[00:00:00] Speaker A: You are listening to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast, where faith and real life collide in a world full of noise, division and debate.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: We're here to cut through the clutter.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: With honest conversations, bold truth, and a.
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[00:00:15] Speaker A: Whether you're questioning, growing, or just trying to make sense of it all, you've got a seat at the table. Let's join JC Groves for today's episode. Let's go.
The Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast starts in three. You know what makes women stupid is.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Call Jesus was not a bartender.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: You have lost your mind.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: Long tongue.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Heifers have given me a lot more trouble than heifers wearing britches and you know that. Say amen right there. 1. Let me tell you something, bozo. They'll be selling Frosties in hell for this Boy puts on a pair of pink underwear. I sucked my thumb till I was 14 years of age.
Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. Today we're diving into a topic that is at the core of who we are here at the rfp the power of storytelling. We all know that stories have a way of breaking down barriers, making truth relatable, and reminding us that we are not alone in our experiences or on this journey of life. You've heard me say this before. When our stories intersect with God's story, it tells a greater story. And I have loved hearing your stories. Many of you have reached out over the last few weeks and have shared your stories. We're going to be doing that on some upcoming episodes of the rfp. Daniel Wynn, Sam Jones, many more. I would love to hear your story. You can send me an email with your story at sharemystory rfpmail.
And that's what's going to happen there. Hey, my name is JC your host here on the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast and we've got a great guest with us today. Tommy from this Is My Story. If you've ever wondered about the impact of a personal story, testimony and what it can have on a life, this episode is for you and I want you to stay tuned. Tommy will be sharing here in just a moment. Want to thank some of the sponsors of the RFP Mission University Founded in 1950, Mission University was founded with the mission of training Christ following leaders to tell the world about Jesus. The mission has remained the same through the years and today they continue to teach, to train and prepare great leaders to make a difference with their life. Mission U educates, inspires and equips students to serve as effective Christian leaders. Find
[email protected]. we also want to thank Josh Barzon over at Brazon Designs. You can find them at Barzondesigns.com professional and affordable logo and graphic design for church business and more. Check them out today. Thanks, Josh, for helping me redo the RFP logo. Hey, I've partnered that's the Word partnered with Tyndale Publishing, and we're going to be giving away a new living translation Premier B premium Bible on May 25, my 43rd birthday. I figured, why not? Let's do a giveaway. So on May 25, we're going to be doing a giveaway with Tindale Publishers. And you can check our Facebook, Instagram, X Tik tok. We're going to be letting you know how to get in on that giveaway starting May 1, so be sure to keep your eyes open there. All right, this is episode number 186, and today we are talking about the power of a story. We've got guests with us today. Tommy Sewell, not Seawall. Like I said, for the first three years of knowing you, Tommy Sewell. And Tommy is a husband, a father, a passionate community with over a decade of experience in ministry. For 13 years, he served in camp ministry, leading one of the top youth camps in the East Coast. Now an executive director of this Is My Story, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to sharing powerful testimonies of faith as he continues to inspire and equip others through storytelling. An action sports enthusiast, Tommy spends his free time snowboarding and wakeboarding, always looking for the next adventure. He has a deep passion for studying generational distinctives and helping leaders understand, understand and engage today's youth. Whether speaking at churches, conferences or leadership events, Tommy's dynamic storytelling and insightful perspective challenges and encourages audiences of all ages. Tommy is a good friend and man. I'm so excited to have you on the Recovering Fundamentalist podcast. Welcome.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Oh, thank you, man. It's so exciting to be here in person. I mean, you know, I've been following the podcast for a long time. You got the hat? Yeah, I remember like the first episode.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: I was crazy.
[00:04:58] Speaker B: I've been following and so it's so fun to be here with you in person doing this.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Tommy got on a plane this morning, left Albany, New York. What, like 3:00am Yeah, I had to.
[00:05:06] Speaker B: Leave my house at 3:00am to get to the 5:30 flight. It's been. I've had a long day already, but.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: Dedication, man, I love it. We're here on this new era of the rfp. I'm trying to do all in guest appearances and Tommy is Like, I'll fly down. And, man, it's. It's been a day for him. But I'm excited to have you in studio here. You may notice the studio is a little bit different. We're at Silverdale Baptist Church. Want to thank them for opening up the studio here for us to record today. And Tommy is a great friend. I've known Tommy, man, I think about eight years. Seven years ago, you reached out as a director of a camp, said, man, you want to come speak? And I have enjoyed every summer down there and just getting to know Tommy. And he has one of the OG RFP hats. I think you might be the only one with the camo Recovering fundamentalist podcast hat. Congratulations. You're the OG there. Oh, man.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, dude, I still remember. I think it was really the first night. I don't know if you remember, but after the first session, we were all sitting out eating hamburgers on the deck there, just talking, talking, and. Yeah, it's been spent.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: That was right after Covid.
[00:06:10] Speaker B: It was.
[00:06:10] Speaker A: Yeah, still Covid.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: It was. It was. It was summer of 2021.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: It was crazy.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: We had all kinds of craziness going on.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: But it's been fun, though. I love it. Well, Tommy, I'm glad you're here today. And this is kind of where you're at right now is with a company that tells stories, and I'm excited for our listeners to get to hear. This is my story, and I want to break that down. Let me. Let me ask you a question, Tommy. Why do you feel personal stories resonate more than fact alone?
[00:06:38] Speaker B: Oh, man. Well, I just read this the other day. I can't take credit for myself for this, you know, be mine. But somebody said, facts tell, stories sell, and I think that's. That's true. Yeah, that's. That's a tweet right there claiming, you know, and I like facts, and, you know, it's not that facts aren't good, but really, what. What plucks on our heartstrings are stories. Yeah, and I think that's, you know, just inherently true. It's been true for. For all of time. I mean, even when you look at the Bible, it's full of stories.
They're what motivate us. They're what captivate us. I. You know, you think back to, oh, a powerful message that maybe you've sat in or somebody that, you know. So often what your mind goes to is a story that you heard. And so I just think it's. It's such a powerful medium And I'm sure we'll get into it. There's a lot of reasons why I think it's, it's just so important for where we're at right now.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, the role of storytelling plays a huge part in our faith, in our deconstructing, if you will, and our healing. Here on the Recovering Fundamentalist podcast we've seen in 185 episodes, we're helping people deconstruct from this man made ideology, this, this biblical worldview that was preference based. And the stories that we get. Literally last night, hey, I've been listening to the podcast. I've been hearing of stories of people that started reading scripture and realizing this is preference based, not Bible based. And the story of opening up, that it's not deconstructing away from Jesus, it's really reconstructing their faith, but through the power of story. That's been a incredible medium. Like you said, to do that. How have you felt storytelling with faith, deconstruction, healing? What would you.
[00:08:28] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, well, I think, I think it's so important that we tell our stories.
[00:08:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:33] Speaker B: And one of the things that we, even as we are involved in, in the ministry, this is my story, is we don't want to shy away from the hard things, from the difficult things. And I think that's even represented through your podcast. You know, you have, you had guests come on and share stories, and it's in, in talking about some of the difficult things, maybe some of the doubt or the hurt experiences in sharing those stories that people connect with that, they resonate with that. If you just skip over that stuff.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: And you just kind of go from A to Z without hitting all those letters in between, it's harder for people to connect to it. And I think that's part of what makes this podcast and just podcasts in general captivating, is because we're all drawn to hear the story. And then what happens is, is we see ourselves at some point in the story and that's where now we've got this kind of personal connection to it. And I think that's, I think it's important, you know, to kind of hit on the deconstruction for a minute. It's like, I think all of us, it's. Deconstruction's like the trendy word right now. And unfortunately, you know, we're seeing people deconstruct and stay deconstructed. And that's the, that's the, the part that we mourn. But I think all of us, to Some extent have these moments in our faith where we have had to deconstruct things. But what would be the temptation for me would be to not talk about that.
[00:10:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: In my own life, in. In my own thoughts, I've had to deconstruct my idea of this thing or that thing related to my faith. But if I don't ever share that story, then I miss out on the power of helping somebody else who's maybe back here at the starting point where I was, and they're unsure of what to do. But by sharing my story, I can give them a little insight into how I navigated it, correct. How I didn't just deconstruct and stay deconstructed, but reconstructed.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: You know, that's been. You mentioned on it, this podcast. Six years ago, when we started, honestly, I was stepping back into a world that I was out of. You know, this thought process of talking about legalism and rules, and it really. I had to go back into that mindset to tell a part of my story that was hurtful in some ways, was helpful, but it made the man, the pastor, the husband, the dad that I am today, the follower of Jesus that I am today. And I think sometimes what we do is we. We tend to look over those areas of our lives that we. We feel like either a. We're alone, nobody wants to hear it.
There was a reason I did something. That's why this part of my story is where it is. But, man, it's really freeing for not just others, but for yourself. When you unpack this. Over 185 episodes. 86. 87 episodes now I've been able to share a story. I mean, I got really vulnerable two episodes ago and just shared my story of betrayal, of hurt, the last 20 years of my life. If that was for nobody else, it helped me just put it out there. And, you know, you open yourself up to scrutiny, to criticism, to, you know, all this stuff, but there's power when you're able to. Not just to claim it and say, yes, this is who it is. It's not over me, but you're helping other people. The amount of messages, man, I didn't know that You've been through that. I'm literally walking through that right now. I didn't know that you felt that hurt. Thank you for helping me through that. There's a lot of power when we're able to. And I believe even over deconstruction, over the enemy. John 10:10. I quote this every verse, but the thief has come to steal and to kill and destroy. And I think sometimes what we is, we tend to get so wrapped up in our story that we allow the thief to steal our joy, to kill our witness, destroy our life. But the verse doesn't end there. It goes on to say, but Jesus came, that we can have real and eternal life, a better life than we've ever imagined. And I think sometimes all it takes is that step of vulnerability, of being honest, of sharing. Dummy, You've done a lot with Gen Z, with the next generation, with storytelling. It's not new. Tap into that, because this is my story. Really hits on that.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and that's an interesting thing about storytelling, and I'm really excited about it. Obviously, it's at the core of this is my story and. But it's not new. It's not something that, you know, we're just now coming into. In fact, it's. It's probably the oldest form of communication. You know, I mean, that's. The Bible's full of stories. It's. It's how, you know, civilization has moved forward through the years, just through the passing on of stories. And so it's not new. But I do think right now, and I might be a little biased because I have spent a lot of time in the last, really five, six, seven years diving into particularly Gen Z. With that comes, you know, I've become aware of some of the other generations and their distinctives, but really I've been focused on Gen Z.
And I do think that right now with storytelling, we have a really powerful moment to use story. I mean, if you think about Gen z, for example, 47% of them spend two to four hours a day on social media. 22% spend seven or more hours a day on social media. And here's the connection to story. You know what social media is? It's telling stories. It is what it's what's called. Put that on your Instagram story.
[00:13:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Your Facebook story. And even if you're posting a photo, what you're. What you are communicating in, that is some sort of story. Even on my way here this morning, I took a picture of the sunset or the sunrise. It's hard to tell which one. Yeah, you've been up on Chicago and in, in. It's just one image, but I put it on my Instagram story because I'm telling a story to my followers of the beautiful sunrise and that I'm in Chicago midway before the sun even came up. You know, like, so Gen Z, and not just Gen Z, millennials, everybody's Spending time on social media, which is a. Just shows our obsession really, in a lot of ways with telling stories. We want to tell stories, and we want to hear other people's stories.
[00:14:42] Speaker A: I think it's a. It's a positive and a negative in some ways, because there's that projected self versus the real self. We can tell a story on social media and almost project ourself as. I mean, we. We all know people that do this, that they project one thing when it doesn't match up at all. And you're like, wait, what is this? You know, it's like you see a review for a really nice hotel, you show and it's like a day's end. You're like, what? Nope. Shout out to days in. But, you know, you're kind of like, what are we. What are we doing here? You know? But I love that because it's. I went back and just looked at stories that I've shared on Instagram, on Facebook, and, you know, I shared one last night of my daughter. We bought her a teddy bear when she was born. We got that thing restuffed, and I was like, look at all the pictures that I've shared of her with that stupid teddy bear over the years. But it's part of the story, you know? And then we also give off this perception of how we want to be perceived, you know, And I think a lot of times what tends to happen is our story.
It almost becomes fake in a way. It becomes somebody else's story, or we live in this pretend world where we've created this Persona and we really don't know who we are. I think there's. Social media is so great in one regard because we get to show our life. I mean, my kids have grown up on social media. I keep up with your family on social media. I saw a picture of you, you all out by the water the other day. I'm like, look how big the boys are getting. You know what I mean? We get a new dog for Christmas. Everybody's like, your dog's getting so big. But then there's also these, like, angles that we take it and weird things that we're like, that person's really killing it right now. And in all actuality, they're not doing anything at all.
[00:16:10] Speaker B: I'm sure you've had that experience where you only knew somebody through social media, and then you met him in real life and you were like, oh, like.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Tommy, I met you on Twitter. I'm just kidding, buddy.
It is true. It is true. And you're like, what a.
[00:16:24] Speaker B: Well, and you know what's funny about that is you're absolutely right. And that actually exposes a really dark and evil side of social media. Because unfortunately, that's one of the reasons why we have this suicide epidemic is because of exactly what you just described. Everybody sees the best of everybody else's world, and that can actually send. Particularly students. We think about young students who haven't. I mean, it's even hard for you and I, but if you think about a young, you know, developing mind, they can't put the pieces together that this is everybody else's best. And when they only see everybody else's best, it makes their worst seem worse. Yeah, but there's this funny trend in Gen Z where, and I've never done this, but where Gen Zers will actually take a photo that is not that good and they will post that. Like, they would. They would rather post a blurry photo or a photo that makes them look not as good because of what you just described.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: That's interesting.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: This, like, response to this overly curated Persona.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: I've seen that. I've never thought about that.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's a, It's a real thing. But you, if you think about it and you watch your Gen Z people that you follow, you'll notice that they have. They'll purposefully not post the best photo of, of the three or four that they took. Yeah, because they're. It's this response to that, like. Well, I don't want to. I don't want to come across as like, to put together. Yeah, that's just an interesting thing. Yeah.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: So your ministry is literally called this Is My Story. And I just want to ask what made you. I feel like. I know, but what made you passionate about this form of communication? Why do, why do you really feel that storytelling is such a powerful tool?
[00:18:07] Speaker B: Well, I think, you know, it's.
It's in the Bible we see, you know, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. You know, you. Could you. Can I translate it? You know, like, tell your story. You know, like, if you know Jesus, tell your story. That's part of. That's. That's such a powerful tool. I've seen it work. You know, you've mentioned in my bio, you know, working at camp in my own life, I've been so transformed by people's testimonies and stories.
And I think it's.
I think it's powerful. We'll talk maybe about this a little bit later, but just, we've done a lot with professional athletes. And I think when you've got somebody that. That so many people are already looking at, for them to then kind of open up this different side of their story where they talk about their faith.
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:56] Speaker B: You know, I think it's really powerful. It's. I actually think.
And this is. This is a little bit of a controversial take, but telling your. Telling your story in a public way, you know, social media, we just been talking about it. It's actually very, very similar to being baptized, particularly when you think about, like, in the New Testament, what it meant to be baptized. And I'm not advocating. I still think definitely you should be baptized in water, you know, by your pastor at church or whatever. But I think maybe even more powerful. Not more powerful. That's not the right way to put it. But, like, to go public on social media.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: With your story, it's. It's very similar. It's kind of the same idea of, like, it's kind of drawing this line in the sand and saying, hey, I'm. I'm gonna let everybody know.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:47] Speaker B: Just like in the New Testament, like, I'm actually gonna. I believe in this guy.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:52] Speaker B: And I'm gonna do this big public demonstration to everybody here that I'm a follower of him. There's a lot of similarities to, like, sure. Being bold and posting that story on the media.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. That's one of the reasons we do at Hope Church is we. We have. We do a story. So we don't want to just say, have you asked Jesus to save you? Let's get baptized. We talk about. It's that inward change. It's an outward sign of that inward change. And so we ask everybody to write a story. We read that story. So it puts the people that are around there, not just seeing somebody get baptized. Okay. They pray to prayer, but it puts why behind it. I'm following the way of Jesus now, and I have loved this. We just had our first baptism in our new building a couple weeks ago. In watching people share those stories of taking the next step in their faith, that is what all of our stories are. It's intersecting with God's story to tell a greater story. And, you know, as a follower of Jesus for growing up in the church, especially a lot of our audiences, we've heard stories that have made lasting impact. Now there's a lot of stories that are complete waste of time, and they're totally made up and fabricated. We've all listened to sermons. We're like, there's no way that happened right there. Talking to you, Phil.
But there's, you know, as a pastor, pastor, we're always looking for stories, for illustrations. My kids love that. You know, I'm walking around constantly. I'm like, oh, my kids, I can't remember what it was the other day he jumped in the van. He's like, I think he fell when I honked the horn or something. He's like, that's going to be a sermon illustration somewhere. I'm like, I promise you it won't. And the older they get, the more I have to stop using them as my sermon illustration. But I think there's vulnerability in sharing story and how it connects with the audience, with who's listening. Even in your baptism. Here's the word that I think we need to always put with storytelling. Real. It's your story. It's not a made up story. It's not a story. How many times have we heard this? Especially in the IFB where a lot of our audience listens. Well, my testimony is not as great as this testimony. It's a miracle of salvation that Jesus rescued you and saved you and it doesn't matter that you didn't live this life before, salvation still happens. And I think that's the word. The word is real, that that helps us continue to be vulnerable. Tell me, what do you feel like the role of storytelling and breaking down shame and isolation, the comparisons of those two?
[00:22:12] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, by telling your story and the more real and vulnerable you can be in your story, you're kind of taking off this mask or maybe this costume a little bit. You're letting other people in. And I just was thinking about this the other day, kind of related to my own story, but it's like, I couldn't tell you. As a young middle school, high school, young adult, I think I can think of one adult male, one adult Christian who was open about sin and the struggle that they had, you know, overcoming sin in their life. And it was anger, which is like.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Yeah, we all deal with that.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it wasn't like, it wasn't like they picked like a real, A big. Yeah. But I just thought, like, how sad is that? Because.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:00] Speaker B: You know, then you've got this generation of guys and I don't know that I'm. We're probably not the first, you know, where it's like, I feel like I struggle with something and I feel so alone in that. And I'm. I'm on this thing of like, no, we gotta, we gotta tell our stories and we gotta Include some of that, because when we do that, we let people in.
I was helping one of our mutual friends, Luke, with a sermon a couple weeks ago, and he. So I made him pre. Teach it to me. I was the only one in this huge room, and he was talking about sitting on the fence and, you know, kind of challenging students to not sit on the fence. And after it was over, I said to him, luke, have you ever sat on the fence?
Because I think what would be really powerful right there is if you said, you know, don't sit on the fence. And. And. And then say, because I've been there.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: Share your own. Like, be vulnerable and talk about how you sat on the fence and what it was like for you. And then we made a funny joke about how painful it is to sit on the fence, you know, but, you know, I think that that that's what people are looking for, that authenticity.
[00:24:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: And the more real you can be, the more authentic it makes your story. And that's what especially this next generation is looking for. They see overly curated. That would be like the word that's being used. But that's like kind of cleaning it up. If you clean it up too much, it becomes disingenuous, plastic. Yeah. It's like, oh, okay. You really. And this is even true of. On social media. Like, brands are aware of this. And so you don't want to create an overly curated brand on social media or it will be just written off as.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:38] Speaker B: Disingenuous. And. And they're not. You're not. This next generation is not looking at that with any sort of value. And we can do that with our own stories.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: And when we do what we were inadvertently, we're creating shame or guilt in people who are listening to us by not being open and real.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: You know, Tommy, you're hitting the nail on the head, because I think growing up, it was. These were the standards that you had to meet. And if you didn't meet these standards where you're. You're a failure, you're fake, a phony, you know, and. But you're right. I'm sitting here as you're talking. I'm trying to remember. Do I ever remember hearing, here's how I struggle? Here's what we all hear the story. Well, I was in drugs for years, or I drank, and then I got rotten through it, you know, I mean, how many campfires growing up, you may not have done this, but my listeners will. We had to throw. I threw out my whole Garth album, Garth Brooks album in the fire because I had to turn from scent. You know, like, we hear those stories of turning from that, but we never hear the why. Like, what has God done in my life? And I'll never forget hearing a story when I was probably, man, I think I was 17 years old, of just hurt and struggle and pain and personal decisions. And I was like, this dude is so real, and he's just up there being real. And I was like, that's what. That's the kind of preacher that I want to be. I mean, I've been doing this for 25 years, and I just want to be real. Like, here's the Bible. The Bible is God's story to us. It's a story from beginning to end. So sharing that, but then finding my place in the story to tell this better story of following King Jesus. And I think, you know, a lot of times the shame and the isolation when we. We feel that there's parts of our story that we're too afraid to let people in on, but it is part of our story. And, you know, it's. I think we'll talk a little bit about it, how to tell your story here in a minute, but I think there's some opportunities that we have now. We don't want to just go out there with a bullhorn and tell every little deep, dark secret about ours, because there's also a world full of Internet that love to destroy people. And my goodness, you learn more about yourself without saying anything. I'm talking about you. X. You know, Tommy, so with your ministry, you have heard a lot of personal testimonies through the podcast, through the YouTube channel. Has there been any that has really stuck with you that showed you just how powerful the platform of storytelling is?
[00:26:57] Speaker B: Yeah, well, of course, you know, and I do want to just jump back real quick and say, and this is an interesting thing about this is my story is we have highlighted a lot of really amazing stories. Yeah, we did a really a documentary on this guy Matt Manzari, called Miracle Matt. He had two different accidents. One as an athlete, where he fell and he broke, like, every bone in his face got rebar punctured in him. And then he comes all the way back from that, makes a full recovery, and then he gets electrocuted trimming trees. He's in, like, a high reach basket at his church trimming branches. And electricity arcs 20ft over to the basket that he's in. Should have killed him. I forget what it is, which is crazy because I've seen that movie so many times, but it's like. It's like four or five times. The shock that he got is four or five times what they give somebody in an electric chair.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: My goodness.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's like.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: It's a miracle.
[00:27:53] Speaker B: He should have died.
[00:27:54] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:54] Speaker B: But he came all the way back, and it's a powerful to hear him having to overcome that. And also, you know, all these different stories we tell through the years. But. But it puts us in this funny spot because at the heart of our message is every story matters.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:09] Speaker B: It doesn't matter if you haven't been electrocuted. It doesn't matter.
I have this another friend. I don't think we've actually done a story yet, but he's spoken at camp a lot. He was a professional soccer player, and then he was in a drunk driving accident and actually killed the driver of the other vehicle and went to prison for five years. And now he's a pastor and has this amazing ministry. It's like, that's a really powerful story. But if you're sitting there and you're like, well, I can't. I don't. I never got electrocuted. I never was a professional athlete, whatever it is. It's like those stories are extraordinary, and they capture our attention.
[00:28:42] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: But most people are ordinary.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:45] Speaker B: And we need more ordinary stories. We need more people to just say, like, none of that stuff happened. But here's my. Here's my story. Here's my real story. Here's my struggle as a dad. Here's my, you know, things that I've learned and being a husband and being a camp, whatever it is. Because that's. That's where most people are at anyways, you know? But, yeah, to answer your question, I got a little side trail there. But to answer your question, yeah. I mean, we did a documentary on Matt. You've seen it.
[00:29:14] Speaker A: We'll share it on the group.
[00:29:15] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, Put the. The link in the description because it's. It's really powerful. And Matt's just had so many opportunities to speak to burn survivors and people who are just going through really long battles. You know, most people die that. Most people in Matt's situation die because they give up.
[00:29:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: Because the road is so long. And so he travels around and speaks a lot, helping people overcome, you know, just really difficult things. And. But yeah, Matt's story, super powerful. We do a lot with athletes. We've had a lot of athletes share their stories.
Yeah.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: So we've talked a lot about sharing our stories and the power behind it. There may Be some that are listening right now that just don't know how to start. Like, how do I tell my story? Do I just make a YouTube channel and sit down and start vomiting from the mouth? Just word vomiting, you know. What are some practical tips for people who want to share their story but they don't know where to start?
[00:30:09] Speaker B: That's a great, great question.
I would say, first of all, just don't feel bad. Yeah, that's where most people are.
[00:30:17] Speaker A: That's the biggest hang up.
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Yeah, don't, don't. If you're like, I don't know what to do, don't let that be the thing that keeps you from sharing your story. Because most people don't know what to do.
[00:30:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: So that's the first thing. Don't feel bad about that. And then I would say the first thing, the first step is you gotta just start talking about your story.
Some people, we would coach them, you know, like, write it down, you know, because that kind of forces you to narrow your thoughts in a little bit, you know, kind of.
[00:30:45] Speaker A: And not go three hours, 30 minutes exactly.
[00:30:48] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, write it down. Or practice telling your story to somebody who's close to you, who the. You're not going to be as nervous about what you say and how you say it. You know, just start doing that. Or a small group. Start with your small group. Share your story with your small group. Yeah, And I would say too, a lot of what I grew up in, I'm sure what you grow up in is really focused around the, the moment of salvation. And I don't want to discredit that at all because that is the miracle.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:31:18] Speaker B: That's the moment from death to life. And I certainly would say, don't leave it out. Like that's the most important thing. But I would also say, look at some other things in your story. Talk about that maybe what led up to it, the moment or, or the circumstances where you put your faith in Jesus. But there's. God is doing all kinds of stuff in your life and just kind of, you know, I, I encourage people, you know, just think through, do like this little, like, just go through your, your life and think about times where the Lord just did something, or maybe you didn't realize it in the moment, but you can look back on it now like, whoa, Lord, look what you were doing. I didn't have any clue. Because those are, those stories need to be shared.
[00:32:02] Speaker A: You know, I tell college students this all the time. They're like, I want to share my story. I'm I, I, I'm not a preacher. I'm not, you know, and I'm like, hey, you got this great tool TikTok. Just get on and share three minute segments of it and break it up. Like, here's my life before Jesus. Here's how I met Jesus. Here's what it's like after Jesus. Here, here's what he's doing in my life today, you know, and one, text me last night, like, here's a little God wink. I'm like, I hate that saying right there. But for some, that's what they like to hear there. But I think the big thing is just overcoming the insecurity about speaking out and find a platform that helps you listen. Not everybody is going to share their story on a podcast. You know, not everyone is ready to go on a podcast to spill their, their whole journey.
A lot of people, they, they may feel that there's, there's this judgment that will come on them.
You don't also have to share every detail of your story because a lot of people, they don't have the best, what's the word I'm looking for? They don't have the best, like desires for you, I guess you could say they don't like you and they want to take that and run. They love the drama. And so they may hear something that is just like, oh, we're going to twist this into being something. So there is a vulnerable part there. But maybe it's sharing. You know, ladies at a ladies Bible study or men get up at a, at a, at a nursing home. You know, I started sharing my story in a nursing home. Half of them couldn't hear me, so it was great. But I was getting in front, that's horrible. I was getting in front of people and sharing. But over the years, just finding that confidence, confidence to be able to say, this is the story that God has given me. I want to continue to share that.
[00:33:36] Speaker B: Yeah. And you know, I think we need more stories in everyday situations. If, if you're listening to this and it's like, well, if your idea of telling your story is on a podcast or is with a microphone in front of the church, it's like, those aren't bad things at all, but we got to tell stories in just the normal normalcies of life. Yeah, we got to, to make that a pattern in the church.
[00:34:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:00] Speaker B: I used to tell when I was leading at camp, I would talk to our counselors about sharing testimonies and we would do this corporate testimony time and we would only have enough Time for four or five people to share. And when we were all done, I would say, now, guys, this shouldn't be the end of testimony time. Like, this is as much time as we had right now. But we should. You should be continuing to share these stories just around you that the people you sit with at meals or your roommates or whatever. Like, because it's the testimonies. Like, we all need to hear those testimonies. Yes. Just because you didn't get a chance to share it up in front of everybody, don't let that keep you from sharing it.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: Just be authentic and real. And I think that's the biggest thing right there because. And just make sure it's your story that's the biggest thing also. You know, Tommy, I think one of the biggest things that we. That I want to challenge the folks listening that are watching is that to be reminded that your story matters, even if you think it doesn't.
There are some people that will resonate with your story, and there will be others that will just hear it and move on, but the impact will come. You know, we started this podcast six years ago, and I hear from people all the time, man, what y'all said on episode three impacted my life. I needed that. I'm like, I ain't got a clue what was said on episode three, but it's out there. It's for people to hear. And there's some times that they may not even ever meet us or have that conversation face to face with us, but they're seeing our life. And when our story is being played out, it's to bring glory to God, ultimately. And you never know who you're going to be helping when you share your story. And that's something that I've loved. Even with this podcast. You never know the impact, the ripple.
[00:35:42] Speaker B: Effect of your story, you know, And I think our stories have a tremendous power as an evangelism tool in this day that we live in. You know, so Gen Z is the most skeptical generation, especially of any sort of spiritual label. It's funny, they're the least.
They're the least likely to check the box next to any sort of spiritual label, but they're interested in Jesus, they're interested in the Bible. They're interested in spiritual things, actually, ahead of millennials.
[00:36:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:14] Speaker B: So there's just. They're moving away from the corporate part of it, but they're still interested in it. And this is going to sound maybe like a little controversial, but right now, to the younger generation, it is more powerful for you to say, in my experience, fill in the blank than the Bible says fill in the blank. That's not to say that your story is more important than the Bible. It's not. We understand the Bible is the inspired word of God.
[00:36:46] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:36:46] Speaker B: But to sit down across from somebody who's far from God, especially if they're younger, you know, Gen Z or younger, and say, well, the Bible says shut off. Immediate shut off.
[00:36:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:58] Speaker B: But if you say, well, in my experience, yeah, they're drawn into that. And what you and I know is that we're going to take them from my experience to what the Bible says. But that's a really important pivot.
[00:37:11] Speaker A: It is.
[00:37:11] Speaker B: And that's why in a lot of. Of churches and ministries right now, there's this big falling away with the next generation.
It's. They want to know. You know, you hear this play out in the popular phrase, you know, that, well, that's my truth or that's your truth. And you and I bristle at that because it's like, well, that's not how it works. You know, you don't get to create your own truth. But we also need to be aware that that's how they're thinking. And we gotta take that information and go, okay, well, if that's how they think, I want them to know Jesus. I want them to. To know the truth. Yeah, the truth. And so I got to take that information and craft it in a way. And so to be able to say, in my experience. Yeah, and. And lead them through that gate, it's going to be a lot easier.
[00:37:54] Speaker A: And when you do that, you allow the Holy Spirit to work, not just your ability of my story. Here's what I. My knowledge, but here's my experience and how the Holy Spirit has helped me. Now I'm praying it will help you, because a lot of times, and I grew up in this culture, you hear a message like this, you're like, I gotta get a bullhorn and go downtown and start. Let me tell you about Jesus Christ. You know, I mean, and people are like, weird. You know, it's experience. And that's where we've said words like real, authentic. Use wisdom in how you say it. But being open to share an impactful story of life and the power behind that is. And, you know, I think this is another thing I was thinking while you were talking is it's important that we all learn to do this, because we think, especially in the culture that this podcast has been around, the man of God will stand up at a pulpit and Preach and that we got to get people to my church to hear my pastor to preach the word where the word that he's preaching is impactful in your story. And you may be able to reach somebody that that pastor will never be able to talk to. I tell the church that I pastor Hope church all the time. Hey, I'm not going to get to go to your job and have a conversation in the work truck. But you can share the story of what God's doing in your life. And that's discipleship. It's disciples reaching disciples reaching disciples. And that's the power of ultimately the grander scale of why storytelling matters. It's our story connecting with God's story to tell a better story. We should have done a drinking game every time I said that today.
Water, water, water into wine. That's the biggest thing there. You know, Tommy, this conversation, I've enjoyed this. I've wanted to have you on for a while to talk about this. And then when you joined up with this as my story, I was like, this has to happen. Because where we're at, especially with this new day of the podcast, is we're moving from the recovering part to recovered. And I feel like part of the recovered part is we have a story to tell. And so many people are finding life in Jesus and they're growing in their faith through that. And I hope it encourages someone out there to know that your story, it does matter. It has value. And maybe you've been holding back. Maybe today this podcast is the. This episode is the push that you need to start sharing your story. Tommy, thanks for being here, man. And I've. I've absolutely enjoyed having you in. Thanks for flying in all the way from upstate New York. Are you Screw Lake or Pottersville?
[00:40:15] Speaker B: I'm Pottersville.
[00:40:15] Speaker A: Pottersville, New York. But love having you here in North Georgia. And where can people find this is My Story Websites, links, socials.
[00:40:23] Speaker B: Yeah, thisismystory.org is our main website. And word in a period of transition. If somebody goes to that right now, they're going to go out there and maybe be a little confused. But it's because I'm coming into the role just starting in January and. But they can go out. This is my story.org you can definitely get our heartbeat there. You can follow us on Instagram. I think it's this is my Story underscore. Org.
And yes, Facebook. We're on Facebook as well.
[00:40:49] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:40:49] Speaker B: Yeah, we. We just finished our. A really big event.
[00:40:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I was getting ready. You gotta Tell us about the halftime thing.
[00:40:55] Speaker B: Yeah, so this is something that I started before, but we've brought it into is my story. We call it the alternative halftime show. And you know, I mean, you, you're in a youth pastor, you know how it goes. It's like, hey, let's do a Super bowl party. But what do we do during halftime? Bro, you're not going to leave the halftime show on with those youth group kids.
[00:41:13] Speaker A: I did one time, it was Janet Jackson and Justin timberlake on a 20x20 screen. Yeah, I'm never going to live that one down.
[00:41:19] Speaker B: I always tell youth pastors, it's like, if you want to do that, just get the. You might as well just preload that apology letter to the parents.
[00:41:26] Speaker A: Just have it ready to hit.
[00:41:27] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Cuz that'll just.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: But so what we showed that at Tennessee temple on a 20 by 20 screen. We had to record the first half, come in and play it. Yeah, it's wonder I didn't get kicked out. Sorry, go ahead. No, no.
[00:41:38] Speaker B: So, well, so you're the classic example. We have created basically a live alternative to the halftime show. So it started out really aimed at youth groups, but has turned into a lot of families, a lot of just anybody who's getting together that has even just a little bit of doubt about what the real halftime show is going to be, they tune into ours. We do the last few years we've done live action sports stunts.
[00:42:01] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:42:02] Speaker B: Yeah. So like this year we had snowboards backflipping, BMX bikers, wakeboarders. Mind you, it's in the middle of winter in New York. Is the water was like freezing. And then we also had snowmobile jump.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: And I didn't think Kevin was gonna land that snowmobile jump. I'm gonna be honest.
[00:42:18] Speaker B: So anyways, it's super fun. We. We tried. We have tried really hard to make it entertaining. We're obviously not going to compete with, with the halftime show, but.
[00:42:26] Speaker A: But you had a lot of viewers this year.
[00:42:27] Speaker B: We did, yeah. We got eleven and a half thousand people.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: Tune in. We had 66. That's the other thing is we share the gospel.
[00:42:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: We give a gospel message. I always tell people it's the hardest thing I do because you got five minutes. Yeah, you got to get through the whole gospel and give an invitation in five minutes. It, it man, it. It forces you to really get to the.
[00:42:44] Speaker A: I'm not gonna lie, you took my, my kid's breath away. When it came on it. The countdown hit in that first drone shot, my son goes, that's kind of cool. The other one said, is that cgi? I was like, no, this is live. It's real. So that good on you there?
[00:42:55] Speaker B: Yeah, that was really good. So, yeah, we do that. That's going to be. This is my story thing. Every year we get to the super bowl, and then the rest of the year we're focused on all things story. Yeah, a big thing we were doing is producing more stories, you know, like video.
Starting with a lot of athletes sharing their stories. But our goal is to get to sharing, to. To give people a platform to share their stories, no matter who they are, what they do.
[00:43:23] Speaker A: How can we help?
[00:43:24] Speaker B: Yeah, well, this is gonna come out in April. And so in April, one of the. This is what I'm asking everybody to do in April. We. We're, of course, we're raising money.
Last. Just this last month in March, we were looking for 10 people to come on at 25amonth just to support the ministry. Help us share the message through the power of story. This month in April, the challenge is this. I'm just asking everybody to just pray. And so maybe this is your first time ever hearing about this is my Story or on this podcast, wherever you're listening to it right now, just stop and just pray. Say, lord, send them somebody, not you, somebody else to come on board at $1,000 a month. That's like crazy to me. Yeah, that's like. That's like. I don't know who could ever do that. That's why I'm saying, like, this has got to be something you do, Lord. So, like, if everybody just, you know.
[00:44:16] Speaker A: Sends the Lord, not promising prosperity here, you send that thousand dollar seed money and you're gonna get a new BMW. We ain't promising that.
[00:44:22] Speaker B: No, no. But so if we're. Yeah, that's what we're asking people to do this month is pray that God would send us somebody that would get on board at a thousand dollars a month.
[00:44:30] Speaker A: And they can go to the website. They go to the website.
[00:44:32] Speaker B: This is my story.org and then if you do backslash, I think it's support, maybe. But this is my story.org is where you can go to gifts if you want to come on board at less than a thousand dollars a month. Very understandable.
[00:44:44] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:44] Speaker B: But, yeah, we're looking for people to jump on board at the mission and support us in all things story, evangelism, discipleship.
[00:44:51] Speaker A: Love it, Tommy. I love watching God use you. He has used you. And he's continuing to do it. And you're a great example of your story connecting with God's story to tell a greater story. Thanks for being here with me today, man. And I want to thank you for listening to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. If this episode has resonated with you in any way, would you share it with a friend? Leave a review, keep on telling your story. Like, subscribe and we can't wait to see you back here next time on the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast Podcast. That is. Until next time. God bless. Love you kids.
