Hey everybody. Welcome back to the practitioners podcast. We're applying Jesus' style disciple-making to every day life. Welcome to season two

this episode and all of season two is powered by navigators church ministries which focuses on helping churches. Make disciples who can make disciples for more information check out navigators church ministries.org Justin. I got you to come back for season two. Congratulations. Here we are. Again a little back could be here now.

Rolling. I'm excited. You know I One of the joys that I've had this smer since we haven't been recording is I've been able to kind of go back and listen to some of our season one episodes really well. I only do it for the sake of like when I'm helping when I'm walking alongside someone for disciple-making.

Okay. I try to use it as a resource and before I I recommend an episode I need to make sure I listened to what what's in there. Right? Yeah. Well I didn't get off. Listen. I know. It's high quality work. Yes. and so it's been a real joy to hear from many of you how these podcasts and have really helped you.

Disciple-making. And so thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening. And if you're a new listener. Welcome. We're glad you're here. We're glad you're here. And we want you to make sure that you don't miss any of the episodes in this upcoming season. So take a minute and go ahead and hit that subscribe button wherever you're listening to.

And if you have a second leave a rating review on iTunes it really does help people find us out there on the interwebs. And so yeah season one we covered a lot of ground in disciple-making didn't we? We did. We. Definitely got into the weeds on some stuff. You know I really appreciated our individual episodes where you know we talked about the difference between introverted and extroverted.

Did you have a favorite episode from season? Yeah. Or juice love mall. They were all equally amazing. I really wish that all of you out there and podcast world could see Justin's face God. Cause I wouldn't say that you like podcasts because it's like something you want to do every day right? No it's a stretch.

Experience you know but it's good. And I think part of why we agreed on a season two is because of the feedback we've been getting on how how helpful it's been to many and I'm all about that. So if we can help people be more effective and disciple-making and. People get on board with making disciples.

You know I know we hit that a few times of how do you get started in season one? That was something we covered from different angles you know in two or three different episodes last season. So here we are here we are again in season two we're going to do some things a little differently. we're going to cover some ground.

What what do we have to look forward to. So one thing I want to do differently there's an awkward moment that happens in every episode. And I don't know if it's awkward for anybody else other than me but the awkward moments after the intro. And then you say how are you doing and how are we doing today?

And I'm always like good. Okay. and I don't know what to say there. True true honesty. True confessions here. Right? Right. So I don't I don't have a plan for how to do that better yet but I'm hoping. That I figure out you know I was saying the Simpsons you know they always had that intro. That was kind of the same but a little bit different and creative every time.

So that's something I'm working on for season two. Do you think we could do like how many episodes are in a season 30? We're going to do 30 episodes a season. We could do 30 random questions about our lives. Like and so we'll do a like where I say Hey this episode is powered by navigate your church ministries where we're you know Dedicated to helping churches make disciples who can make disciples random question nber one favorite reds player of all time.

Barry Larkin. Eric Davis. Okay nice. But I love Larkin a lot and 11 is actually my lucky nber. So and the nber that my son wears for his smer ball team. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. So we should do that. We should do something like that then that way you know I'll get over mock horridness through that question.

I don't know if you'll ever get over your awkwardness. Thank you. Thank you for that. I probably true. I say it with love but your awkwardness is what makes this podcast good. There you go. Well we'll tell ourselves that anyway. so that's one thing right? But for our content this year we have planned out all 30 episodes.

And so we've got them all planned out. We've got them scheduled. And so that's different. You guys don't know that that are listening but we kind of we're we're figuring it out one or two episodes at a time last season. this year we're much more planned out. the other thing we're going to do is three times throughout the season.

We're going to invite somebody on and do kind of an interview episode with a disciple maker. I'm really excited about that. Me too. So we have some names picked out. we're excited about those names. We haven't asked those people yet. so we're not going to tell you who they are yet but I think you'll be excited to hear the person though is like someone who's been in the disciple-making game for a long time decades way longer than either one of us has a ton of experience.

Right. And they're going to I what I am most excited about if we're able to confirm the guests that we are shooting for which we we feel like we have some high probability. Yep. We have some relationship with them is that they speak with amount of wisdom that is just only can come with time and experience.

Yep. So that should be a lot of fun. Yeah. I'm excited about that. So season two or we're getting there going yeah. You know a funny story. If if you recall we we planned out most of season two while we're doing the most difficult thing that I did also. You remember you were there you remember we did it sort of together but not together.

Well why don't you tell everybody what it was? So we went on a a retreat an individual retreat. I called mine a silent retreat. I don't know if you called your call minus retreat although it was silent very differently than differently. So we designed our own silent retreats and we went from Sunday to Wednesday.

To a place about an hour and a half from where we live. And so retreat center and kind of what I did the way I designed mine was I was on a silent retreat. So I didn't talk to people. and I also did not listen to any podcasts. no videos. So there was no talking. I did read read books. So there was some outside input from other people and also read the Bible a lot and listen to music some but that was kind of the parameters of my individual silent retreat.

What did yours look like? Mine was a little bit more loose. I I used media at times music podcasts. I haven't watched a couple of movies full disclosure. Oh wow. Yeah I'm in very different right? Yeah. But for me what I kind of did was I broke my my routine up into several different kind of blocks.

Right. So I did a block of deep spiritual work typically and then I would do a block of physical movement. I went kayaking at one point in time for a couple hours. A lot a lot of walking. Right. and then I would do something that was not. Work or spiritual related at all. Right. It was just it was mind nbing right in my eye.

I've got that personality where I've got to like mix it up a little bit. Yeah. And so that was super helpful for me. Now the hardest part was is not not talking. That would be hard for you. Yeah it is hard for me right. It is hard for me because I'm a verbal processor. And I only talked to my wife one time the whole whole time which that's a big deal for us.

Right. It was a big deal for us and it and it really got me thinking about doing hard things. Okay. And H and how important you know how important that is in our spiritual. Walk. So tell us how how was that experience for you? Right. So you kind of gave us the parameters. what was it like for you? What was the experience like?

It reminded me a lot of a roller coaster. This is there were some times where I was like man this is really good. And this is really thrilling. And then other times the the voices in my head and I say that kind of tongue in cheek but the voices in my head were also very. almost destructive right into the highs were high and the lows were low and there was this kind of emotional gamut and the difficulty of what I was doing.

And and it really just reminded me that in the midst of my difficulty I really needed to be dependent upon Jesus. Like Jesus was the only thing that was going to get me through. This self-inflicted cause you know the I don't know about you but it's really easy for me to talk myself out of a tough decision.

and so that that was kinda my experience. The highs were really high. Like I like in the morning I'm oh I got the word open and I'm drinking coffee and you know quiet. And it's the sun is beaming in and I'm feeling like I'm killing this retreat right now. Like this is exactly what Jesus wants for me.

I'm writing notes in my Bible. I am feeling super spiritual. And then about two o'clock I'm like. Yes. There's that worst? What are we doing? Right. I mean so that was you know figuring out how to depend on Jesus in both scenarios was important. Yeah. Yeah. What about for you? What was tough about it? Yeah so I didn't mind the not talking so much but it was it was the first day and a half was really great overall.

Although when I first got there I was you know I read a little bit I spent time with God. I prayed. and then I looked at the clock I thought it'd been a long time. I've been like an hour. And I was like oh man I got a long time here. Cause there were still you know almost three days left at that point.

And the first day and a half I really felt I felt things begin to settle in my heart and I felt close to God and that he was That he was communicating with me. Right. the last half a day to full day was really difficult because I felt like he had communicated the things he had to say to me.

And I was still in his presence and felt that but I was kind of ready to go and. And I just kind of had to gut it out in a lot of ways. but I felt that it was helpful for me because there was a settling again of my heart and my spirit and things began to slow down because we live in such a fast paced world and culture that's loud and expressive.

And a lot of times we even if we. Take time to read or think like we just don't have time to to know what we think a lot. Yeah. Right. And so just being in that discomfort was really helpful for me. And it caused me to think about all right well I'm not just it was the first time I'd done something like that but it's not the first time that others had.

And and I began to look in the scriptures of Jesus. Did you do things like this? And so I I found that he did I don't know if you've thought about that or found any of those things. Yeah. I think one of the things that I see routinely in scripture is that Jesus does hard things right? the very nature of his ministry his you know his his three-year time in ministry is persecution you know and and he's uncomfortable then.

you know there's the verse we're getting to the son of man doesn't even have a place to lay his head. Right. Right. And I'm like oh I can't talk for 24 hours. You know? I mean it puts things in perspective. w what have you found about how many times Jesus has retreated or you know some of that stuff?

Well one of the things. That I read once was that he slipped away to pray 45 times in the gospels. Wow. And so he was consistently moving a way from the busy-ness of his life to get that time with his father. And in our world we just don't do that as much but you know he not only was he withdrawing into lonely places at Luke five 16 tells us that that he often withdrew to lonely places in order to pray.

but then he was also kind of pushing his disciples out into some uncomfortable spaces. And I think not only are we trying to introduce season two in this episode but we also. You know are using this experience that Tony and I both had to make a point that you know disciples get uncomfortable. Right.

And if we don't get uncomfortable then then that's gonna it's gonna have an impact in our life. If we just stay in comfort. Yeah what's that old cliche sailing saying right. Is that a safe harbors make for unskilled sailors something like that. And you know and it it just reminds me that you know if we want to get if we want to get good at something we really have to to work hard at getting uncomfortable.

Right. And you know we could say it like this like consistent discomfort leads to deeper roots consistent discomfort leads to deeper roots. And I I'm actually reminded of. what Jesus says is he's predicting his death and the gospel of John the 12th chapter the 24th verse. It says very truly I tell you unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a single seed but if it dies it may produce many seeds.

And when I think about that I think about all the things inside of me as a disciple maker that needs to die. You know that needs to die in order for me to produce more fruits for me to get out of the way for me to to try to reflect who Jesus is in the world and a in a stronger more you know fruitful way in a way that honors Jesus clearly you know and and I I just think man there's there's a model in scripture of Jesus doing hard things and constantly.

You know dying to self right? Yeah. He not only did that but he also he was pushing his disciples into those uncomfortable spaces. Right. Of whether it was sending them out two by two or you know after feeding of the 5000 and he sent them out into the boat and then proceeded to watch them you know for our struggle against that storm without going to help them.

And he just was watching them. and so that. Discomfort or getting ourselves and those that we're trying to disciple outside of their comfort zone. It does Leah like how you said that that consistent discomfort leads to deeper roots because it anchors us in a sort of way where we have to depend upon God and the spirit in a way that maybe we're not when we're comfortable.

And I know that. In our world here in Dayton Ohio and probably for many of you listening life in America can be really comfortable. And sometimes we have to seek out those spaces or intentionally put ourselves in those spaces of discomfort in order to revitalize our roots and to deepen them. Yeah. I think that there's probably.

a good lesson here to think about the things in our lives that make us uncomfortable. And so for me you know silence is obviously one of them you know and that it's a little easier for you but it's still you know that length of time was certainly uncomfortable. I you know there's a scripture memory's an area that's a little dis you know uncomfortable for me.

what are some of the other ones from you? I know you have a practice that I love that you do twice a year. fasting. Yeah that's a big one. Yep. Couple of times a year a five day water fast which will be one of our episodes coming up this season is kind of diving into that a little more but that's one of them witnessing is always hard for me.

just the relational aspect of that and you know knowing. And aside from knowing the right thing to say is just being willing to say you know and looked at in whatever ways. I know I'm not alone in that space of discomfort. and as an introvert sometimes just putting myself out there in relationships you know walking in small talk you know whatever it is initiating those things you know they're consistently uncomfortable.

Yeah. I meet with them. pastor on Friday and we confess sins to each other a old Wesleyan practice called a band meeting. Right. It's like the gym like I never want to go but once I go I always feel better. Like I never regret it when it's over. And that's probably a good reminder for discomfort right?

Like you never regret it when it's over. But I think the other the other part to that is what we what we see is we just get so much stronger and deeper and more in tune. With who we are and and not the strong parts of who we are but I I'm more in tune now with the weak parts of who I am. Right. Yeah.

I'd echo that for sure. Because I think you know it shouldn't be hard to to sit somewhere in silence. Yeah. But I mean we both experienced that. It was you know and you know we experienced it in different ways at different times in that stretch of time that we were there. But You know dealing with the stuff that comes up out of us you know our need or our attachment to be entertained or to have new thoughts coming in or whatever it is of you know can we just sit and dwell with God?

You know I think is really important. Yeah. It's a it's a great reminder that That Jesus wants the kind of relationship with us and with the people that we're discipling that is so intimate and so comfortable that even in our most uncomfortable and awkward moments we can be there together. We can invite him in.

Amen. All right Tony. So what's what's our takeaway. the takeaway consistent discomfort leads to D deeper roots and action step would be to intentionally put yourself in an uncomfortable space. So that you can grow closer to God. All right. So that could look a million different ways for you the individual listener of this podcast but you know maybe it takes some time to pray about God.

Is there something that you would have me do in the next week or two that would stretch me a little bit. That would put me in an uncomfortable space just to clean to you in a different way and to just see how that impacts you and your relationship with. Friends. We are so thankful that you're here on this journey with us.

We hope this season you get incredibly uncomfortable and in the process you go deeper and deeper with Christ and the disciples that you're making in Christ's image. So if you haven't yet make sure you hit that subscribe button. Leave us a rating review on iTunes and we'd love to hear from you. So tag us on social media follow the show and we got show notes everywhere.

You need it. Look forward to connecting with you guys real soon.