank yous to say. [00:03:54] Speaker A: That's good. We do want to thank y'all for tuning in and listening. And we got some big announcements in this episode that you'll want to stay tuned towards the end of the episode. Just talking about the life of the rfp. We're not going anywhere. There are some changes coming, and we'll fill you in on that towards the end of the episode. Boys, y'all ready to get the show started? [00:04:14] Speaker C: Yes, sir. [00:04:15] Speaker B: Let's roll, man. [00:04:17] Speaker A: Let's go. The Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast begins in three. These podcasts. Podcast that sound like a conviction of beans or peas to me. Podcast. [00:04:45] Speaker C: Listen in these recovering fundamentalists. [00:04:47] Speaker A: They don't know the Bible either. What are the fundamentals? Inerrancy, virgin birth of Jesus Christ, substitutionary atonement, Amen. Bodily resurrection of Christ, and the authenticity of miracles. 2. I am not a recovering fundamentalist. [00:05:04] Speaker B: They're everywhere. [00:05:04] Speaker A: They're all over the Internet. They want to be. [00:05:07] Speaker C: What do they call it? [00:05:08] Speaker A: Recovering from fundamentalism. They're everywhere. [00:05:11] Speaker C: And I think to myself, well, you. [00:05:12] Speaker A: Were just stupid to begin with. If there's such a word, you're stupider now. We ain't recovering from nothing good, Mabel. We're reviving from the Holy Ghost. [00:05:20] Speaker C: Somebody shame and Rocky, everybody wants to focus on recovering. Oh, you're recovering. Oh, you need help. You need therapy. You're recovering. Let's focus on fundamentalists. We're recovering fundamentalism back from people who, who have hijacked it. We are biblical family. We are the fundamentalists. [00:05:39] Speaker A: Man, that'll make a Baptist want to speak in tongues right there. Boys 1. [00:05:46] Speaker C: I'm going to tell you one thing. We better stay in the old paths. [00:05:52] Speaker A: But what are the old paths? But I. I've. [00:05:54] Speaker C: I've heard that my whole life, and. [00:05:56] Speaker A: Nobody'S ever been able to tell me what the old paths or the old time religion really is. Because it's whatever era you overly romanticize in your mind as being when the church was right. Like it, lump it, pump it, chump it, take it across the street and dump it. We've raised a generation that is ashamed of our forefathers and act like they were somehow done wrong in the way they were brought up. And they were damaged and they were scarred because they were raised in a home that had standards and convictions and kept them on the old time way. [00:06:30] Speaker B: You got their number, boys. Y'all thought you started the podcast. You went and started a movement. [00:06:37] Speaker A: Oh, man, there it is. [00:06:40] Speaker B: There it is. [00:06:41] Speaker C: Dudley, I love that line when you said that in one of your episodes. We've interviewed you a lot of times. I mean, before we finally said, look, you're on here enough. Just come on, be one of the hosts. We kicked Brian off so you could be on here. I love that when you said that you went and started a movement, man, that literally was like a bomb going off. [00:07:00] Speaker B: That's a true statement. [00:07:02] Speaker A: It's been fun. What a ride it has been. And we've signed off the rfp, Brian, Nathan and I. Well, Brian and Nathan, particularly my saying has always been, let's go stupid. But as we sign off, you know, Brian used to always say, be sweet. And so his final episode was Be sweet and something. Nathan, I love that you always say you have signed off for five years with peace. Why is that? Is it accidental or was it intentional? [00:07:32] Speaker C: Well, actually, it was incredibly intentional. I say that a lot. Just like Brian's, be sweet. I'm Always saying peace to people. And I don't know if you guys remember this. I know you remember chick tracts, right? Unfortunately, back in the day we probably all given a bunch of those out and it makes for great reading when you're in your reading room. And do you remember the comic books? They had like full size comic books. [00:07:57] Speaker A: No, I wasn't that Christian, I guess. [00:07:59] Speaker C: Yeah, so they had those. And I remember one. I don't remember what it was about, but it was basically drawings of all these long haired hippies. And in that comic book they had these hippies that were always saying peace. And they basically said that, you know, they turned across upside down, broke the cross in rejection of Christ and that was the peace sign. [00:08:20] Speaker A: Oh yeah, we've all heard that. [00:08:21] Speaker C: And so I was terrified as a kid to say peace or to do the peace sign with, with their fingers. And it was, it wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that peace is a huge, huge theme in scripture from beginning to end. Peace is the word shalom, which I love. The best definition of that is that everything is as it's meant to be. Everything is as it should be. And we know that in the garden God created Adam and Eve in this perfect, peaceful society and creation. They were basically in paradise. They were in paradise. But Satan attacked that shalom. And sin was rebellion against God's peace. And little did we know when we opened that Pandora's box, all the sin and all the shame and all the horror that broke out, basically it was the opposite of peace. Which is war. [00:09:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:16] Speaker C: Which is fear. And fear replaces peace. Hostility replaces peace. But God promised in Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15, then later on in the prophets that he was going to send the prince of peace. And when Jesus came, he offered his peace to his followers. And through his sinless life, his sacrificial and substitutionary death and his supernatural resurrection, he offers that peace that, that we just can't understand. And he says where the spirit of the Lord is, there is peace. But let's think back to the churches that we grew up in or that we used to preach in, in the independent fundamental legalistic Baptist churches. And a lot of our listeners, the RFP fam man, they've, they've been through all kinds of things in churches that none of them would describe as peaceful. And we've probably all had some peaceful moments in churches or known some good churches. But a lot of what we experience in a lot of the trauma that this podcast exists to help heal and comfort and encourage people comes from Churches that are supposed to be defined by how much we love each other as disciples of Christ and by peace. They're defined by strife. [00:10:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:39] Speaker C: Or ego or law keeping. And Paul said, through which no one can be justified. [00:10:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:46] Speaker C: And not only our churches that we grew up in didn't display this peace of God, but our own lives. Think about our own homes. Like, is your home a place of peace? And if you're an honest Christian, sometimes you got to stop. Especially if you have a bunch of kids. Right, JC? You got to stop. [00:11:05] Speaker A: 1100 square feet, eight people, two dogs. I like being in my office. [00:11:09] Speaker C: Bless him, Lord. We. We have to stop and ask the question, is our home a home of peace? Like, are we defined by God's shalom, where everything's as it should be and we're not perfect, but we're following that, pursuing that. So when I say peace, that's. That's basically what I'm wishing for, for everyone. Because my prayer for our RFP fam is that they would enter into this piece. [00:11:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:36] Speaker C: And. And that my family would know more of this piece and my life would display more of this piece. So, yeah, it's. It's pretty intentional. [00:11:43] Speaker A: Jc I think too many times we faked peace where we, especially in the culture we grew up in, we were good at putting this projected self out that we're peaceful, that we. We have this comfort, this stability, this peace, you know, that passes all understanding when, you know, internally away from people, we've got this inner turmoil, this struggle that's going on. And, you know, that's what you said there, I love that. Is that the prince of peace came to make everything right. And when we are in his hands, when we are truly walking with him, we have that peace that does pass all understanding. Because there's a lot of things we don't understand in life. I mean, what you've just been through, we don't understand that. But the peace that passes understanding. That's good. Yeah. [00:12:29] Speaker B: You know, I was just thinking, Nate, as pastors, you know, we deal with our fair share of traumatic situations in other people's lives. And, man, I could tell stories just in the past couple months, things families in our church have faced and are facing now. And you're certainly not out of the woods of, you know, you're still. You're still battling physically. And of course, that always is deeper than just the physical struggles, of course, the emotional and the psychological stuff. I'm sure. So I guess as we talk about peace, how has that looked for you during this season for you, for your family. Brother, we almost lost you. J.C. and I can save, you know, from our own just personal vantage point. Dude, there were times that peace was the last thing that we had as friends of yours. But you know, your sweet wife and your kids and yourself, man, I mean, how has peace played its role through this season for you? [00:13:43] Speaker C: Man, that's a great question. And it's when you're in times like that that you really know whether or not you have the peace of God because you can't fake it in situations like that. And I just want to brag on my family right here, they literally put on the, on display for the world to see what the peace of God looks like in a family who's losing their husband, their, their father. And I, I was out of it. I was comose and intubated on life support. And I've had so many people. JC Brian Edwards just told me multiple stories about my son and my daughters and my wife, and we've talked about that, that they displayed a supernatural peace and confidence through the storm. And I'm telling you what, I've never been so proud of my family. And I've always been pretty, pretty dang proud of my family, but I've never been so proud of them as the things I've been hearing from them and the things I remember because I have bits and pieces through those first seven or eight days. And then once I woke up, man, just, just seeing them and hearing, hearing the stories of how they held on to the Prince of Peace when, when he was their only hope, when, when they were begging him for a miracle and he, he gave that. And we know that in every story that doesn't happen, we've all lost friends. I lost a couple friends while I was in the hospital. And God answered those prayers in a different way. So we don't always get that. But man, I've. How many funerals have you done where all three of us, where we've seen families that are going through the worst time of their life, but there's this peace that's just undefinable, that dwells deep within them. And we've probably all done funerals and been a part of them where that peace wasn't there, where it was just. It was, it was devastating. And we suffer not as those who have no hope. We die not as those who have no hope. [00:15:50] Speaker A: We. [00:15:50] Speaker C: We suffer and we die with this confident hope knowing that, that the Prince of Peace is with us. And for me, when, when I woke up, I just Cannot explain. I knew I was dying, and I didn't think I was coming back. And when I woke up, when my eyes opened and I got to see my family for the first time, and it was not only peace, it was joy, it was celebration, it was gratitude. And I'm walking through a season now that I didn't expect. I thought, get out of the hospital. Everything's great. No, I've got some stuff going on with my toes that I don't even want to get talking about because it's very graphic. Like, I have toes that are. [00:16:36] Speaker A: You should see these things right now. [00:16:38] Speaker C: Yeah. It's disgusting. But the. The doctors chose to let them. [00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:42] Speaker C: The body take care of itself rather than amputating the toes. So you can just use your imagination for that. It's. It's horrible. But as I'm walking through this and dealing with the pain of. Of multiple amputations on my hand, for those who are on the video, I've. I've got my right hand, which I use the most. But that's. Have you seen this yet, Dudley? That's. It's shocking. [00:17:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:07] Speaker C: I look down at myself a lot of times, and I'm like, what in the world? I do have the Hang Loose sign still. [00:17:14] Speaker A: That's my new costume. That's your next tattoo? Yeah. [00:17:20] Speaker C: We need to do another episode called Hanging Loose. But, yeah, man, I'm going through some stuff now that I never expected. Like this. This long, this. This waiting, this. This difficulty. And peace isn't the absence of difficulties. [00:17:34] Speaker A: Right. [00:17:34] Speaker C: We know that you can have peace in the worst time of your life, and it's through all of that and what I'm walking through now, what I went through before, I just want to say thank you to. To you two guys and to everybody else in the RFP fam. And honestly, I heard from a lot of our quote, unquote haters, you know, people who don't like the podcast, but they reached out to us. Their churches were praying for us. Some independent Fundamental Baptist churches even sent checks to my family to help us get through some difficult times. So I'm incredibly thankful for that, and I just want to thank everyone who prayed for me and gave generously to my family and supported my family when I wasn't there to do it. I have never. Guys, I have never experienced the love of God through his people like I. [00:18:25] Speaker B: Have in this storm. [00:18:26] Speaker C: You two guys came around me, supported my family, loved on us, and literally thousands of other people that were there for us. And the Bible says where the Spirit of the Lord is there is peace. And I experienced that through the family of God in a way that I never have. The church has its issues. We're people. We're the bride of Christ. We're not perfect yet. We haven't been glorified. But dude, problems isn't the only thing that defines the church of Jesus Christ. The church is awesome. I believe in the church more than I ever have, and I just want to thank all of you guys for loving me and supporting me and supporting my family. And I just. I can't say it enough. The church has been the church, and we have felt the. [00:19:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:15] Speaker C: The benefit of that, man. [00:19:17] Speaker A: I tell you, Nate, that's one of the biggest things that I was able to see through this time. You know, going from you getting home from Nepal to getting sick. We had our meetup. You know, it was an awesome time. And I pretty much had to run that by myself because Dudley couldn't make it. You were in the hospital, and we're praying for you. I'm like, hey, you know, Nate sick. And then, you know, it got really bad there the last day when you went into the hospital. But just putting out that call to prayer and seeing people. I'm thankful that we live in a day and age where we do have social media. We are able to connect with everybody. I mean, Dudley lived nine hours away, and we know what he ate for breakfast yesterday, if you posted it. You know what I mean? Like, but that's the thing. I know what my aunt and uncle in Uganda, Africa, are doing with life, because we're able to connect. We're more connected now than we ever have been. Yet at times, we feel very disconnected. But we saw the church come together in an incredible way financially. I mean, the amount of people that you. You probably will never know. You'll never be able to meet everybody that donated it. $5, $10, $5,000. You know, I mean, just a little bit to help out with that. But the hundreds of thousands, millions even, I would say, praying all over the world. And, you know, I read this quote this morning. Tommy Sewell, he said, walking by faith sometimes leads you on the path of success, but more often, it's the path of suffering. God give us grit, you know, and I got to thinking about that. Like, you're laying in that hospital bed, yet the faith of the local church was growing, watching God work in your life. And, you know, I mean, I know for my church here, Hope Church in Ringgold. We gathered on the Wednesday night before. We thought we lost you on Thursday, and we were gathered here on that Wednesday and just praying and pleading and asking God to heal you, to bring you out of this Thursday. We thought we lost you, man. I mean, me and Dudley are on the phone and Brian and, you know, I mean, I'll be honest, I have it here. I don't think I've showed you yet, but I started writing down what I'd say at your funeral. I mean, I have that on my desktop right now. And then Friday you woke up, you know, and it's just like God said, okay, you know, but your buddy, your friend, a pastor, you know, it. It made our faith stronger because we saw God working through your suffering to help encourage the faith of others. Man. It made my prayer life stronger. It gave us peace without even understanding that. And, you know, we've always preached this deadly. I know you've done this. We preach that we don't just go through storms to go through them. We go through them to see who's watching us go through that storm. And your family, man, you don't even know the times I'm seeing them in the. Your whole family in the waiting room and just the. The keeping the cravats quiet. That's a. That's a. That's a task down there. Erlanger will never be the same after that whole crew was down there. But just watching a living out, a genuine peace, that does pass understanding. And one of my favorite things during that whole crazy season that you were there, one of the worst nights that you were having in the hospital, we played here on this one. Brian and I actually got together and we just did a little special. I don't even know if you've listened to it or not, but we played your sermon of us standing on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. And I sit right here and talk in this picture right behind us. I don't know if you've noticed this. It's upside down, but that's a. That's a boat right there. And I was just thinking about, you know, we're out there in the middle of the Sea of Galilee and the storm is raging around. But that peace that comes while we're in that, man. And it's just. It's awesome to see how God sometimes speaks through our suffering more than he does our success. And, you know, I feel like just that. That understanding of true peace that you have now and seeing the church galvanize around that and press forward, it's beautiful. It's incredible. I love it. [00:23:04] Speaker B: You're a walking miracle brother. I know you know that, but. [00:23:08] Speaker A: Yeah, dude. [00:23:09] Speaker B: And like JC was sharing from, from his point of view. And I remember I got a call on a Wednesday about 2:00 Central Standard Time. And we're always, we're always thrown off. Yeah, we're always thrown off because you guys are on Eastern time. But Brian called me from the hospital. And of course we, we have our nicknames for Brian, but. But, you know, but it was, it was a very bleak prognosis and it. Things just were not looking well. And Brian called me that afternoon. He's like, dudley, I. I think we're going to lose Nathan, bro. And he was upset and I'm crying. J.C. and I sat on the phone and cried and talked together. And I remember getting on my knees. Of course we'd been praying, but based on what Brian had told me that day, I remember getting on my knees and I began praying for God just to Lord, if you're going to take him, just don't let him suffer. And had to lead Bible study. That night. I asked my church to pray for you again. I just gave them an update. And then the next thing I know, I'm getting a call that man, he's made a 180 and he's coming back out of this. And I mean, it was just. Yeah, as JC said, bro, I mean, you know, of course, as the good old song says, we are winners either way, but I'm sure thankful that God gave us more time with you. And as Paul said, you know, for him, it would be better to go on and be with Jesus. But for us, we are far better having you here and so glad that God spared your life and brought you through that. And I can't wait to see what he's going to do with you in the. In the days and weeks and years to come. [00:24:54] Speaker C: Me too, man. Right now I'm in a holding pattern. It's a whole lot of waiting and I'm not good at that. Like, someone needs to call me and explain this waiting process, this patience thing to me. I don't. I don't know what it's all about. [00:25:08] Speaker A: Still part of the comeback. [00:25:09] Speaker B: It's peace, not patience. Right? [00:25:14] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:25:14] Speaker A: Hey, I do want to thank also just publicly, Angela and Austin Weiss. She called me one night when I was leaving the hospital and said, hey, we're going to make these shirts. Is that all right if we give those out? Praying for the comeback. And that kind of became the theme. That's what we should have entitled this one The Comeback, you know, and played that video that you said. Yeah, that would have been funny. We thought about theme songs for this one. He Touched me. I don't know. Yeah, we're done. Sorry. That was an add. [00:25:43] Speaker C: He has to sing the Comeback King. [00:25:47] Speaker B: Only with the dance moves, bro. [00:25:50] Speaker C: Everybody will be searching that now, trying. [00:25:52] Speaker B: To Corey Feldman come back. King is Nathan's new theme. [00:25:56] Speaker A: Google it. [00:25:57] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:25:58] Speaker B: Or don't. [00:25:59] Speaker C: Jumping back into what you guys were saying before. Before we got goofy. Thank you for saying that. And God has given me many gifts through this. And just if anybody's wondering if I could go back and change it, I wouldn't. There's. There's absolutely no way I would change what I've experienced. And first of all, with God, like, just experiencing his presence through that and through my suffering, even. Even. There's just. No, there's. There's just nothing better than knowing his presence and knowing the realness of that in the middle of something as devastating as what I went through. But also you. I think very few people in life will ever experience what I got to experience. And that is knowing how much everybody loves you and knowing how much of a difference you've made in everybody's life. Because as pastors, let's just be super transparent here. A lot of times we feel like failures. A lot of times we focus on the ones that fall off the wagon. We focus on the ones that betray us. We focus on the church splits and all the negative stuff. [00:27:05] Speaker A: Don't say that on here. [00:27:06] Speaker C: And. [00:27:07] Speaker B: Exactly. But, man, I see hot take. [00:27:10] Speaker C: We very rarely do. We get to see and just get a full picture and a full view of how God has used our lives. And one of my favorite movies is It's a Wonderful Life. And that's what happens to George. He gets to see what George Bailey gets to see what his life, what the world would have been like without his life, and then what it's like with it. And I honestly feel like I've been through a little bit of that type of experience because I've got to see. And, guys, like, a lot of times we hold our feelings back and we're not quite as open. And through this, so many of my friends, including this big old teddy bear right here, had come. Come to the room and just wept at my bedside and said, man, I love you. And I thought I was going to lose you. And this is what you've meant to me. And I've had an opportunity to share with other people how much they mean to me. And I just. I Can't explain what a gift that is. [00:28:02] Speaker A: You also learn people you don't know are your best friend. [00:28:07] Speaker C: Yeah, man. [00:28:09] Speaker A: Sorry I had to throw it out there. [00:28:11] Speaker B: We can just go ahead and put it on record that I'm your best friend, though, right? [00:28:15] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. [00:28:16] Speaker A: No, he said it before he went out that I was. Yeah, he loves me more than you. [00:28:23] Speaker B: Well, you guys are in the same room, so. [00:28:25] Speaker C: Yes, we are. There we go. [00:28:27] Speaker A: Trying to hold your hand. That was awkward. [00:28:30] Speaker C: He's trying to give me five. I don't know. [00:28:35] Speaker A: Listen, I did that. I've been sitting here thinking about. I did that at the beginning. I was like. I hope you didn't think I was trying to get the nub. Okay. I was really trying to high five you. [00:28:43] Speaker B: Sorry. [00:28:45] Speaker A: I love it. [00:28:46] Speaker C: The jokes are non stop in my house about my ailments. [00:28:49] Speaker A: And I can't imagine your family and the jokes. [00:28:53] Speaker C: They're ragging me, guys, I need. I need an intervention here. They're destroying Nathan. I have to butt of every joke in our household. [00:29:00] Speaker A: I have to. I have to confess something to you. You were out. It was probably Tuesday. You were. You were in a really bad state. And one of your daughters mentioned. One of your daughters mentioned New York. And I think you might. Your cousin was there and mentioned New York and the scooter trip that me and you went on. Here you are rising in pain about dead, and we're in there literally crying. I was. I had asthma afterwards because I was laughing so hard. I was like, man, this. Only in Cravat's room would this be happening. Here he is struggling for his life. But, yeah, I can't imagine your family with the butt of jokes. But, you know, it's done out of love. [00:29:44] Speaker C: It is. And it's a whole lot of fun. And if you ever go anywhere with me, you'll have to stop 15 times and let me catch up, because I am. [00:29:51] Speaker A: You're slow, man. [00:29:52] Speaker C: Slower than Brian Edwards. [00:29:54] Speaker A: You. You really are. [00:29:55] Speaker C: I never thought anybody would walk slower than Brian or Craig. And that's what they. They admit they do. They're in slow motion. But, like, Brian could run circles around me right now. I'm that slow. It's. It is. I'm getting ready to get crutches, I think, just so I can be a little faster. [00:30:10] Speaker A: You need to get a hover round. Hey, Nate, How'd you get here? Hover out. You remember that commercial? That's funny. They are slow. You remember going to Israel with both Craig and Brian? [00:30:22] Speaker C: Wow. [00:30:23] Speaker A: We walked the Via Dela Rosa for the entire length of the Bible. [00:30:25] Speaker C: We're still. We're still following them down the vi. Anyhow, there's a second song. You're taking Brian's place. He used to sing. What was the first song episode? [00:30:37] Speaker B: He touched me. [00:30:38] Speaker C: He touched me. [00:30:39] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness. I'm done. Sorry. Oh, man. Nate, I think not just your family and friends, but, like, just the. I think. I think one of the big things that this can be for our family here, listening, is how many people are watching our lives. And we've heard this. Who's piggybacking on your faith right now as you go through that? You posted a picture yesterday of Gary, just one of your incredible ICU nurses there and, you know, the hospital staff. And how can you work in an environment like that and see God move in such a real way and just believe it's just happens? You know what I mean? It's incredible. Gary's a good dude. [00:31:18] Speaker C: He is a good dude. And so many of our nurses and doctors, man, that a lot of them people faith and some of them not. But yeah, and we just about have revival up in that room so many times and giving God the glory for it, and that's, you know, wrapping this up. One of the things I want to say about this whole experience is I believe in the mission more than I ever have. Yeah, the mission, the great commission that. That we're called to go make disciples and preach the gospel to all nations. And I would get on a plane tomorrow and go back to Nepal if my family would kill me. I'm not right now, so my travel privileges have been revoked. I can drive around Fort Oglethorpe and occasionally go to North Carolina or Danville if I need to, but. But right now that's been revoked. But I believe in the mission more than ever. And honestly, I hope. And I'm going to be talking about this in the future. I hope, hope 10 people rise up and start going to Nepal instead of me now, since I can't do it at this moment in life, because the gospel matters. I believe in the gospel more than I ever have. And if I had died last month or, man, it's been like three months. [00:32:28] Speaker A: It's been three months. [00:32:29] Speaker C: No, almost four in November. Then I believe my life would have counted for something that. That matters beyond eternity. And that is the gospel sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and who he is is and what he's done and the power of the gospel. And, man, I believe in the power of prayer now more than ever. I believe in Miracles and healing. More than any charismatic that's listening right now, I believe in the miracles of God, and I believe in. In his healing power because I experienced it. And if I could just leave anything on the table here. I just. I just want to say the biggest realization for me through this whole process is that family is where it's at. If there's one mom or one dad or one pastor out there listening, that your family's taking a back seat to ministry, you need to stop and pause and think it through. Because you know what? We had a whole lot of people come around us, but my family, they were the ones at my bedside when. When all this stuff was going down, and they. They've loved me. And the. I've always tried to be there for my family and be a family man and put them first and not let ministry get in front of it. And I've never. I've always failed at that. I've never been perfect at that, and I wish I had been better. But when you go through something like this, you wake up realizing family matters more than anything else in this world. And the gospel is. The point of the gospel is to bring people into the family of God, even the church. It's a family. And so I just love my. My family, my wife and my kids, and so proud of them. And I just. I just want to say that that's. That's one of God's incredible gifts that he's given to us. And, man, I just. Thankful that's good. [00:34:24] Speaker A: Will continue to pray. Not out of the woods. I mean, a lot of. A lot of surgery still or, you know, healing and things like that to happen, but what an awesome testimony. And it's being continued to be written. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:37] Speaker C: And we give God all the glory he gets, all the honor, all the glory. He did this. He answered prayer, and there's no other explanation. [00:34:46] Speaker A: Yeah. So what does the future look like for you, buddy? [00:34:50] Speaker C: Well, I've shared this with you guys. I woke up with clarity, with absolute clarity that I needed to focus on my family more than I ever have. And I prayed and actually asked God to let me come back because I knew I was crossing over, and I asked him to let me come back. And I said, I want to spend the rest of my life loving my family and serving you in whatever way possible, whatever that looks like. And you've got to know that I woke up to an entirely different life than I went to sleep. [00:35:22] Speaker A: Sure. [00:35:23] Speaker C: Like, I woke up and there was even a new president. When I woke up, everything had changed in the seven, eight days that I was out. Like, it was. It's like a movie. [00:35:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:32] Speaker C: Really. But I woke up living in a new town, woke up no longer being there. To Pastor Hope Church, Asheville. Now it's. The work is continuing on. People are stepping in. We've got house churches, groups meeting and things like that, but I can't be there. Like, literally everything in my life changed overnight. I went from running everywhere like someone on speed to, like, I'm. I think I could crawl faster than I'm walking right now. It's that bad. And yet I have this clarity that I'm supposed to love my family, serve the Lord, figuring out what it means for me now in this season to fulfill the Great Commission and to equip the body of Christ. But one of the big things that God's telling me, and I knew it as soon as I woke up, was I needed to pause, I needed to wait on him, and I needed to learn what it means to Sabbath. And in this season of my life, I do not have the time to make the commitment to continue being a monthly or weekly part of this podcast. And it's sad, like, super sad for me right now, sitting here with you two guys and thinking over the past man, five years and all that, all that God's done. I love and treasure this experience. And most importantly, I love the people that we've met and the people we've been able to have some sort of impact on their lives in it. JC it always shocks me. It surprises me. And Dudley, I know you experience it where you're at, too. Just running into people in the most random places, and them saying, the podcast changed my family. It changed my life. Like, practical changes. They're in a healthy church now. They, Their kids are being discipled, they're growing in their faith. And the pastors that were burned out and they found new life, man, I just can't tell you how much I love this RFP fam. And I love seeing you guys. And I, I miss the meetups and all, all the different things, but I. I don't know exactly what everything looks like in the future. JC God's, like I said, got me in this holding pattern, a whole lot of waiting. But I don't want to be a stranger to the podcast. I can't make the commitment to be here every week as a host, but, man, I hope to be back from time to time, and I'm praying about what God has for the future. It's. I don't think anybody realizes how hard it is for three pastors to get their schedules together to make this happen. [00:38:05] Speaker A: Especially when it's on one on Central time. [00:38:09] Speaker C: We always get to dump the blame on that. Although it's the two of us that are always. How many times did we reschedule this episode? [00:38:16] Speaker B: 4. [00:38:16] Speaker C: It's crazy. So, yeah, we're incredibly busy and JC what's the future look like for you, bro? Yeah, this podcast. [00:38:26] Speaker A: Well, we're pressing on. That's a good question. And before I answer that, let me bounce pass over to Matt Dudley. [00:38:35] Speaker B: Yeah, so I'm signing off as well. I've. I've enjoyed the opportunity to be on the RFP for a short spell, but it was never, never intended long term. And was thankful when Brian stepped away to be able to step in and be a part of it with you guys. I've. Man, I have the luxury of being on both sides of it because I stumbled upon the RFP in 2020 like a lot of listeners did. And man, you guys were just such a breath of fresh air for that season. And then also, you know, feeling like in many ways a foreigner having come out of the IFB and not having that many people that I was able to relate with. And so I've admired and enjoyed the ministry that God's done through you gu from that side. And then I've got to work on the inside with you guys. Nathan, as you said, you know, being interviewed on here a few times and then being invited as a host, great honor and privilege to me. And so it's also with a broken heart that I'm stepping away from it. But it's. I just way too many irons in the fire up here in Missouri. So I won't bore you with the details of all that we have going on here at the Ridge Church, but it's crazy. I have a hard time keeping up with things as it is. And so this is just one, one thing that I. That I'm going to have to step away from, regretfully. But still, as Nate said, man, I hope that we can, you know, get back together and do some future ministry together maybe on. On this platform. I don't know. We don't exactly know what God has in store. But yeah, this will be as far as a host, my last official podcast as well. [00:40:23] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, six years ago when we started the rfp, driving to Texas on the way to visit my wife's family, texting this guy at 2am in the morning saying, hey, we got a dream. Here's an idea. What do you think? And we just threw noodles against the wall. I love that saying. And it stuck. You know, we've gone through a couple different people, and then it stuck with Brian and Nathan and I. And my goodness, I was thinking back just the other day of the different guests that we've had on the different, you know, venues that we've recorded in and the opportunities to do it weekly and then monthly. And then this pause that we have taken. This has been the longest sabbatical we've. We've ever done, you know, running into people, and we've made a lot of good friends and a lot of enemies doing this. There's been a lot of preconceived notions about who we are as men, as husbands, as fathers, as pastors, just based off the podcast. I would not do anything different. Looking back, I think this last six years has been incredible. I mean, it got me through Covid, you know, I mean, it's funny to talk to people and they're like, man, y'all were the voice of COVID You know, just. I'll never forget that, sitting in my garage just recording. I looked forward to those times when we were putting out content and. And recording, and I felt a passion back then. And my goodness, look at where we are six years later. We've got a whole plethora of podcasts that are now helping people that are in this world. We've had some that have come and have gone way left, and some that have gone way right. And, you know, I mean, there's some that are still stuck in it and using different language, but it's been an incredible journey, and I don't feel it's time for me to hang this up yet. We're going to be doing a little bit of revamping, a little bit of probably, you know, changing some things up. The Recovering Fundamentalist podcast is going to continue on. I don't know what that's going to look like in the vein of weekly or monthly, but Mission is still going to press on to help and encourage. We've worked hard to grow this platform, and I don't feel like walking away from it right now would be the best. I'm pressing forward as a solo host. It's going to be awkward not having two other guys to bounce banter off of and conversations, but already lining up some incredible episodes. Joe Stoll, the former president of Moody Bible Institute, is going to be coming on with me. He's got a new book coming out. We have reached out to quite a few others. We Got the I can't even remember his name. It's going to be a great interview. I can't remember his name. He's with answers in Genesis. He's going to be coming on. I'm excited to have just some conversations but to leaning in a little bit more with the help and encouragement as well as proclaiming the gospel. And so we want you to stick around. This is episode 184 and I will be back in episode 185 and we look forward to seeing where God will take the RFP in the coming years as we continue to navigate pressing forward to help and encourage people as well as challenge those who promote tradition over scripture. Dudley Nathan, it has been an honor. It's been a joy. And Nate, you said it just a minute ago. The hundreds of thousands of people that have listened to the podcast over the last six years, 184 episodes. These will live on forever. We're not ever going to get rid of these episodes and the dumb things and the good things and the bad things and the sad things. And we've lived a lot of life in six years right here behind a microphone. That doesn't make us any better or any different than anybody else. We just have put our life out there and honestly it was a line in the sand type moment. And now moving forward, I'm excited to hear from you. We have set up a email called sharemystoryrfpmail.com and already many of you have sent in your stories of hope and encouragement and life change and just a direction shift that has happened in life. Maybe it's peace that God has brought to you. We want to hear your story. That's going to be one of the areas moving forward. We're going to hear from you and we want to hear your story. Sam Jones from South Carolina, he's the voice on our intro there. He's going to be coming on here with me shortly and sharing his story and incredible story And I'm just excited for you to hear from the RFP fam as we continue to press forward. Don't know what the future looks like, but I know I'm not going anywhere and we're going to be pressing on. So we want you to join us here on episode 185 and we look forward to seeing you then. Dudley Nathan, for the last time. It's been awesome. It's been an honor. Brian, you maybe maybe aren't listening, but we love you too. Thanks for being part of the journey here with us. And until next time, we'll see you here on the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. You guys say be sweet. [00:45:01] Speaker B: Love. You guys really do, man. [00:45:03] Speaker A: I love you, bro. [00:45:04] Speaker B: Appreciate you. Yeah, be sweet. Peace. Peace. [00:45:18] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. Be sure to stop by our social media, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Give us a follow. Also go to our website, recoveringfundamentalist.org that's recovering fundamentalist.org there you can find Recovering Fundamentalist Swag. You can get your T shirts and hats. You can join our X Fundy community. See where we're going to be having some meetups. It's the recovering fundamentalist.org be sure to join us next time for the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. [00:46:03] Speaker C: Yo, what I do.