Northridge Church

Aaron Hixson:  Hey Northridge, welcome to A Little Better, where our goal is to know God better and to do better, so that we can be a little better. 

Well hey everyone, welcome back to A Little Better. I'm already laughing because I'm excited about this episode of the podcast. This is going to be a bonus episode where we're going to be doing things a little differently, and what we are going to be doing is introducing a brand new member of our staff.  You may or may not know this, but we have a new kids ministry executive director.

His name is Daniel White, and he has snuck in under the radar, without any, you know, fanfare or anything at all he's just dropped right into Rochester out of nowhere and we're excited to introduce you to him. He and his wife moved here in the middle of the COVID crazy, and so we haven't had a chance to do what we'd like to do, which is introduce them in person to each campus and all that kind of stuff.

We had a big roll out and all of it disappeared when COVID happened. So what we're gonna be having is an interview between some important people, not to include me, and you'll get to know Daniel a little better. So we've got Daniel White. Why don't you go and say hi?

Daniel White: Hey.

Aaron: So we got Daniel, we've got Nate Logan. He is our Pastor of Spiritual Development. So what's up Nate? 

Nate Logan: Hey everyone. 

Aaron: And then we've also got Courtney Dyer who -- I'm going to get her title right -- her title is Director of Human Resources?

Courtney Dyer: Yes, or Keeper of Aaron.

Aaron: Either one, either one.

Yeah, Courtney oversees all of our hiring processes, Nate will be overseeing Daniel and his role. Nate oversees all family ministry and that kind of stuff, so he brings leadership to that team, so he'll be actually Daniel's direct boss. Which, by the way, Daniel, I just want you to know like we have started a weekly prayer meeting for you, working with and alongside Nate Logan --

Nate: Great Guy.

Aaron: So you're gonna need it, you're going to need it, and we didn't mention that before we hired you. But yeah, let's go ahead and jump in. I know Courtney and Nate, you both got a litany of tough questions for Daniel in the hot seat. So let's let our church get to know him a little bit. Go ahead, Court.

Courtney: Sounds great. Daniel, so we are so glad to have you with us, and we just want to give you an opportunity to introduce yourself. Tell us, you know, where you're coming from, like, location-wise where you're coming from, and but also, you know, what you did there and how you got here.

Daniel: Awesome. Well thanks so much. You know, Aaron did say that we came from nowhere, and probably feels like it because I was born and raised in northeast Arkansas.

Aaron: Oh man, now I feel bad. I just was trying to make it seem like you appeared from the ether or something but no. Now I sound like I'm bashing this.

Daniel: That's okay. And so I'm from Northeast Arkansas, born and raised in a small community called Rector, like, less than 2,000 people in population. So I was born there, and my wife is from South Arkansas, basically in Louisiana. And so if you can hint an accent, you know, just very subtle, you're not dreaming it's it's real, and it's --

Courtney: Oh, it's very real.

Daniel: Yeah. Yes it is. And so, that's where we're from, I came from a community called Jonesboro, one of the bigger cities in Arkansas, about 90 to 100,000. 

The best Northridge story that I'll go ahead and interject is we've jumped into some community groups online already. And there is an individual in our community group who said he's been to Little Rock. He's like, “Oh, that's a cute little town,” and it's the largest town in Arkansas and so that was fun. Like I was like, That's funny. It's a very rural state.

Aaron: Oh, that's not terribly offensive. Welcome to the biblical community.

Daniel: But I was a junior high pastor in Jonesboro at Central Baptist Church. I served there for three years. Before that I was at my home church at First Baptist Rector for three and a half years, during my undergraduate degree, and really enjoyed it. 

So our family, so my wife's name is Rena. We have a dog named Millie. She's a cockapoo. And we're expecting our first human child in August, and so she's due August 18. And so we're really excited about that. 

Courtney: That is so awesome!

Nate: I see we're doing this interview, you're actually holding Millie in your lap. Yeah, it's like she is part of the family. 

Daniel: She is, she's all in.

Courtney: That's why he said "human child."

Aaron: Okay, I hope we get to hear from Millie at some point.

Daniel: If there's a squirrel outside, we will hear Millie, for sure.

Courtney: Love it. Well, Daniel, tell us a little bit about what you and Rena like to do for fun, I mean when you're allowed to go outside and when you're allowed to maybe be in public places and maybe be social. What are some of the things you guys like to do together?

Daniel: Yeah. And so we have a lot of activities and hobbies that we do together, one is Rena's favorite hobby is beating me at golf. So she's way better than I am. She doesn't like to brag on herself, but she went to, like, the state tournament every year in high school playing golf and would have went to college before she really messed up her shoulder pitching in softball. So she's super athletic, more than I am. 

And we also like to cycle and so are ready for the day where we get out and cycle together. I'd be out cycling right now but she doesn't want me to go without her and she's seven months pregnant almost and so I was like, come on, why not? 

Aaron: Rookie mistake, bro, rookie mistake. Which, by the way, you know you're into cycling when you call it cycling, because everyone else calls it biking, until you're into it and then they start calling it cycling. Right, Logan?

Nate: I appreciate that, Daniel. That's right, you got it Hixson. Yeah.

Courtney: I'm personally a bike rider.

Daniel: I was hoping you were gonna say biker Courtney and --

Courtney: No, that's next year's goal.

Aaron: Just this past weekend on the one nice day, I actually -- we have two bikes, which were purchased at a garage sale. The front tire of one was flat and the back tire of the other was flat, so I literally exchanged the working tire so that Lauren could go on a bike ride with the boys.

Daniel: Nice. 

Aaron: So we could only one of us at a time.

Courtney: That's awesome. Well, Daniel, from what you know of Rochester from, you know, visiting prior to coming onto our team,  what's something that you're looking forward to doing in Rochester once COVID is over and we can all leave our homes again?

Daniel: We've already been hitting up so many parks in the evening times on pretty days and everything like that. And I'm taking Millie on walks and just getting some exercise and fresh air and so we love all the, the feel of each different little park that that is in Rochester. 

I'm excited to go to Niagara Falls. Like, I know that's not in Rochester, but it's really close and I've never been personally. That's one thing. And I'm ready for the snow, like, I love the cold.

Aaron: Hallelujah, this man.

Daniel: Right, praise God. And I'm ready for some like real snow. I want to get lost in it.

Nate: Well, you came to the right place.

Daniel: That's right. That's what I hear.

Courtney: You did, but I don't really want to hear that word again for at least five months. It just snowed here last week, which is very unprecedented for April.

So, so tell us a little bit about, like, some of your favorites, like do you have a favorite fast food restaurant that you like? Favorite snacks? Do you guys follow any sports teams? Help us know, like, your little intricacies. 

Daniel: For sure, for sure> Food-wise, our favorite family food is pizza. And so, we love pizza, making pizza at home for ourselves, a good pizza place in general. In that regard, we love pizza. And just being together in that regard. 

Sports teams, Arkansas doesn't have any professional sports teams. And there's a fun fact if you didn't know that. And so for someone from Arkansas, to be a sports team follower. It's always random, you know? It's like, why do you like that team? Because there's nobody even close. The Memphis Grizzlies NBA team was really close to us and so I like to go into their games and things like that. We're sports fans, in general. 

Probably the closest affiliate to our family, it would be the St. Louis Cardinals because we're big baseball people, you know, my wife played softball, and I played baseball in high school. Yeah, so that's part of my story and, yeah, we love the Cardinals. 

A little bit more intricacies about family and just a little bit in general. So Rena and I are both only kids that's, like, something very rare out there.

Courtney: That is rare!

Daniel: We're only children, but definitely don't want just one, Lord willing, and so hopefully want more, more than one child in our family.

Courtney: Thank you for sharing. Go ahead Aaron.

Aaron: Yeah, I'm trying to even remember, just going back to your biographical details. What did you study in school and what did Rena study in school? I'm trying to remember that, and where'd you go. I know you're doing seminary now.

Daniel: So, seminary till Saturday. 

Aaron: Oh, wow. 

Daniel: I graduate on Saturday, during the COVID season.

Aaron: Congratulations.

Courtney: Awesome.

Daniel: Yeah, so I just, before we jumped on, uploaded my last paper. Praise the Lord. 

Aaron: Dude, that is huge!

Daniel: Amazing. Um, and so with school and stuff like that Rena, she's a school hopper. And so she got signed on a college softball scholarship, but in the first semester, really messed up her shoulder, and she was a pitcher. And so kind of softball got taken off the table for her.

And so she started studying nursing, transferred schools to go to a nursing school, but her softball injury really impacted the physical toll it took to be a nurse. And so that kind of, like our whole lives the first year of marriage was kind of like a whirlwind of just big life changes after another. 

And so she's currently, she still has a few more semesters left to finish up her undergraduate, but she's doing a biology degree to hopefully be -- her end goal would be college professor for like pre nursing students and things like that. She's a really, really great teacher, just in general. 

For me, I went to Arkansas State University for one year before transferring to Williams Baptist University, it's a small Bible College. I studied biblical linguistics, which sounds really nerdy.

Aaron: It doesn't just sound nerdy, it is nerdy, Daniel.

Daniel: Yeah, so I just studied biblical languages, and then finishing up my Master's of theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Shout out to Graham, he's also going in, that's where we met.

Aaron: That's right, G Money Spruill, I love it.

Daniel: That's right. Let's go, shout out.

Courtney: Daniel would you share that story? Because I know a few of us on staff have heard that story and I think it's phenomenal. But I would love for some in our church to kind of hear how you got connected to Northridge.

Aaron: Especially because of how nerdy you and Graham both are, it just makes me so happy.

Courtney: Well, Aaron you calling other people nerds…  

Aaron: Yeah, doesn't really work. By the way, I'm just realizing that Daniel, Courtney and I are all wearing like some shade of pink or coral. So we're kind of rocking that right now. Logan, I don't know if you didn't get the memo.

Nate: Man, I'm just wearing black and white, I got gray on or something. So, I gotta go throw some pink on I think. 

Aaron: All right, sorry Daniel, go back to that story. I'm killing this interview. 

Daniel: Yeah, so how I got connected with Northridge and just Graham in general. So, Graham and I were both students at Midwestern, but working full time in ministry. So we went to school, online. But both of us had kind of really the desire to get connected with professors and fellow students as much as possible. 

And one great thing that Midwestern and other seminaries alike do is they'll do things like study trips. So, in order to accomplish our church history credits, they offered a New England church history study trip. So just in the Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine areas. That was what was offered. 

And so we both were flying in to go to that trip last May, a year to date almost, pretty close. And  both of our connecting flights -- I was flying from Memphis, he was from Rochester -- was in Philly. And I landed in Philly, walk into the terminal, there's a, there's a tall lanky guy sitting in the corner, reading, like, Church History Volume Two, which is like a 750 page book. I'm like, there's no way that that guy's reading that book, getting on this plane, and not doing what I'm doing. 

I walked up to him, I was like “Hey man, you're doing this church history study trip?” And he was like, “Yeah,” so that's, that's where we got connected. We ended up being roommates on that trip, so we roomed together for like two weeks and really got to know each other and strike a friendship. 

And then a couple months go by, we stay connected and he lets me know about this opportunity with Northridge. We started praying about it and God opened the door. So it was really cool. 

Nate: Daniel, I remember this story is like so called evidence of God's providence. And I remember Graham coming in and talking to me in this search process. He's like, dude, Nate. What about Daniel? We should talk with him and see if he’d be even interested in this, you know conversation, this position. So I love just how this all kind of worked out with your life crossed the paths of our lives and serving together now. 

Daniel: Mm hmm. Absolutely.

Courtney: I love it, love that God brought you guys together and God brought you here. What's one thing that you're most looking forward to about serving on the Northridge staff team?

Daniel: The day we get to gather again, as a church.

Aaron: Oh, so Labor Day weekend? Is that what? No?

Courtney: Aaron, don't say that!

Aaron: Oh, I'm just kidding.

Daniel: But I think one of the great things that just Northridge staff has done is connecting in various formats with Zoom meetings and things like that and, you know, Rena and I, we just felt really loved and appreciated, even in the midst of this, with different people just reaching out even a simple text message, email, groceries on our back door whatever the case would be. 

But one thing we're looking most forward to is the people working alongside. There's just so many incredible people that we've already met, who have kind of the same cadence and heartbeat to reach people far from God and get families connected and moving in taking the next steps. And so that's what we're really excited about, to see what God does just during this season and even moving past it.

Courtney: Awesome. Awesome. So, you know, you talked about, shared how you connected with Graham and then they reached out and talked about this, you know this opportunity here. Why kids ministry? What makes you excited about kids ministry?

Daniel: Since like God called me into ministry, I'd always had a heartbeat for kids and family. We have a big family on both sides for Rena and I, even though we are only kids, like extended cousins and different things like that. Arkansas, right, Aaron?

Aaron: I wasn't gonna say anything!

Daniel: But I just love kids and love the family, and I'm in that aspect, and then putting that together with God calling me into ministry. I love just family ministry. Part of my faith journey is just my mother just pouring into me, even as a young child, and then through my teenage years and just her hand, and God working in and through her in that regard. And I just have that as my backstory and just saw the impact that parents who lead their kids in a godly way have on their lives.

And that was my heartbeat was, how can we resource families and parents better and every different ministry role I've had that's been the question that I keep coming back to. And then Northridge that is the first church where God brought that kind of all that to fruition together, and I'm just really excited to resource parents, to partner with them to inspire and introduce faith to their kids and then continue on through NYM and in their high school years. 

Nate: Daniel, I love that, man, and I know you've seen some of the Northridge kids ministry from a limited perspective, just because we haven't gotten meetings in person, but I know you've been connecting online with teams and our incredible volunteers and our kids ministry across our campuses. 

What have you seen from Northridge kids that excites you, what are you looking forward to doing to get when we're back in person? Just talk us through some of that passion for Northridge kids ministry as well. 

Daniel: Yeah, that's, that's awesome. That's a great question. Some of the things we've been doing is, I've been trying to make as many steps to make as many connections as possible with volunteers and different families. Like this past week we've done Zoom calls with all the different campuses individually, and that  has been really fun to get to see and connect faces with campuses and positions and ministry roles and things like that. 

What excites me and what I'm really excited about is just bringing the passion that all these different people have in different ministry roles and just trying to channel that in a direction. I think Northridge Kids has so many great things going for it as a ministry of Northridge Church and our heartbeat is to better align those ministries across the board and reaching out our arms with NYM to better partner with parents and set up the family for the win. 

And so some of the things that we're really excited about is, when we do get back together again, but also in that meantime, of figuring out ways to better get parents connected and get those who aren't connected connected, those who are connected, even better resourced and just continue that journey together. 

Nate: That's awesome. Um, hey, you mentioned that you're finishing up seminary this this week and big, big step for you and maybe even get further education down the road. You mentioned that 750 page church history book, and you've been a part of some great teams, you know in the past, learning from some great leaders. What are some books that have influenced you or a person like who's really impacted your life, in your ministry journey so far? 

Daniel: Like I see the questions that we sent out before this, and that was probably the hardest one of like, how do I just pick one book like, or just like a whole different books. I love reading, and really enjoy just learning about church leadership, Bible, theology. I just love reading, I always have a stack of books on my nightstand that I'm reading in different pieces. 

But I would say just in regards to ministry and what my journey has been and who's influenced me the most, when it comes to people that's the easiest one to answer. I had a college professor at Williams, who really impacted me. His name was Dr. Norvell, who probably had the biggest hand in my heartbeat of clarifying all the passions that I had for discipleship, family ministry, and then my journey, bringing those all together. And he mentored me, my senior year of college. We met every Friday to talk about discipleship pathways and maps and like how to get people taking next steps in faith and so he's impacted me probably the most in the most recent phase of my life, several years ago. But then my mom played a huge role in that as another person who's impacted my faith.

When it comes to books, I think Paul Tripp and Dangerous Calling has been a book that's like, in pastoral ministry, as well as other books helping me clarify my calling like Jeff Iorg’s Is God Calling Me? and different things like that of what it means to be in ministry and have a heart for that. Other ones for just ministry sake, I could just list them I could keep going, but The Pastor as Public Theologian by Dr. Strachan. I mean they just keep, they just keep going. Jared Wilson's book on pastoral leadership, the title slips me in this regard, but it just talks about pastors' holiness and things like that. So, I could keep listing books that have impacted and influence me. I really enjoy reading and listening to podcasts and just always learning and growing. 

Courtney: Do you have a favorite podcast, I mean, besides this, obviously.

Daniel: A Little Better. And so --

Aaron: Are there other podcasts? I'm pretty sure this is it.

Daniel: I didn't realize that there was more. And so --

Courtney: Good answer.

Daniel: Just to be short in this regard, I'll just list three. I'm trying to narrow it down in my mind. Before I answer. My favorite podcast probably to listen to is The Bible Project, just as they do like thematically and just dive deeper into scripture and like the message of what the Bible is actually saying. That's probably my favorite podcast that I am most religious about listening to, like, I always listen to the new episode. 

I subscribe -- I think, Courtney, we had a conversation about this my first visit up here. I subscribe to a lot of podcasts, but then based on how good their title is is whether I listened to it or not.

Courtney: Yeah, those are excellent. Me too.

Daniel: Because I don't have time to obviously listen to a lot of things, but in leadership I love the Andy Stanley, Prager Show, and the Carey Nieuwhof podcast. Those are the three that I really enjoy listening to, as well. 

Aaron: Yeah, if you had to say if I was the biggest influence in your life or, or the biggest five influences in your life, what would you say?

Daniel: Like you personally?

Aaron: Yeah, just me personally, yeah.

Daniel: I guess I would probably say over our one pot of coffee that you made me drink on February the first. I still remember it because I'm still jittering from it. My first interaction with Aaron, we went to a coffee shop and it just kept filling my cup up. I'm pretty sure I had seven cups of coffee in that one three hour interaction.

Aaron: Well, dude, you had gotten up at like 2am, flown in, and already had seven interviews by lunch, so I was just like, this man needs coffee.

Daniel: He just kept filling it up, and I was just jittery, and that was our first meeting, and I just kept drinking it. I wasn't even paying attention. It was like, man, this coffee is like a bottomless cup.

Nate: Dude, that's awesome. 

Courtney: It's just because Aaron's such a snoozer.

Aaron: Oh, that's true. Most people that hang out with me need as much coffee as I can make them.

Courtney: Anyway, go on Nate, I know you got a couple questions tied to kids ministry here.

Nate: Yeah, we're wrapping things up here, but Daniel, anything you'd like to say to parents who might be listening to this podcast and as they're kind of looking forward to getting connected with you, and just hear your heart? Anything you want to share with parents? 

Daniel: Absolutely. I think during this special season that we find ourselves in, with being at home and social distancing, COVID-19, all that kind of stuff like that. Just make them aware of the resources we're putting out. We're calling it Church at Home at northridgekids.org, just go and check that out. 

A few things that we've done and just the shorts six or seven weeks that I've been here is we've started the parent blog back up to give weekly resources every Monday. They land in your inbox. Subscribe to that. That's going to be our primary mode of communication resource. Just like a lot of other ministries that Northridge do, like NYM and community groups, and the list goes on. So that's going to be our primary mode of communication, so just to stay connected in that way. 

And we're constantly trying to refine and better clarify how we're partnering with parents. That's one of the big projects we're doing as a kids staff. Because inside of this unique opportunity, we now have a lot of time to devote to more specific things that probably would classify as working on the ministry. Since like some of the aspects for Sunday morning, we're no longer in it because we're not getting to be with people, and that's what ministry is and so we're getting to work on the things we're doing. And we're excited to come back with a vengeance whenever that is. And so, yeah. So those are the few things I'd say. 

Nate: I love that, "coming back with a vengeance." That's awesome. I love what you and the team have been putting out and how you're serving our families. You guys are doing a really great job.

Aaron: I say that I would agree with that as a parent of a pre-k kid. I just love that Greyson gets to watch that. For us it's before the nine o'clock service because we get up real early with young kids, but that's been a huge blessing to us throughout this.

Nate: Daniel, how can we be praying for you guys, and then how can our church family be praying for you and Rena in this time, this transition, what are some things that we could lift you guys up in prayer? 

Daniel: Absolutely, that's a great thing. It's a unique season to be having a baby and I know we're not the only ones, but you know, there's just a lot of moving pieces inside of moving across the country. While, you know, my wife's pregnant, she's approaching, like the third trimester, month seven, and so everything's healthy and looking good so far. But just being in prayer for her, what's this gonna look like inside of it, we're still in the midst of this social distancing when August comes. Hopefully not, but who knows?

Courtney: Hopefully not!

Daniel White: So that would be our biggest prayer request is inside of her pregnancy. And then, just for God to keep blessing in all the things that he's already doing and consistently does.

Aaron: I love it. Hey, Daniel, Courtney, Nate, thank you so much for jumping on. I hope for our church, this is a helpful introduction to a great addition to our team. I mean, goodness, we feel so blessed, Daniel, to have you and Rena around. 

Daniel: I'm blessed to be with you, Aaron. 

Aaron: Oh, you know what, I can't tell you how often I get that. How ridiculous.

No, but we genuinely are excited. It's amazing to see young leaders passionate about, you know, the deep things of God and simultaneously doing practical ministry. Those aren't always a gift set that comes together in one person. And I think people like Graham, people like you -- and many others on our team -- but I just think that having the two of you teaming together from birth through the end of high school is a really amazing combination that I'm excited for my kids to experience the leadership and discipleship of, you know, those two amazing leaders. And I'm sure Courtney and Nate are saying the same thing. 

Nate: Completely agree. 

Courtney: Absolutely. 

Aaron: Discipleship for me at the moment looks like teaching  my kids not to throw food on the floor, but it's one step at a time. But anyways, Daniel, thank you so much for taking the time. Everybody, thanks for jumping on. 

And for our listeners and the people of our church if you've got questions you want to send to Daniel or his team or whatever, feel free to reach out to any contacts from our staff that go to your campus, or if you want to reach out to Daniel directly, you can do that by doing... what?

Daniel: There's two email addresses or things like that you can reach: [email protected], or there's a blanket kids min, just [email protected], or just social media. Look us up on social media at Northridge Kids, or personally, you can friend me on Facebook.

Aaron: Daniel White, right? Daniel White. 

Daniel: Yeah, just Daniel White. 

Aaron: All right. Thanks everybody, and thank you everybody for listening to A Little Better. We look forward to hearing from you. And as always, questions, comments can come to us and we would love to address them on the next episode. Thanks for listening.

Transcript lightly edited for readability. 

Aaron Hixson:  Hey Northridge, welcome to A Little Better, where our goal is to know God better and to do better, so that we can be a little better. 

Hey everybody, welcome back to A Little Better.  Thank you for joining us for another episode.  I'm coming to you with a very important person.  His name is Drew Karschner, but he is more famous for his ability to help you paint like a pro.  This is our lead pastor, who has some amazing skills that the CW keeps reminding us of. 

Drew Karschner:  Apparently I have bladder issues as well.  So, I don’t know.  I can paint, but I can't hold my pee. 

[Both laughing.] 

Aaron:  That is perfect.  If anybody has been watching on the CW or you check out from time to time the TV guide, a few times that we've been on TV, the CW has put up -- I don't know if these were previously paid, you know, advertisers or whatever it was.  This past week it was how to Paint Like a Pro with Zoom Paint or something like that.  And the first week was literally, what was the actual caption for week 1? 

Drew:  It was like, Trouble with Your Bladder or something like that. 

Aaron:  I got so many funny screenshot text messages of people, they would try to catch you with a funny face, and they're like, "having trouble with your bladder."  I'm sure you got that too. 

Drew:  I have enough trouble, like, on my own of not making funny moments, or you know, dumb moments myself.  Then the CW, obviously would like to help me out as well.  Thank you for that. 

Aaron:  Just a little bit of extra boost as if we needed more opportunities for people to make some memes, but, oh my goodness, that's good.  And by the way, if you do have any painting tips, I'd love to hear from, you know, the Zoom paint method.  Let me know what that is.  I'm doing some painting this week, so I need the help. 

Drew:  Nice. 

Aaron:  Yeah, let's actually go in a little bit more here.  I have a question I think that maybe is related to the way we've been planning our services ever since COVID has hit.  Something that, especially for people that listen to this podcast, they're probably insiders in our church and are familiar with how we do things normally. 

We haven't typically done a lot of, like, at the end of a service, you might call it an altar call or an invitation, where people can raise their hand and put their faith in Christ, that kind of a thing.  We haven't ordinarily done tons of that, but ever since COVID, we've literally done it every week since March the 15th or whatever it was that we went into COVID. 

So I'm just wondering if you can let us know why is that, what's the thinking behind it.  I haven't heard anything negative about it, I just wanna give you an opportunity to cast some vision around that. 

Drew:  Yeah, so the first weekend we had what we would call COVID series.  If you remember, we were in the Unfiltered Jesus series.  I was in a boat talking about storms in your life.  Man, I preached that message and I watched it on the stream. 

I felt really good about it, but there was one major regret that I had.  I know in the season of fear and uncertainty, people have a lot of questions.  I walked away from that service and went, "Man, I didn't give people a chance to respond to the truth of the gospel."  And I felt this overwhelming sense of a little bit of regret, and I just felt like the Holy Spirit was like, “Drew, you need to lean into this moment and you need to go for it and give people a chance to respond to the gospel.”  So, man, I prayed about it, and I just had this sense of confirmation that that's what God wanted me to do and how he wanted me to lead, so I just chased after it. 

So, ever since that weekend, I've given people a chance to respond to the gospel.  There's two reasons why I do that.  One, because I think there's a lot of people out there who haven't experienced the hope of Jesus who need to experience the hope of Jesus.  I want to give them a clear picture of what that is, the truth behind that, and the way you accept that. 

But two, I think just as a Christ follower, for us, man, just because I've accepted the gospel doesn't mean I don't still need the gospel.  And hearing the truth of the gospel, each week, and being able to pray for people in the moment where they're choosing to respond against the spiritual forces of evil I think is a really powerful reminder and a really powerful moment for our church. 

And so, I just feel like it's something really God has led me to do.  And we've seen God move in people's hearts.  There's really no way of measuring salvation.  That's something that only God knows.  But we've seen, I think up to this point, 106 people say, "Hey, I said that prayer, I chose to respond to this message."  And man, I don't know what that number means.  I'll be the first one to be honest and say, man, we've had 106 people let us know they said that prayer.  I don't know what that means.  Only God does.  But man, I'm gonna celebrate that people are responding to that, and I just think it's been really cool to see. 

Aaron:  Mmhmm.  Yeah, I agree with all that.  What's your thought, or what is the conversation thus far related to our plan, let's say -- I'm not even gonna throw a date out there.  Let's just say when we're back together, and things are "normal," even though that will likely be a phased approach, what's your guess as to how or when we might continue this, or how long we would continue it? 

Drew:  I don't know if I know the answer to that question.  I feel like I'm gonna just, you know, I think we'll continue to do it.  I don't even know if going forward we'll continue to do it every single week the way we're doing it.  If you've been coming to Northridge church, you know we like to experiment with things. 

Aaron:  Sure. 

Drew:  And we pull things and we add things fast and quick.  And so, I'm gonna do it until I feel like, you know, God tells me to stop.  I know that's kind of a generic answer, but I don't know.  I don't know if we're gonna continue to do it or if we're gonna stop, but I've seen God use it, and I'm gonna celebrate that until we decide to maybe kind of change it or adjust it better for our services. 

Aaron:  Sure. 

Drew:  All that to say, I don't know. 

Aaron:  [Laughing.]  That's an extended answer for the reality of I don't know.  That's funny. 

Okay, cool.  I just think that’s really helpful for people to hear, and even for me, you know, to think it through.  And I'm actually teaching this weekend, so it's good for me to understand some of those dynamics as well, even though we've talked about it some.  Cool. 

So, this past weekend was a cool one on a few different fronts, but getting to baptise Richie was definitely fun for me. 

Drew:  Amazing story. 

Aaron:  Yeah, incredible story.  He worked hard to make sure he could express that clearly.  I'm so thankful for Richie's willingness to share, and share honestly.  I mean, obviously there's details in there that he could have easily told his story without including, and he chose to be honest.  And he had even more that he shared especially about, the importance of Starting Point and the particular leaders who lead in the Henrietta campus Starting Point.  Brad and Karen Files, Mike and Chris Maloney, are people that he shouted out in particular. 

And I just, man, that environment across all of our campuses has been so crucial for people's faith.  And I think he said it best.  He said "they were there to recruit --"  I'm sorry.  Backwards.  [Laughing]

Drew:  Yeah, that's wrong. 

Aaron:  "They were there to inform, not to recruit."  And I love how he said that.  That's the reality of Starting Point.  Now, at the end of the day, we are all kind of low-key recruiting, right?  But the way that you want people to feel is that we're just letting you know the facts so that you can make a decision, and just be praying that God's at work in their lives. 

Drew:  Yeah, we recruit with love.  I like that.  It's not like people are a number to us.  We just love them, and we allow God to do the work that only he can do.  That's what he did in Richie's life.  He used people to inform them of the truth, love him where he was, and God worked on him. 

Aaron:  Yeah.  And if you believe that there's something really good that you're offering to people, even if you're gonna do it in a gentle and kind and loving way, you still are low-key hoping that they'll do it, which is at some level recruiting.  You know? 

So that kind of brings us to that missional relationship thing of living with urgency.  Like, if I genuinely believe that I hold the keys to the truth of reality, especially life after death, then I am going to be at some basic level recruiting, but we don't have to think of recruiting in a negative sense where you're getting, you know, cold sales calls from people that you don't know and who don't care about anything but your money.  Like, it's not that kind of recruiting, but we could be that kind of urgent.  You know, t's a tension to manage, but the fact that he felt as if they were just there to inform, while in the back of their minds they're desperately hoping and praying that he'll come to know Christ, that's why that was so perfect to me.  Because it illustrated how we're trying to come across, while maintaining a deep sense of urgency. 

Drew:  Yeah, I think that's well said. 

Aaron:  And you couldn't even see the gloves that I was wearing, so it really worked.  [Both laughing.]  I was kind of glad they weren't like bright purple surgical gloves, that were up to the elbows or something.  That would have looked a little funny. 

Drew:  Dishwasher gloves. 

Aaron:  Yeah, dishwasher gloves.  [Both laughing.]  Which, by the way, do you ever wear those when you wash dishes? 

Drew:  No.  My wife wears them every time.  She's got, like, purple polka-dotted ones and bright red ones, I'm like, why? You know why I wear them?  I use them for one thing and one thing only.  You ever try to open a jar you can't open?  Those gloves are bomb-diggity for getting jars.  I mean, literally.  I can squeeze my hand, my hand hurts, I put those gloves on, I'm like Hulk.  I become the Hulk with that.  I'm like, [grunts.] 

Aaron:  That's amazing.  I gotta say, I've never had a jar I couldn't immediately open.  Basically I just look at a jar, and it starts opening because I'm, like, incredibly strong. 

Drew:  It's cause Lauren twists them for you. 

Aaron:  Well, what?  No. 

Drew:  It's cause she pre-twists them for you. 

Aaron:  [Laughing.]  Whatever, whatever. 

Dude, I actually -- Lauren somewhere along the way, like, had decided to grab some of those gloves and now I legit, like I don't want to touch anything in the sink if I'm not wearing those gloves.  It's incredible. 

Drew:  I'm not sure I'd let the public know that, Aaron. 

Aaron:  No, seriously bro.  Imagine doing like 15 minutes of dishes --

Drew:  You're not gonna convince me on this. 

Aaron:  Dude, 15 minutes of dishes and there's no wrinkly hands afterwards.  It's amazing. 

Drew:  Aaron, I like tubs.  So that wrinkly feeling is -- I like it. 

Aaron:  Oh my goodness.  Again, there's so much wrong with your whole approach related to water.  I just feel like we need to do a whole segment. 

Drew:  You mean the most important resource in the world and I actually like it?  You know your body is made up of like 75%, so like, right now, you're rejecting 75% of who you are and who God made you to be. 

Aaron:  No, I don't like to sit in my own filth.  That's why I don't like it.  [Laughing.]  Whatever.  The fact that you don't pre-shower before a bath is -- I can't, I'll never be over that. 

Drew:  Just to give a pre-reference, if I work out in the mud, in the field, I do pre-shower.  But when I'm already clean and I wanna relax, I just get in the nice clear water. 

Aaron:  Okay, okay.  Enjoy your lavender bath bomb.  I’ll just -- actually, that would be amazing.  I'll take a lavender bath bomb right now.  I just would pre-shower. 

Okay, so the series A Life That Matters, one thing I wanna lean into, we've gotten some feedback I think is actually really helpful around the name of the series and what people are understanding it to mean. Let me just set some context and have you give some clarity around it. 

The tension is, A Life that Matters sounds as if what we're saying, cause the word matters has multiple meanings, and so if you think of the word matters in our culture, oftentimes it's coming up with like Black Lives Matter or All Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter and all of the tension surrounding that. 

But what those hashtags are meant to convey, and in particular, Black Lives Matter, is just trying to illustrate that, you know, people in our community are sometimes treated as if they don't matter.  And so this hashtag is meant to highlight the fact that these are lives that actually do have inherent value and worth.  So they're using the word matter to imply, this life has value.  Just in and of itself.  Its existence has value. 

So when we say "a life that matters," we're kind of making it seem as if, when you look at the world, there are some lives that have inherent value and some lives that don't have inherent value, because that's what the word matter can mean at times. 

So, I don't believe we're saying that, and I would love for you to tell us what we mean by the word matter so that we can clear up for people that we're not demeaning the value of any human. 

Drew:  Sure, and I think we brought a little bit of clarity to that this weekend when we talked about relationships and, you know, we made this statement, I made this statement.  I don't know why I said we.  I guess it was just me and that empty room all by myself. 

Aaron:  The royal plural. 

Drew:  You know, we said every life matters.  It has intrinsic value because God made people that way, he put his image in them, and so every life has value.  That's the way God made us.  And so, you can't argue that statement because God already stamped his approval, the truth on it.  And so every life has value. 

What we're really talking about in this series is what you do with your life.  And does what you do actually make it count?  And so your actions have a lot of weight on whether your life has impact, counts, for not just here and now, but for all of eternity. 

And so we're looking at kind of the idea of legacy, of a legacy that you can -- and we're gonna talk about this in the series, so this is a kind of sneak preview of where we're headed - a legacy that lasts here on earth, but also looks towards eternity. 

And so, this is really an action oriented series on what you're doing with your life and how much it can count if you're investing it in the right things. 

Aaron:  Got it.  So it's more about the cumulative result of your life's efforts.  And I love that word legacy.  I think that's.  A perfect description because that's what we're leaning into.  If you get to the end of your life and you were to just tabulate what you've accomplished and who it will impact, and for how long it will impact them, will you be able to say your life matters? 

And there's people who have accomplished a lot, but it's stuff that won't ultimately matter for eternity, like whatever, a sports legend who invests their entire life in sports and they get to the end of it, and they're like, "Okay, you got 6 MVPs" or whatever, but that's not gonna matter for eternity.  That's not to say that the only thing that has -- the only thing you're allowed to do with your life, like if you're an accountant, you need to quit and become a missionary because you're crunching numbers and that doesn't matter.  Of course that's not what we're saying. 

But that's what A Life That Matters is meant to imply, is are you investing your life, whether you're an accountant, a pastor, an NBA star, whatever you're doing, are you using that platform and those opportunities to have a result of your life that you're gonna say, man I'm so glad that I was a basketball player this way, that I was an accountant who operated this way at work?  You know?

Drew:  Yeah, and I think it goes back to what Paul said this weekend, making the most of every opportunity so, it's learning to invest your time into the right things that not only have impact here, but have impact for forever. 

Aaron:  Got it.  So, I think that we'll, if there are folks either struggling through that or trying to figure out if we're making it seem as if someone matters or doesn't -- in fact, I think it's important to say, no matter how you spend your life, it will not impact in any way your inherent worth.  You can't make yourself more or less valuable to God by the way that you live your life. 

Drew:  Isn't that the great thing about God?  How awesome is that.  That truth is amazing, that no matter what you do with your life, doesn't change the value God has placed on your life, but it has significance for where you spend your eternity. 

Aaron:  Yeah.  So, if people have questions about that, if you're still struggling through that, trying to figure out either what we mean, or if there's anything in this that brings up a tension in your own life, feel free.  Of course, always reach out to any of us, anybody on our staff, any of our social media, we've made that clear.  We want to be as accessible as possible.  And we would love to bring up specific questions or tensions if you've got them. 

One thing that we even talked about, Drew, as we were, I guess, sorting through this tension was -- something that came to my mind right away was a line from the book Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, which, if you haven't read it, it's kind of like a Christian classic at this point.  John Piper makes some really strong points about how to invest our lives, and I think it has really impacted a generation of Christianity.  

But there's a moment -- John Piper's father was an evangelist.  At one of his evangelism meetings a guy came forward, placed his faith in Christ, he was in his late 60s or something.  John Piper has a vivid memory of this man in what felt like -- John Piper's a kid, so this guy felt really old.  And he was at the end of his life and had just placed his faith in Christ.  The refrain he kept repeating after placing his faith in Christ was, "I've wasted it, I've wasted it, I've wasted it."  The guy, looking back on his life and realizing, "I have nothing to show for these 60-plus years of my life because I've spent it all on myself.” 

So that person, this guy, he doesn't not matter to God.  Of course he matters to God.  He has an inherent worth.  But he was self-declaring, "I've wasted my life.  I've spent it on stuff that doesn't matter, and now I wish I could invest in something that does." 

Drew:  That reminds me, Aaron, this is kind of a sneak peak into this weekend is, we've got a story we're gonna share that is very similar to that.  I think it's gonna be really powerful in your message.  I can't wait.  I just watched it.  Man, it'll charge you up.  It'll cause you to reevaluate what you're doing with your life. 

Aaron:  No doubt. 

Drew:  It's so powerful.  Make sure you're inviting your friends.  What a great story. 

Aaron:  It's an incredible story. 

Drew:  By the way, shoutout to Connor Ellsworth, who is actually in our Zoom call right now.  Dude, you did an incredible job with the video. 

Aaron:  It came together really well.  I've watched it, I don't know, a number of times, and each time, I keep thinking, the first time I listened to it I was like, "Wait, why am I preaching?  Can we just play this?"  It's like a four and a half minute video and I'm like, let's just play this and be done.  I have nothing to contribute. 

Yeah.  It's so good.  And his sentiment, this guy from the book Don't Waste Your Life and what you're gonna hear from Michael this weekend, it's just the idea that, "Man, I wish I had done this differently.  I don't feel like my life had mattered until I started living this way." 

Drew:  And that's what this series is all about.  We talk about death brings perspective.  When you're facing death, it doesn't matter how well you lived your life.  There's gonna be things you look back and be like, "I did a great job with this."  But there's also gonna be areas where you're like, "I wish I would've changed things.  I wish I would have done things differently." 

It's crisis and death that actually give us the clarity that we need to see things accurately. 

Aaron:  I love that.  Let's actually talk about that related to the different categories of relationships.  What would you do differently, where do you think we tend to go wrong?  This is related to everyday relationships, intimate relationships, missional relationships, and our relationship with God.  Those are the four categories you talked about, and you even did a little bit of, you know, confession or honesty with us about phone-snubbing your kids or whatever and having regret around that, as we all have. 

How have you processed this just since Sunday related to making the most of every opportunity and relationship? 

Drew:  I think the big things I was challenged by my message was, one, I want to have more boldness.  I feel like I'm seeing that in this crisis.  I've had way more boldness just to invite anybody and everybody.  I've been, like, scrolling through my contacts being like, "Who haven't I talked to in a while and how can I invite them to the live stream?"  And I'm realizing, the worst thing that can happen to me is someone ignores my text or says "I'm not interested." 

This crisis has given me this, like "Dude, why haven't you been this bold before?  What has stopped you?"  And it's just creating a boldness in me.  And I want more of that.  I want that to continue to grow.  I don't want that to fade as the crisis fades.  I want to keep that, this urgency of, man, I can come up with all the excuses.  But what urgency does is it just tears down all my excuses and says "Let's go for it."  I'm learning a little bit of that with my missional relationships. 

Then, with my everyday relationships, obviously I don't want to talk too much about my dad, because we've talked about him, but whew.  Yeah.  There's just some moments I regret,  I wish I could get back.  [Emotional.]  So that's all I'll say about that cause I'm not gonna make it through. 

Aaron:  Yeah.  And as much as sometimes we'll make it seem like you're the emotional one and I'm the nerdy one, I am a super sappy person when it comes to certain relationships, in particular with Lauren.  Like, we legit can't watch -- even like romcoms are sometimes on the edge for me, like if there's breakups or spouses passing away or stuff like that.  I'm always just like, "Oh, Lauren I love you so much, don't ever leave me" and "I'm gonna miss you."  I don't know,something about seeing other people's tragedies that makes us realize that this relationship matters, but an hour ago I thought it was more interesting to be watching some YouTube video.  We've all had that moment where either you're talking to your spouse or a friend or something, and the phone starts to creep in and now you're looking at your phone.  I've done this a million times where I have to admit to Lauren, I'm like, "I gotta be real with you, I didn't hear a word you just said” because I was too busy doing something stupid.

You talked about how we replace the meaningful with the meaningless.  I'm watching a YouTube video on how to set up dust collection in a woodshop and the love of my life is talking to me about something.  Even if it's insignificant, and I've somehow decided in that moment that I'm gonna prioritize the dumbest video.  And as you said, those are the moments that I'm just gonna say, "What was I thinking?"  You know?  We can't live our lives full of regret, like "Did I literally maximize every second of our relationship?" and I know that. 

Drew:  Right, right.   

Aaron:  But at the same time, I don't wanna lose seconds, you know?  I want to make the most of every opportunity.  Paul uses that in particular with missions.  In both Ephesians and Colossians, those are specific to people who are far from God.  He's saying, make the most of every opportunity, but I love that you applied it more generally to even just either your barista or the people that we know the most.  Make the most.  Why would you not make the most?  We have such a short life.  These people mean so much to us, and these people will be around for eternity, so catch every moment.  You know?  

Drew:  Right, and I just think, you know, we've all worked a job where someone's a jerk to us.  And we've all worked a job when someone was kind and appreciative.  Sometimes it's as simple as that with your waitress or the person serving you coffee or whoever, your coworkers.  It's just like, "Hey, I appreciate you."  That goes a long way.  Or, "Hey, thanks for my coffee.  It was amazing."  Or "Hey, how's your day going?" 

One thing my wife is so good at, and honestly this is where I get convicted in my everyday relationships.  We're checking out and I'm ready to go, and my wife is sitting there talking to the cash register.  And I'm like, "Babe, shut up!  Let's go!"  Like, Drew, this is a person.  And they're talking to me.  And I'm like, dang.  I'm a jerk.  I am a jerk.  I'd rather get on with my day than make the most of the opportunity in front of me.  And my wife is so good at this.  She'll sit there and, 30 minutes talk, even if there's people behind her.  I'm like, "Babe, these people hate you back here, and this person loves you." 

Aaron:  Every cashier that's ever talked to Ashley loves her.  Everybody who's behind Ashley hates her. 

Drew:  Like, just keep moving.  My wife knows the people at where she goes, where she shops.  She knows the name.  When she shows up, they're like, "Hey, Ashley, good to see you," and I'm like, "Who are you?"  And I'm convicted.  I do, I view these people as a means to an end.  Your job is to check me out, give me it as fast as you can so I can get the heck out of here. 

Aaron:  Mmhmm.  Yeah.  And it's very difficult when people serve a utilitarian purpose in our life, it's very easy to begin to ignore them, to not even see them.  And you mentioned it, we right now care about these "everyday relationships" in a way we don't normally because, at the moment, your interaction with the cashier at Wegmans is now like  --

Drew:  Vital. 

Aaron:  It's also one of your only interactions with somebody that's not your family. 

Drew:  Can we talk, please? 

Aaron:  You're chatting it up with everybody. 

Drew:  Except there's a screen there.  Back away sir.  I'm like, "I just need a hug!" 

Aaron:  It's bulletproof glass and they're just like, "Please back away from the barrier." 

But yeah, so we notice these people and we are grateful for these people, but, you know, life will go back to normal, just like a year after a funeral we go back to how we were operating.  Months down the road after this crisis is over, we're gonna start ignoring people again. 

And so, that's what this series, the essence of it is, you know, it's better to go to a house of mourning, learn the lesson there, and concentrate it into your life such that it won't take crisises in the future to make you care about people, to not miss moments with your family. 

I know we keep coming back to what this series is all about, but I guess that's just what feels, that's the heart of it. 

Drew:  That's why we do this, cause they're so important.  Everybody wants to go back to normal, which I get, at some level I do.  But I think we would be missing what God's trying to do if we just go back to the old normal that we had.  Maybe we create a new normal that is actually more effective and actually, with our lives, counts even more. 

Aaron:  Yeah, that's beautiful.  Let's push toward that.  

Anything we need to know about this coming weekend? 

Drew:  Um, the man with the beard is preaching.  

Aaron:  Mmm, Nate Miller. [Laughing.]  No.  

Drew:   You're preaching, which I'm excited.  One, I'm thankful.  I just needed a break emotionally and spiritually and physically, so thank you for that.  I'm excited to hear.  We're gonna be talking about investing our resources, and so it's gonna be incredible, awesome. 

We're gonna look at two stories, so I'm pumped about that.  It's gonna be a great weekend.  I've loved this series, and I think it's having some impact on people's lives. 

Aaron:  Agreed. 

Drew:  Do you have anything to say about this weekend? 

Aaron:  Um, well, other than, if you love it, then I did some tweaking.  If you hate it, then it was Drew's original message.  That's all I have to say.  Whatever credit there is to have, I want it.  Whatever blame there is, I'm dishing it. 

Drew:  I'll take it for you, bro.  You're preaching for me, I'll take your blame. 

Aaron:  [Laughing.]  Hopefully the CW, dude, if they give me -- I can't wait for what caption they give.  

Drew:  You know it's gonna be perfect because I'm not there.  You won't get any pictures, no awkward faces with the bladder out of control, it'll be like, the title's gonna be Aaron Hixson is better than Drew.  That's what they're gonna put. 

Aaron:  No, it's gonna be, like, a modeling agency or something.  It'll be like, "Don't you wish you looked this good?"  [Laughing.] 

Oh my goodness.  Okay.  Well, we'll just wait and see.  I don't wanna get too excited about what the CW labels me. 

Thanks everybody for listening.  Seriously, we would love to have a conversation with you.  Send in comments, questions, concerns.  We wanna alleviate tensions and help everybody the way that we can. 

So, we'll see you this weekend on the chat stream or the correctly labelled CW.  Thanks guys. 

Transcript lightly edited for readability.