March 21, 2025 • 51 mins
Onyx Conklin shares her journey of discovering God's call to be a champion not through personal achievement but by believing in and encouraging others to reach their potential.
• Championship is not about trophies or accolades but championing for other people
• God often calls the most unlikely people to make the biggest impact
• Simple acknowledgments like complimenting someone's scarf or thanking a cashier can powerfully impact someone's day
• Our past experiences, even painful ones, shape our unique ability to champion others
• The higher your leadership position, the more you should serve those you lead
• Everyone is strategically placed by God to make an impact in everyday moments
• Trust is essential in leadership—trust in God's placement and trust in those you lead
If you're seeking community, email grow@gracefieldcommunity.com and we would be happy to connect you with trusted community partners near you.
Connect with Onyx Conklin
Instagram: @championonfire
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MissOnyx
Connect with Us:
Visit our website at www.gracefilledcommunity.com
Follow us on Facebook: GraceFilled Community
Follow us on Instagram @gracefilledcommunity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Nicole Cater, your host, founder and
servant leader of GracevilleCommunity.
I want to thank you for tuningin to Graceville Community
Podcast.
This is a safe space, a placein which we just share stories
of how God has touchedindividuals' lives all across
the world and how they are nowimpacting the kingdom of God.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in.
Blessings to you.
Hello Graceville community,once again, I am excited to
connect with you through ourpodcast.
What a wonderful time it hasbeen.
I mean, just a few weeks ago,we celebrated reaching over 100
downloads, that's downloads whoknows how many listeners and
(00:45):
viewers.
So I just want to take a momentto acknowledge our Heavenly
Father.
If you're listening today andthis is your first time welcome
to Graceville Community.
We are a location that's allabout building community for
those in the kingdom of God, soI want to remind you and I
probably will remind you againtowards the end that if you're
seeking community, no matterwhere you are globally, we have
(01:09):
partners that we will love toconnect you with.
You are not meant to do lifealone.
That being said, I have someonesuper special to me that allows
me not to do life alone, and soI'm so excited to introduce you
to our guest today life alone.
And so I'm so excited tointroduce you to our guest today
(01:30):
.
I'm thrilled to haveconversation with a friend, so
let me say y'all.
I just have to pause because,let me say, when I say not do
life alone, there's a differencewhen you have people in your
life that you find yourselfconsistently pouring out to,
which is good, but we are madeto be poured out and poured into
(01:52):
.
And I just want to say thisguest is the ultimate encourager
, and I couldn't start her biowithout letting you know that,
champion of champions, she is anencourager.
I love her spirit, I love thefire that she brings in whatever
room she's into.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So here we go, y'all, here we go.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I had to say that and I love you dearly and I want to
say thank you for that.
So today we have Miss Onyx.
Onyx is from Westerly RhodeIsland, but she grew up in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(02:29):
She moved to Fort Worth twoyears ago to attend a church
here that she longed to follow,and let me say y'all that's my
church too.
That is my church and that'show I get to do life with Onyx,
and that's how I get to do lifewith Onyx.
She is 45, still single, buthas been working on who God has
(02:49):
called her to be.
She is happy that she hasn'tyet been married.
She worked in tech or medicalworld most of her life and
served people through healthcareindustry.
Her identity is that of achampion, not because she's best
at anything or all things, butbecause she loves to champion
(03:13):
people.
That's what Jesus called her tobe, and he is the best coach
that anyone can ask for.
So help me welcome my lovingfriend Ani.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Welcome today.
Good morning, what's?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
up my girl.
Good morning.
All right, let's do this thing.
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Oh my gosh.
And by the way, thank you somuch for doing this and having
me on here.
I'm so excited.
I'm about to burst right out ofmy chair.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Well, we both might burst out together, right?
This might be a very new seed,right?
Oh, okay.
So I mentioned, and truly fromthe bottom of my heart I have
seen you champion for people.
I have seen you encouragepeople, even through a hard
season that our church hasnavigated through.
(04:07):
I've seen you encourage andsupport and be authentic and so
we don't always get a chancebecause sometimes we are running
in different spaces but I'veseen it through a social
presence, I've heard it throughpeople's testimony, and so I do
want to ask you, like, in thiswhole realm of champion, what
does a champion look like to you?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
You know, you might think it's like the greats,
because the word champion youthink Michael Jordan right, the
best of the best, the trophies,the honors, medals,
accomplishments, achievements,and I always thought that was
that too.
But if you go into thedictionary it really is the
first definition.
But the second definition isreally what God calls us to as
(04:52):
Jesus people, and that's tochampion for other people.
So that's to absolutely look atthe best qualities and the
passions in people and draw themout and call them out,
encourage them.
You know, we don't call peopleout, we call them up, and so
that's the best thing.
Of a champion is to be the verybest in making people the very
(05:15):
best and being passionate aboutthat, and so that's what a
champion is to me, that's whatJesus presents to me.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yes, I love that, and I mean the bottom line of that
really is in order to be achampion, I immediately, when
you said call the best out, Ithought of first Corinthians 13
love believes the best, and so,even regardless of what we may
see in the physical aspect, Ithink encouraging people being a
champion is really also lookingat things through the spiritual
(05:45):
eyes and encouraging them forwhat you may not see in the
present today, but what you'recalling them into, and so I
absolutely love that.
I'm like that is love.
It's love believing the best insomeone, and so I would say
that you know, as you war forchampion and I see you do social
posts about you know being achampion.
(06:05):
I acknowledge you to be achampion simply because you are
exactly doing that thing You'rebelieving the best and
encouraging others and warringwith them to be the best.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
In that Praise God, because if that's the fruit
people are seeing, that'samazing.
Yes absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Which is a fruit right?
Love, joy.
I see you in joy all the time,y'all, y'all.
Onyx has the most joy, and evenfirst thing in the morning.
I'm not going to lie, that'sthe area the Lord is working
with us.
Sometimes we be at the churchand you know we might be
starting a meeting at 8.15 inthe morning.
Y'all, I need that coffee cupwith me.
I'm not necessarily so full ofthe normal joy and Onyx comes in
(06:50):
.
They're like, yeah, guys, let'sgo.
And I'm like, oh, wake up, wakeup, nicole.
I love it, love it.
How did you start to seeyourself as a champion?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Oh, first of all, that was like polar opposite of
anything that I ever thought Iwould be or God would call me to
be, because you know, I grew upfeeling like I was mediocre.
I didn't think I was good atanything.
You know, we didn't grow upwith a lot of money.
My mom worked two jobs and youknow we just grew up like
average.
And then you know, there wasstuff in my background and
brokenness.
And you know, as you get olderand trial by fire more fire,
(07:32):
more trials you learn how to dostuff the wrong way and I was
not following the Lord at alland so just to even even take a
step forward was the wrongchoices most of the time.
Just to even take a stepforward was the wrong choices
most of the time.
And so when I finally did getinto church and I really started
seeing the Lord for who he was,at one point the funniest thing
(07:54):
I was homesick one day and badstomach bug and I watched this
movie on rugby and I'm like Idon't even know what rugby is,
but it just the storylinesounded good.
So I said I'm just going towatch this and the kids are punk
the whole movie and abouthalfway through, the coach is
like look, I want you to be thecaptain of the team and the kids
.
He just cannot believe it.
(08:14):
And and girl, I will not cryLike.
I can watch Hallmark movies allday and I will not shed a tear,
but you, you put me in a goodunderdog movie and I ball.
So I was watching this and I wascrying so hard I had to pause
the movie and all of a suddenyou know how they say that your
life flashes before your eyes.
Well, that's exactly like whathappened.
But I saw all these greatmoments in sports.
(08:35):
You know I grew up with sports.
I love basketball especially.
I saw all these moments in myhead of champions and greatness.
And the Lord just said to myheart I called you to be a
champion.
And I'm like who is he talkingto?
I'm like do you know me?
Like I'm mediocre, I'm messedup, I'm broken.
You know I?
I don't have anything valid ofthat.
And he said you are called achampion, champions.
(08:57):
And so obviously that was notsomething that was cultivated
overnight.
I didn't get this massivedownload in one thing, but I
just started testing it out alittle bit, putting quotes on
Facebook and stuff, and overtime he's cultivated that really
into a champion mindset andmentality for me.
That's my identity in.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Christ.
Yes, as you were speaking ofthat, I just thought about how
that works hand in hand withjust evangelism, with reaching
out to those that are lost ormay not even come into place
with their identity in Christ.
How would you connect whatbeing a champion and really
warring for people to be inrelation with evangelism?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, because most people don't see themselves as
anything great.
They don't think that they cando anything.
They see, you know, presidentsof Fortune 500 companies, or
they see great basketball stars,or you know all of these things
, and they think to themselveswell, I can never be that.
You know, I'm just astay-at-home mom.
Or you know, I'm just a, I'mretired and you know, I live in
(10:06):
a community with elderly peopleand I can't do anything big for
God.
And and God is like he's like,pick up my, my word.
Do you see the people that isin there?
There is no great people inthere, and if there's great
people in there, those areusually the ones God is like.
Don't be like them, you know.
And so for me and for fortelling people about the Lord is
he wants the grubby fishermen,right?
(10:27):
He wants the shepherd with thesheep.
He wants the woman who didn'tthink that she could be anything
but just followed hermother-in-law to help to go pick
crops.
I mean, he wants those kind ofpeople.
He wants the ones that wouldnever think that they could make
anything of themselves.
And truly, nicole, I mean, ifyou look at people who have done
(10:47):
something that really makes animpact in the world.
It's usually from a place ofpain, yes, places of things
where they didn't think thatthey could do anything.
Those are the stories peopleresonate with, not the guy that
went to you know PhD this andnever had a blemish on his
record, but the ones that foughtthrough grit.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And that's, that's what a champion is.
They rise through that Right,absolutely.
You know what I think about myown story and the passion and
the things that I do like itcomes from the place of pain,
right.
It comes from the loss of thechild.
It comes from the turmoil withtheir marriage.
It comes from the turmoil ofeven just figuring out my
identity and my place.
It comes from turmoil and beingraised in the church and doing
ministry all of my life.
It comes from.
(11:29):
All of that is where it reallyled to a passion that led to me
walking into the things that Godcalled me to do, to exactly be
that a champion for someone else, to let someone know like hey,
you're not crazy, like you'renot crazy, this can be rough,
(11:50):
but you can come out of it, youcan overcome it with Christ
Jesus.
You know, even as we talk aboutthat, I think about the story
of the rich young ruler and oneof the things that over time I
recognize and I can't remember.
One time I was reading it andwe may know the story of the
rich young ruler and for ourlisteners I will put it in the
(12:10):
show notes.
Actually, let me not do thaty'all.
I'm gonna pause and give youthe exact chapter that you could
go to.
Let me not do that.
Let me do it right here.
So, mark, and actually I'mgoing to say Matthew.
(12:30):
So of course you can find it inall the gospels, but I'm going
to say Matthew 16, or Matthew 19, verse 16.
And so in it, the rich youngruler.
I'm going to give you mysynopsis here, right?
So, the rich young ruler.
He comes to Jesus and he sayshey, good teacher you're.
(12:50):
And the first thing that stoodout to me was okay, he called
Jesus a good teacher.
But the interesting thing wasthe response that Jesus gave him
.
Because then Jesus said why doyou call me good?
And I'm thinking what are youtalking about, jesus?
Like you're Jesus, like whoelse?
If you're not good, lord, onlyhelp us.
(13:12):
Like, why would you give thatresponse?
And then Jesus furthers to sayno one is good, but one that is
God.
And I think about that so oftenwhen I run into people that are
struggling with identity orfeeling like they're unworthy.
I'm like you know, jesushimself said like no one is good
(13:33):
, only God.
And he didn't even allow likethis man to come to him and say
you are good.
Like he said no, which thereality is.
None of us are good, we are allin our rags, right, like we are
all a mess.
It is only through therighteousness of Jesus Christ
(13:54):
that we can even call ourselvesrighteous under him, right.
And so, even as you go furtherdown with the rich young ruler
like he, the way the story goeshe tells him, like no one is
good.
The rich young ruler isbasically his question was how
does he enter eternal life, howdoes he enter heaven?
And Jesus tell him like inorder to do you must do these
(14:16):
things.
He says you, you shall notmurder, you shall not commit
adultery, which, as a key pointI would like to say, if you look
at those things, those are allthings that are outward sins yes
and so he tells him thosethings.
And then Jesus comes back andsays or the man says, hey, I've
done all those things.
Like I'm, I've done thosethings.
And he says what do I stilllack?
(14:37):
Like, what do I need to stillget into heaven?
And then Jesus says if you wantto be perfect and I think so
many times we focus on like that, the rich young ruler, jesus
tells you want to be perfect, gosell all your things and follow
me.
And the rich young ruler walksaway sorrowful, like he had many
possessions.
I can't do that, and I think wefocus so much on him not
(14:59):
selling anything.
But when we look at Jesus firstsaid no one is good.
But then he says if you want tobe perfect and I'm like there's
a, there's a word, word, playthere, right, like, if you want
to be perfect, go do this.
And we see that the gentlemancould not do it.
As an example too.
(15:20):
We are not going to be perfect.
We go from glory to glory.
Absolutely.
Now you should be improving, weshould be improving.
We go from glory to glory, butthat perfection is when we reach
that eternal space.
And so, as you talk aboutchampion and encouraging people
and pulling them out of theiridentity.
(15:40):
Stages like what does achampion's legacy look like to
you?
Because the rich young ruler,his legacy was very much tied to
his possessions.
But what does a legacy for achampion look like to you?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Well, you know, like I said, I'm a big basketball fan
and Kobe Bryant died on my 40thbirthday.
How rude, you know.
I mean, like you look atlegacies like that and it's,
those are tangible things.
Like you can see trophies onwalls, you can see plaques on
walls, retired jerseys and thosekinds of things.
(16:15):
But, but when we're a championfor Christ, our legacy is the
fruit that we're passing down toother people.
So it's, it's not a matter ofjust saying, oh, you know, onyx
was so nice or she wasencouraging, or you know,
whatever it's, it's a matter ofsaying she taught me God's word,
she pointed me back to Jesus ina very unique way and I I want
(16:38):
to highlight that part beingunique because we sometimes we
try to model who we are aftersomeone else, because they seem
to have, you know, more of whatwe think we should have.
But God created us all uniquelyand he wants us to be that.
And so, for a champion, youyou're always pointing people
back to the master coach.
So for a champion, you you'realways pointing people back to
the master coach, right, alwaysback to Jesus, always where it
(17:00):
should go.
But then you, you can leave alegacy that says you know, this
person encountered me on my pathand they showed me some unique
skills and some unique giftingsthat I didn't even know I had in
me and they pull that out of meand because of that, you know,
I can step on those buildingblocks that they gave me and
then that person then can do thesame for other people.
(17:22):
So it's a legacy that neverstops going.
You know, we think about Paulin the Bible.
Paul doesn't know I mean, maybehe does now but you know, paul
probably never knew at thatmoment when he was writing those
letters billions and billionsand billions of people were
going to be quoting him, youknow, and he was just getting
that download from God.
So you know it really is notonly our, our gift to be able to
(17:45):
do that, but really is ourresponsibility, because God
hands us his word in a way, andthen we have to take the things
inside of us and then pass italong.
We can't just bury it fromwhere it's at Right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Absolutely.
I mean, you mentioned Paul andI'm like Paul is the man that
I'm like.
Oh, what did Paul say?
What did Paul do?
Right?
And so, even when I think aboutPaul, I think about Philippians,
chapter three, and how he talksabout like hey, yeah, like I
was circumcised on earth day,meaning that his family followed
(18:18):
the law, right.
So in those times, culturally,like because his family followed
the law, because he was part ofthe Roman, like he was
considered prestige.
It was almost like in this, inthis worldly sense, in this
Roman sense, like he perceivedhe had everything that you
should strive for.
Yet in Philippians 3, heessentially says like I have had
(18:41):
to forget all those things ofthe past and press forward
towards the mark of Jesus Christ, which, even as we talk about
again, just identity and whereyou believe you are because of
maybe your past or because ofthe mess you're in, is not what
defines you.
And I think about all thethings like Paul literally
persecuted Christians and he hadto make a daily choice to put
(19:03):
that behind him and say I'mgoing to walk in the new
creation with Christ.
I'm going to press forwardtowards the mark of this eternal
thing, right.
And when I think about that.
I'm like he was definitely,definitely, like you said,
definitely a champion, um,pushing for that eternal thing
rather than focusing on thethings that materialistically
(19:24):
are earthly.
He had already achieved if hewent by the world roman
standards of that time.
Yeah, yeah, definitely, okay.
So I always like to like, whenI come in contact with people
that I see and believe are, likeman, you have a cause, like you
(19:45):
are pushing it Right.
And because, again, my ownexperience, I know that the
things that I am most passionateabout in the kingdom of God for
sure has come through some pain.
It has come through meovercoming particular areas
where I'm like I don't wantanyone else to go through this
the way I did.
How can I help you not be alonein this?
(20:07):
How can I help you know thatJesus is here with you in this?
And so when I think about that,I'm curious like what is your
passion?
What's your passion and whatled to that?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Well, people are my passion.
That really is I love people.
That's, you know, our church'slogo is we're all about people
and I'm like, hey, you stolethat from me, that's mine.
But I love people and it's nota conditional kind of love, it
(20:39):
really is.
Even when people have bad days,even people are not kind or you
you have to do life with, withcertain behaviors, you know,
even at that I still love them.
I can't, I cannot help it andand sometimes that gets me in
trouble because people are like,oh, you know, but but I do.
(21:01):
And so, helping people to findthat, like I love to ask
questions when I'm with people,I am like the question
manufacturer.
I want to know everything aboutyou, especially if it's like
the first time we're going outfor coffee or dinner, what is it
about you?
What?
What's like the first timewe're going out for coffee or
dinner, what is it about you?
What's your life, what's yourhistory, what's your passion?
Like I'm always askingquestions because then I get to
(21:24):
a point where I'm like so youhave a passion for this, and
then my next thought is how canI support you in that?
How can I pray for you in that?
Is there something tangiblethat I can do to help you in
that.
And I I follow up with peopleand so I think I think that, but
also feeling like I didn'talways have what I needed.
You know, through throughdifferent stages of my life, you
(21:46):
know I needed guidance andmentorship and love at certain
parts of my life when it wascritical, and I didn't have it.
And so I'm not Jesus right.
So I'm not going to step in andsay, hey, you know, look at me
I'm.
I just want to say, you know, Iknow a guy, you know like
you're going through struggle.
(22:06):
Let me show you, let me let metalk to him.
And to tell people authenticallyI am.
So, if I could pick one wordabout it is authenticity to tell
people I am absolutely notthere, I'm on a journey, I have
no success.
There's no PhD after my name,there's no um, you know,
accredited accolades, becausethere's not, there is a mess in
(22:29):
progress.
So that's why I want to helppeople is because I want to be a
lighthouse on that journey, notnecessarily to walk within the
whole journey Sometimes you do,sometimes you don't but just to
be a light on that journey, tosay, Ooh, in that place I got
some warmth, I got some comfort,I got some encouragement, and
then they can move on with theirjourney.
That's, that's what I want todo for them.
(22:50):
Hey, let's take a quick breakto tell you about Grace-Filled
Community.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Grace-Filled Community is an organization
that focuses on the primaryprinciples of the Church of Acts
, centered around buildingcommunities that impact the
Kingdom of God.
We do this through three coreextensions.
The kingdom of God we do thisthrough three core extensions.
One, graceville Church Network,where we empower churches and
(23:25):
nonprofits for God's success andgrowth.
We offer tailored growthstrategies rooted in biblical
principles that will help youexpand your reach and impact
your communities.
Just like the early church, wefocus not on attendance and
numbers, but on discipleship,providing leadership teachings
and trainings to today'sministry leaders.
Our second extension is Projectof the Grace Field, where we
(23:48):
provide biblical counseling,mentorship, workshops and events
that are dedicated toencouraging individuals to live
a life filled with grace andpurpose, rooted in the
understanding that all havefallen short and are a working
project.
Let us help the individuals inyour community grow as they walk
(24:10):
with God and experience thefullness of his love.
Our third extension isGrace-Filled Business.
Grace-filled Business is hereto help small faith-based
business owners develop theirbusiness in a way that honors
God, that brings increase andallows them to pour back into
his kingdom, through marketplaceministry and financing his
(24:31):
kingdom.
We do this through our 15 yearsof experience of virtual
administrative work, digitalmarketing, business development
and consulting Welcome back.
Yes, man, I love that, Even whenI think about like what we do
within Gracefield community.
Our biblical counselingcomponent is called Project of
(24:54):
the Grace Field and it's reallybecause we all are a working
project.
None of us have arrived rightBecause, again, scripture says
we go from glory to glory untilwe enter that place.
So if you're still here onearth, if no one hasn't told you
I am going to tell you, youstill have work to do, you have
not arrived right and so we'reall on this journey.
(25:14):
Yeah, we may all be indifferent stages and I also like
to say it doesn't depend onyour time of walking with Christ
.
I think sometimes there's thisnotion that, oh, I've been saved
for 20 years, or I've beensaved for 40 years, that doesn't
negate the person that's beensaved for two months.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (25:36):
doing with what you've been given?
Yes, okay, so I think of people.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I'm sorry, oh no, go, please, please.
And I just think that God putsus uniquely in places where
we're at, you know, in ourbusinesses and our, in our
volunteering in our community,in our churches, even where we
have at, you know, in ourbusinesses, in our volunteering
in our community, in ourchurches, even where we have
coffee.
You know, we're strategicallyplaced in a moment and we are
made to make an impact.
(26:05):
I don't ever like to go intoany place of business and not
look at it and recognize atleast one person.
You know, if I'm walking downdown an aisle, you know I like
your scarf.
Or you know, and sometimespeople just they're like
somebody saw me, you know, andthey they'll, they'll smile.
Or you know, after the lady atthe dollar store has been,
(26:27):
person after person after person, you know, and hey, you know,
thank you so much for being here, because y'all say my life on a
regular basis.
It really is just just that itdoesn't always have to be big
things.
We always think that it has tobe big and in lights, and we've
got to have a five-year plan forit and all of that.
But but God works in the now,he really does.
(26:48):
He works in the in the past.
He works in the now and heworks in the future, but he, he
has us working in the present.
That's where he's at, so heknows the whole story, beginning
from end, and we have to walkthat out every day.
It's important that we'rethinking about those things.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yes, man, onyx, you are speaking my heart, you are
talking my language.
I'm like that is exactly theway that I choose to navigate
life.
When I see someone I'm lookingto, I'm literally looking and
waiting, like Holy Spirit.
How can I encourage them?
And, like you said, sometimesit's just saying like hey, I
like your earrings, hey, I likeyour shirt, like, hey, you look
(27:24):
really nice in this.
Right, just that simple word ofencouragement, and it doesn't
have to be all super spiritual.
I'm not coming with them likeokay, let's go to Philippians 2.
This right, it's justacknowledging them as an
individual and showing them thatsomeone has taken the time to
acknowledge them.
I mean, in the world we live intoday, especially in I call it
(27:46):
the microwave sense of our world, right, sometimes individuals
are so quick to I'm trying toget from one thing to the next,
one thing to the next, that wedon't pause to acknowledge the
very thing that's right in frontof us.
Yeah, or very person right infront of us.
Our listeners know that mydefinition, and if you know it,
(28:07):
say it with me.
If this is your first time,then here we go.
But yes, this is Nicole Cater,so you're not going to find this
in the dictionary.
This is Nicole Cater'sdefinition of grace, and my
definition is that understandingand giving empathy to the.
What you're seeing to today, thereaction you're seeing today
(28:29):
from an individual, is not basedon their now, but it's based on
their past experience that hasshaped what we see today, and
the reality is like youmentioned.
My number one example is thatcashier.
It's that cashier that has hadpeople left and right come
through, people that don't havespeed, people that are on their
(28:49):
phones while she's like how canI help you with something else?
People that are rude becausethis price maybe was different
than what they thought.
And then I get to her and she'slike hi, here you go.
She doesn't know me, she has noreason to be rude to me, right?
Like it's not because of me.
There's some past experiencethat has shaped what I'm seeing
today and I need to be able tosit with all the fruits of the
(29:13):
spirit because that's theevidence that the spirit is
within me and extend grace toher so that I can be loving, so
that I can be kind, so that Ican be gentle, so that I can
encourage and I can be merciful.
Like in all those things.
It's only by understanding andgiving empathy to what I'm
seeing today.
This isn't about me, and I knowI tend to say that and
(29:34):
sometimes it comes off mebecause I'm like it's not even
about you, but really it's not.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
We're human.
Yes, yes, I think anytime.
Anybody that's been around youyou know for for a moment, but
anybody that's been around youknows that you live from the
overflow of God's grace.
It is, it just pours out of you, and so anybody that gets near
you, you know, I hug on you, Ijust rub up against that,
(30:03):
anointing a little bit, you know, and but, but it really is, and
that's that's where we shouldlive.
We should live from, from theoverflow of God's grace.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Yes, thank you.
I'm like I'm so excited.
This God's grace, yes, thankyou.
I'm like I'm so excited.
This is one of the reasons I'mso excited for our podcast and
I'm like I just knew I'm likethis is going to be a
conversation that's so sweet tomy heart because it's about
people, and you and I both sayit the same way like love people
, like I love God, and I lovepeople because they're his right
(30:33):
, they're his, and what aprivilege it is to do.
Every good and perfect giftcome from above.
You know, even scripture sayschildren are a blessing, like we
are children that grew up.
So we're still a blessing, westill are.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
We still are.
Need parenting still.
Yes, yes, oh yes, especially indriving.
You learn a lot about gracewhen you drive.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Definitely, and especially around here in Texas.
Like I, you know, I'm grew upin California, been in Texas now
for about seven years and, um,people always talk about
California driving but I liveout, like towards the country,
right, so I have to pass thecity and I live out towards the
country and there's a lot of the18 wheelers that are on these
(31:24):
country roads and y'all.
I'm in the stage of teachingthe 16 year old how to drive and
like, if somebody have advice,help me, because I'm like I want
to teach you, and he very much,so it's like a rule follower,
right, like he's that oldest kidsyndrome, right, so he's like a
rule follower.
He's like the speed limit says70.
Well, actually, because we arein a country, the speed limit
(31:47):
says 75 and I'm like but do yousee this truck running up on us
at 85?
Like I would like to speed upsome, please look oh, brain for
you on that.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
That, that's, that's an era.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Oh man, yes, it is I y'all.
There've been times that I'mlike Lord, is this the day?
Oh, thank you, thank you, we'rehere, but no, he has been doing
fantastic.
I mean, it is a journey andthat's the thing is.
You talked about the now, right, there's so many things that
happen in our day to day.
That is an opportunity to sharechrist.
(32:25):
It's just an opportunity.
It doesn't have to be in thefour walls of a church building.
It doesn't have to be, you know, with a bible right in front of
us.
It doesn't have to be through aspecial song, like it is
through us.
Yeah, it is us.
His spirit lives inside of usand so we're sharing him in how
(32:48):
we treat people, how we love ourpeople, how we express him to
others.
Like we know that the saying islike the greatest testimony is
the life you live.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yeah, and I think too that you know one thing I
learned I took a leadershipclass last year and one thing I
just got from that class notthat it was said, but we had a
lot of women in there that wereintroverts and you know, those
of us who are comfortablegetting up and speaking in front
of people was like, oh, youhave to do a presentation and
I'm like, okay, my biggestthought is what am I going to
(33:20):
talk on?
Their biggest thoughts was howam I going to get bravery to get
up there and speak?
And then when they did, I was Imean the bomb just dropped.
I was wow, you know, that voicewas in there, that that heart,
that expression of God was inyou and you.
You were saying sometimes Irealized that those who have the
(33:41):
quietest personalities reallyhave the loudest voice.
So that's just my encouragementto any of your listeners is you
may be somebody that you'relike I am so scared to talk in
front of people and all that,but you have a voice.
I mean people right now andthey do podcasts like this or
they do different things thatGod has a way to use every
(34:02):
expression, even if you didn'thave a voice or even if you had
a you know like you couldn'thear or you couldn't see, or you
know one of your senses was notthere, god not only will
compensate for that, butsometimes he gives you a greater
gift in that sense because theother one isn't there.
And so, you know, we all canuse what we have to express God,
(34:25):
and he wants us to do that, andhe even says that in the Bible.
Sometimes the background peopleare the ones that he loves on,
sometimes more because they'rein the background.
So what he says is you're seen.
And so that I think that's myheart too is I always want to
make people seen.
I always want to make sure thatnobody you know gets left out.
(34:46):
You know they.
There's not a line for to talkto the person that cleans the
bathroom.
You know what I mean.
The line is always for the guyon the platform.
But the one that makes me mostcomfortable when I go to a
conference is the one who'scleaning the bathroom.
Yes, if I don't have twominutes to go to the bathroom
and feel comfortable, and it'smessy and dirty, I'm not going
(35:07):
to be happy the rest of the time, right?
Yes, you know, you got torepresent and you got to be
seeing those people because theyare some of God's greatest
gifts and sometimes they'resmarter than I am.
Most of the time they'resmarter than I am.
People just don't ask, you know, yes absolutely, I think about
all the time.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
So y'all, in our church we do have a cafe area
and I think about one lady I wasgoing to shout her name, ellen,
she is phenomenal.
But I was having I already saidy'all down some mornings.
I'm still trying to get thatenergy flowing.
Okay, I was having one of thosemornings.
It was an early morning andsome things had already happened
(35:47):
throughout that scope of justserving others.
And I remember coming and allof a sudden I mean her not
knowing anything about mymorning she said have you ever
had a man of chai?
And I'm like what's a man ofchai?
I never heard of that.
So here's a tip, y'all, if youare in Texas, and I will just
(36:09):
say, if you happen to come toGateway Church, especially South
Lake Campus, yes, that is myhome church.
I am very proud because that'swhere God has me and I'm being
obedient to him.
So I'm happy to be there.
If you come there and you wanta good drink, ask them for a
manna, chai tea, hot or ice,it's great.
But so she said, have you evertried a manna?
(36:32):
And I'm like no, and shedoesn't even know.
I was almost at the point oftears that day of just feeling
like what is happening, and shesays I'm gonna make you a manna
chai.
So I'm like, okay, she gives methe manna chai best drink ever,
y'all best what.
(36:54):
And with that I'm like, even inher giving it I'm like manna,
manna.
Lord, you know, you know andyou provide for this moment.
You provided manna from heavenbecause that's what they needed
and you knew y'all, I neededthat manna chai tea and lord
(37:14):
knew that.
He was going to speak to methrough that chai tea in that
very moment to encourage me andwhat was happening in the
circumstance.
She's like I'm just makingcoffee, but in her suggestion
and her obedience of being therelet's just start with that her
obedience of being there and nottaking for granted what she
(37:37):
does she gave me a drink thaty'all, that is my go-to drink.
I get it.
If you see me at the cafe, youknow what I'm getting.
It's a man of chai, okay.
And it really spoke to me andit really encouraged me to press
through a moment that I wasstruggling with and in that, the
very thing that made mesomebody made of seeing me on
the platform or me teaching aclass, or me standing up front
(38:01):
doing something.
It started with her encouragingme with that cup of chai tea,
so she was the one that I'm likey'all should be giving claps
for her Like cause.
I may not have pushed throughto show up for this class and
teach this today if she hadn'tgiven me that bed of chai.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Well, and you know the word inHebrew, the word chai, right,
chai is life.
So really, she gave you breadand life and life.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yes, so him, yeah, yeah.
So okay, onyx, if you have nothad the man of chai, I'm like
next service, I'm going for it?
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Yes, do it.
I'm like, come find me.
I'm going to go for it to be ablessing to me for Savannah
Saturday.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
I'm going, yeah, all right, yes, oh gosh, I love this
.
This has been such a great time.
Before we go, cause I just Imean, I have a list of questions
, but before we go, I do want toask you like servant leader,
servant leadership.
I feel like that is somethingthat both you and I just really
(39:08):
take hold of.
I know both of us are big, likeJohn Maxwell, like readers and
and kind of all into servantleadership.
So I do want to ask you, in thescope of being a champion,
right, how do you see servingleadership fitting into being
exactly that, like being achampion?
Speaker 2 (39:30):
I would.
I would not want anybody tocome to me that didn't have some
kind of grit with somethingLike I said.
It's wonderful when, whenpeople just know how to do
something and they've read amanual or read a book, or they
can just do something.
But it's so much more to mewhen somebody says this is my
(39:50):
story and because of this I'mserving, and so servant
leadership is just that.
In other words, you come from aplace of I shouldn't even be a
leader, I don't have all thedon't have all the
qualifications maybe, or even ifyou do have qualifications, you
know that you wouldn't havegotten there without God.
You, you know that some part ofyou is messed up and has been
(40:15):
messed up or was messed up, andso there's an immediately
disqualification for any of us.
It doesn't matter who we are,because we have a sin-based
nature, and so when you servepeople, it's not that you really
earn the right to be a leader,but I think it gives you much
more of a standpoint of I'vebeen in the mud and I'm going to
(40:38):
be in the mud with you.
So you're not looking down onpeople saying you will do this
and I need you to do this.
You're saying I'm going to getin the mud with you and we're
going to do this together andI'm going to take responsibility
for the outcome of this, but atthe end of the day, my place is
below you.
I may have a title above you,but my place is below you.
(40:58):
And Jesus does that.
He washes our feet right.
He shows us that.
So I think that that's thegreatest example is that, look
you, you might have theknowledge and you might have all
the accreditation, all thatstuff to be able to do what you
do.
But if you are not willing toget down on that playing field
with your people and say I'mgoing to do what I'm asking you
(41:19):
to do, or I'm going to cry withyou through this, or I'm going
to be there for you, then reallyyou come from a place of I'm
the man on the mountain and Idon't have anybody around me.
And who wants to be aroundsomebody like that?
You want people to be loving,but again, at the end of the day
, it points people back to Jesus.
And if I'm not a kind of aleader that's going to say I'm
(41:43):
made in the image of my leader,the leader, my Lord then how can
I tell you what to do.
I have no right, I have noplace to be able to do that, so
that's why it's so important tome.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Right, absolutely, I think, in all the areas of the
spaces of leadership.
One of the things that I alwayssay is, like the higher the
title actually means the lowerand the closer I am to the
bottom of your feet.
Yeah, because I am literallyhere to serve, like you, and I
(42:15):
think of Jesus washing feet likethe higher up you go, it
technically should be the moreand more that you are opening
the doors to serving.
Yes, and so when I think aboutall the components of leadership
, and even in the sense of whenI look at leaders that are
struggling to get people to jumpon board or to do their part,
(42:37):
my question always is where areyou leading from?
Because when individuals seethat you have a passion, that
you're in this for the rightcause, right, and you give a
vision even scripture tells uslike write the vision so that
others may run with it.
Right, like when you do that,they'll jump on board and they
(43:02):
will, like you will beencouraging a task versus
demanding or even really asking.
It's more of an encouragementof like hey, I believe you're
empowered to do this, can youtake care of this?
Yes, and they take thatopportunity to say yes, I'm
going to own it.
You know, one of the things,even in servant leadership, that
(43:23):
I've learned over time is alsothis ability to trust and I
think that's a part ofconversation that is left out of
leadership at times is onewe're trusting God in the things
that he has placed us to lead.
At that point, right, and sothat's one of the key parts is
you don't want to be leadingsomeplace that you're not called
(43:44):
to lead.
Yes, and that's why there's aaspect of having to examine your
heart and make sure that whatyou are doing is the thing that
he's called you to do for thatseason.
Yes, and so when you're leadingfrom a place that you're called
to in that obedience, that'sthe thing that drives your
leadership aspect.
(44:04):
That obedience, that's thething that drives your
leadership aspect.
But the fact of trust andtrusting Lord that you called me
here, so you're going to giveme the tools, the resources, the
people you are going to provide, because this is where you
place me, not I place myself.
Yes, and then the secondcomponent in that is trust those
that you're leading is trustthose that you're leading Not to
(44:24):
be a what would we call it Likea helicopter leader, right, but
a leader that, like, I'mempowering you and I'm going to
trust you to do this, and areyou going to make mistakes?
Absolutely, because we're human, as high as the title you go,
you're going to make mistakestoo, right?
And so in our humanity, aremistakes going to be made
Absolutely?
(44:44):
But I'm trusting that this isGod's first of all and that I
can trust you and empower you tocarry something out without
being a helicopter over it,because, really, when you're
helicoptering, you're saying itonly I can do it and only my way
is the way that works.
Yep, yep, when all reality,it's only God's way and I'm just
(45:06):
a vessel that has a privilegeto be used by him, right?
Speaker 2 (45:10):
yes, and helicopters flatten people.
They get too close to you.
You know you don't want to dothat either.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
So so so true, very true, yeah oh my goodness.
I have absolutely loved ourtime on itix.
I knew I would.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
It's been amazing.
Man, if y'all get a chance tocome down to Gateway, man, I'll
hug on you.
I love people.
I told you so you're going toget hugged, you know.
It's just.
It's a joy and excitementreally to serve the Lord.
And, nicole, thank you so muchfor what you're doing, because
without community, I mean unityis, in that word, right, and
(45:46):
that's so important.
And we're finding now, in thesedays of AI and all that kind of
stuff, that you know, thingscan get dark pretty quick in
certain areas and we need eachother, we need humans, we need
interaction and contact, and youcannot do better than when
you're putting Jesus andcommunity together.
It really is foundational, it'scrucial, I think, to the world
(46:08):
we're living in.
So I just want to say thank youfor all the work that you're
doing and may it continue togrow fruit.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Yes, yes, oh, thank you, thank you.
Let me tell you it definitelyis a journey.
Talk about being places whereyou're called to, because most,
most don't know like.
This podcast was not somethingI wanted to do.
First of all, why would I addsomething extra on my plate?
Why would I add something else?
And the reality of even?
That's why we can't judgesomeone that maybe has a
(46:38):
platform space, because I liketo say, those that are often
used by God in a platform spaceare the people that don't want
the platform.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
I have fought this podcast for just about a year
ago I fought this podcast and Ifinally out of it truly in a
sense of frustration, like fineLord, yes, right, yeah, right,
(47:08):
yeah.
But in that I will tell you ithas done more for me and my soul
that I don't know about thelisteners and I'm sure I pray
every recording that it impactsyou, but every time we do a
podcast it has encouraged me, ithas been something for me in it
, and so I just love how ourHeavenly Father is so sweet that
he's like when you do the thingfor me, I got you, I know what
(47:30):
you need, yeah, and so thank youfor just acknowledging the work
happening here at GracevilleCommunity.
Lord knows, I couldn't do itwithout the team that supports
me, but I'm also just so great,just so grateful for people like
you that jump on board andshare your story and share your
love for kingdom and what you'redoing to impact others, and so
(47:52):
I appreciate you, friend.
You have encouraged my hearttoday.
Hugs, girl hugs.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Yes, hugs, hugs, girl .
Speaker 1 (48:01):
Oh well, to our listeners, I do want to tell you
once again thank you for tuningin to Gracefield Community, as
always.
If you're seeking community,please you can email grow at
gracefieldcommunitycom and wewould be happy to connect you
with some community partnersthat we know are safe and that
we trust nearby you.
(48:22):
So if you're looking forcommunity, please reach out.
Onyx, I know that people havelistened to this and they're
like how do I stay in touch withthis girl?
I love her because I love you,so I know they do too.
So tell us how can we make sureto stay connected with all the
things and the encouragingchampion words that you have?
Speaker 2 (48:41):
I'm on Instagram and Facebook.
So, onyx Conklin, you justlooked me up by that.
So that's me, and I only postencouraging stuff.
So if you're looking fordiscouragement, you're going to
be in the wrong place.
Right, right, I hear you.
I only know how to love.
Speaker 1 (48:57):
Yes, yes, oh, I love that.
Well, what's in you definitelyflows out of you.
So, thank you, we will put, wewill definitely put Ony and
Instagram and the show notes soyou guys can click and be
connected.
I'm going to tell you you willbe encouraged by her Facebook
and her Instagram posts andyou'll get some sports education
there too.
Y'all, yeah, yes, oh.
(49:22):
Thanks again for tuning in.
We pray blessings over each ofyou and may you continue to walk
with the lord.
God bless.
Thank you for tuning in totoday's episode of graceville
community podcast.
We would like to invite you tovisit gracevillecommunitycom.
Graceville community is allabout doing church the way
(49:44):
Church of Acts did, using fivemain principles that we see in
the Book of Acts.
Sharing resources, as believerspooled their possessions and
resources to support those inneed, as we see in Acts 2.44.
2 44.
(50:08):
Through hospitality the earlyChristians practice hospitality
by opening their homes to others, as we see in Acts 2 and 46.
By financial aid the church inAntioch sent financial aid to
believers in Judea during a timeof famine, as described in Acts
11 and 29.
Prayer and encouragement theysupported each other through
(50:29):
prayer and encouragement, as wesee in Acts 4 and 24.
And finally, spiritual guidance.
The apostles and eldersprovided spiritual guidance and
teaching to help strengthen andbuild the community, as we see
in Acts 1530.
I would like to encourage you.
If any of those areas are areasin which you are in need or can
(50:54):
contribute, please reach out toGraceville Community.
We are working together acrossthe world with ministries and
individuals alike to help bringback the Church of Acts.
My name is Nicole Cater, your host, founder and
servant leader of GracevilleCommunity.
I want to thank you for tuningin to Graceville Community
Podcast.
This is a safe space, a placein which we just share stories
of how God has touchedindividuals' lives all across
the world and how they are nowimpacting the kingdom of God.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in.
Blessings to you.
Hello Graceville community,once again, I am excited to
connect with you through ourpodcast.
What a wonderful time it hasbeen.
I mean, just a few weeks ago,we celebrated reaching over 100
downloads, that's downloads whoknows how many listeners and
(00:45):
viewers.
So I just want to take a momentto acknowledge our Heavenly
Father.
If you're listening today andthis is your first time welcome
to Graceville Community.
We are a location that's allabout building community for
those in the kingdom of God, soI want to remind you and I
probably will remind you againtowards the end that if you're
seeking community, no matterwhere you are globally, we have
(01:09):
partners that we will love toconnect you with.
You are not meant to do lifealone.
That being said, I have someonesuper special to me that allows
me not to do life alone, and soI'm so excited to introduce you
to our guest today life alone.
And so I'm so excited tointroduce you to our guest today
(01:30):
.
I'm thrilled to haveconversation with a friend, so
let me say y'all.
I just have to pause because,let me say, when I say not do
life alone, there's a differencewhen you have people in your
life that you find yourselfconsistently pouring out to,
which is good, but we are madeto be poured out and poured into
(01:52):
.
And I just want to say thisguest is the ultimate encourager
, and I couldn't start her biowithout letting you know that,
champion of champions, she is anencourager.
I love her spirit, I love thefire that she brings in whatever
room she's into.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So here we go, y'all, here we go.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I had to say that and I love you dearly and I want to
say thank you for that.
So today we have Miss Onyx.
Onyx is from Westerly RhodeIsland, but she grew up in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(02:29):
She moved to Fort Worth twoyears ago to attend a church
here that she longed to follow,and let me say y'all that's my
church too.
That is my church and that'show I get to do life with Onyx,
and that's how I get to do lifewith Onyx.
She is 45, still single, buthas been working on who God has
(02:49):
called her to be.
She is happy that she hasn'tyet been married.
She worked in tech or medicalworld most of her life and
served people through healthcareindustry.
Her identity is that of achampion, not because she's best
at anything or all things, butbecause she loves to champion
(03:13):
people.
That's what Jesus called her tobe, and he is the best coach
that anyone can ask for.
So help me welcome my lovingfriend Ani.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Welcome today.
Good morning, what's?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
up my girl.
Good morning.
All right, let's do this thing.
I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Oh my gosh.
And by the way, thank you somuch for doing this and having
me on here.
I'm so excited.
I'm about to burst right out ofmy chair.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Well, we both might burst out together, right?
This might be a very new seed,right?
Oh, okay.
So I mentioned, and truly fromthe bottom of my heart I have
seen you champion for people.
I have seen you encouragepeople, even through a hard
season that our church hasnavigated through.
(04:07):
I've seen you encourage andsupport and be authentic and so
we don't always get a chancebecause sometimes we are running
in different spaces but I'veseen it through a social
presence, I've heard it throughpeople's testimony, and so I do
want to ask you, like, in thiswhole realm of champion, what
does a champion look like to you?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
You know, you might think it's like the greats,
because the word champion youthink Michael Jordan right, the
best of the best, the trophies,the honors, medals,
accomplishments, achievements,and I always thought that was
that too.
But if you go into thedictionary it really is the
first definition.
But the second definition isreally what God calls us to as
(04:52):
Jesus people, and that's tochampion for other people.
So that's to absolutely look atthe best qualities and the
passions in people and draw themout and call them out,
encourage them.
You know, we don't call peopleout, we call them up, and so
that's the best thing.
Of a champion is to be the verybest in making people the very
(05:15):
best and being passionate aboutthat, and so that's what a
champion is to me, that's whatJesus presents to me.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yes, I love that, and I mean the bottom line of that
really is in order to be achampion, I immediately, when
you said call the best out, Ithought of first Corinthians 13
love believes the best, and so,even regardless of what we may
see in the physical aspect, Ithink encouraging people being a
champion is really also lookingat things through the spiritual
(05:45):
eyes and encouraging them forwhat you may not see in the
present today, but what you'recalling them into, and so I
absolutely love that.
I'm like that is love.
It's love believing the best insomeone, and so I would say
that you know, as you war forchampion and I see you do social
posts about you know being achampion.
(06:05):
I acknowledge you to be achampion simply because you are
exactly doing that thing You'rebelieving the best and
encouraging others and warringwith them to be the best.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
In that Praise God, because if that's the fruit
people are seeing, that'samazing.
Yes absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Which is a fruit right?
Love, joy.
I see you in joy all the time,y'all, y'all.
Onyx has the most joy, and evenfirst thing in the morning.
I'm not going to lie, that'sthe area the Lord is working
with us.
Sometimes we be at the churchand you know we might be
starting a meeting at 8.15 inthe morning.
Y'all, I need that coffee cupwith me.
I'm not necessarily so full ofthe normal joy and Onyx comes in
(06:50):
.
They're like, yeah, guys, let'sgo.
And I'm like, oh, wake up, wakeup, nicole.
I love it, love it.
How did you start to seeyourself as a champion?
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Oh, first of all, that was like polar opposite of
anything that I ever thought Iwould be or God would call me to
be, because you know, I grew upfeeling like I was mediocre.
I didn't think I was good atanything.
You know, we didn't grow upwith a lot of money.
My mom worked two jobs and youknow we just grew up like
average.
And then you know, there wasstuff in my background and
brokenness.
And you know, as you get olderand trial by fire more fire,
(07:32):
more trials you learn how to dostuff the wrong way and I was
not following the Lord at alland so just to even even take a
step forward was the wrongchoices most of the time.
Just to even take a stepforward was the wrong choices
most of the time.
And so when I finally did getinto church and I really started
seeing the Lord for who he was,at one point the funniest thing
(07:54):
I was homesick one day and badstomach bug and I watched this
movie on rugby and I'm like Idon't even know what rugby is,
but it just the storylinesounded good.
So I said I'm just going towatch this and the kids are punk
the whole movie and abouthalfway through, the coach is
like look, I want you to be thecaptain of the team and the kids
.
He just cannot believe it.
(08:14):
And and girl, I will not cryLike.
I can watch Hallmark movies allday and I will not shed a tear,
but you, you put me in a goodunderdog movie and I ball.
So I was watching this and I wascrying so hard I had to pause
the movie and all of a suddenyou know how they say that your
life flashes before your eyes.
Well, that's exactly like whathappened.
But I saw all these greatmoments in sports.
(08:35):
You know I grew up with sports.
I love basketball especially.
I saw all these moments in myhead of champions and greatness.
And the Lord just said to myheart I called you to be a
champion.
And I'm like who is he talkingto?
I'm like do you know me?
Like I'm mediocre, I'm messedup, I'm broken.
You know I?
I don't have anything valid ofthat.
And he said you are called achampion, champions.
(08:57):
And so obviously that was notsomething that was cultivated
overnight.
I didn't get this massivedownload in one thing, but I
just started testing it out alittle bit, putting quotes on
Facebook and stuff, and overtime he's cultivated that really
into a champion mindset andmentality for me.
That's my identity in.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Christ.
Yes, as you were speaking ofthat, I just thought about how
that works hand in hand withjust evangelism, with reaching
out to those that are lost ormay not even come into place
with their identity in Christ.
How would you connect whatbeing a champion and really
warring for people to be inrelation with evangelism?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Well, because most people don't see themselves as
anything great.
They don't think that they cando anything.
They see, you know, presidentsof Fortune 500 companies, or
they see great basketball stars,or you know all of these things
, and they think to themselveswell, I can never be that.
You know, I'm just astay-at-home mom.
Or you know, I'm just a, I'mretired and you know, I live in
(10:06):
a community with elderly peopleand I can't do anything big for
God.
And and God is like he's like,pick up my, my word.
Do you see the people that isin there?
There is no great people inthere, and if there's great
people in there, those areusually the ones God is like.
Don't be like them, you know.
And so for me and for fortelling people about the Lord is
he wants the grubby fishermen,right?
(10:27):
He wants the shepherd with thesheep.
He wants the woman who didn'tthink that she could be anything
but just followed hermother-in-law to help to go pick
crops.
I mean, he wants those kind ofpeople.
He wants the ones that wouldnever think that they could make
anything of themselves.
And truly, nicole, I mean, ifyou look at people who have done
(10:47):
something that really makes animpact in the world.
It's usually from a place ofpain, yes, places of things
where they didn't think thatthey could do anything.
Those are the stories peopleresonate with, not the guy that
went to you know PhD this andnever had a blemish on his
record, but the ones that foughtthrough grit.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
And that's, that's what a champion is.
They rise through that Right,absolutely.
You know what I think about myown story and the passion and
the things that I do like itcomes from the place of pain,
right.
It comes from the loss of thechild.
It comes from the turmoil withtheir marriage.
It comes from the turmoil ofeven just figuring out my
identity and my place.
It comes from turmoil and beingraised in the church and doing
ministry all of my life.
It comes from.
(11:29):
All of that is where it reallyled to a passion that led to me
walking into the things that Godcalled me to do, to exactly be
that a champion for someone else, to let someone know like hey,
you're not crazy, like you'renot crazy, this can be rough,
(11:50):
but you can come out of it, youcan overcome it with Christ
Jesus.
You know, even as we talk aboutthat, I think about the story
of the rich young ruler and oneof the things that over time I
recognize and I can't remember.
One time I was reading it andwe may know the story of the
rich young ruler and for ourlisteners I will put it in the
(12:10):
show notes.
Actually, let me not do thaty'all.
I'm gonna pause and give youthe exact chapter that you could
go to.
Let me not do that.
Let me do it right here.
So, mark, and actually I'mgoing to say Matthew.
(12:30):
So of course you can find it inall the gospels, but I'm going
to say Matthew 16, or Matthew 19, verse 16.
And so in it, the rich youngruler.
I'm going to give you mysynopsis here, right?
So, the rich young ruler.
He comes to Jesus and he sayshey, good teacher you're.
(12:50):
And the first thing that stoodout to me was okay, he called
Jesus a good teacher.
But the interesting thing wasthe response that Jesus gave him
.
Because then Jesus said why doyou call me good?
And I'm thinking what are youtalking about, jesus?
Like you're Jesus, like whoelse?
If you're not good, lord, onlyhelp us.
(13:12):
Like, why would you give thatresponse?
And then Jesus furthers to sayno one is good, but one that is
God.
And I think about that so oftenwhen I run into people that are
struggling with identity orfeeling like they're unworthy.
I'm like you know, jesushimself said like no one is good
(13:33):
, only God.
And he didn't even allow likethis man to come to him and say
you are good.
Like he said no, which thereality is.
None of us are good, we are allin our rags, right, like we are
all a mess.
It is only through therighteousness of Jesus Christ
(13:54):
that we can even call ourselvesrighteous under him, right.
And so, even as you go furtherdown with the rich young ruler
like he, the way the story goeshe tells him, like no one is
good.
The rich young ruler isbasically his question was how
does he enter eternal life, howdoes he enter heaven?
And Jesus tell him like inorder to do you must do these
(14:16):
things.
He says you, you shall notmurder, you shall not commit
adultery, which, as a key pointI would like to say, if you look
at those things, those are allthings that are outward sins yes
and so he tells him thosethings.
And then Jesus comes back andsays or the man says, hey, I've
done all those things.
Like I'm, I've done thosethings.
And he says what do I stilllack?
(14:37):
Like, what do I need to stillget into heaven?
And then Jesus says if you wantto be perfect and I think so
many times we focus on like that, the rich young ruler, jesus
tells you want to be perfect, gosell all your things and follow
me.
And the rich young ruler walksaway sorrowful, like he had many
possessions.
I can't do that, and I think wefocus so much on him not
(14:59):
selling anything.
But when we look at Jesus firstsaid no one is good.
But then he says if you want tobe perfect and I'm like there's
a, there's a word, word, playthere, right, like, if you want
to be perfect, go do this.
And we see that the gentlemancould not do it.
As an example too.
(15:20):
We are not going to be perfect.
We go from glory to glory.
Absolutely.
Now you should be improving, weshould be improving.
We go from glory to glory, butthat perfection is when we reach
that eternal space.
And so, as you talk aboutchampion and encouraging people
and pulling them out of theiridentity.
(15:40):
Stages like what does achampion's legacy look like to
you?
Because the rich young ruler,his legacy was very much tied to
his possessions.
But what does a legacy for achampion look like to you?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Well, you know, like I said, I'm a big basketball fan
and Kobe Bryant died on my 40thbirthday.
How rude, you know.
I mean, like you look atlegacies like that and it's,
those are tangible things.
Like you can see trophies onwalls, you can see plaques on
walls, retired jerseys and thosekinds of things.
(16:15):
But, but when we're a championfor Christ, our legacy is the
fruit that we're passing down toother people.
So it's, it's not a matter ofjust saying, oh, you know, onyx
was so nice or she wasencouraging, or you know,
whatever it's, it's a matter ofsaying she taught me God's word,
she pointed me back to Jesus ina very unique way and I I want
(16:38):
to highlight that part beingunique because we sometimes we
try to model who we are aftersomeone else, because they seem
to have, you know, more of whatwe think we should have.
But God created us all uniquelyand he wants us to be that.
And so, for a champion, youyou're always pointing people
back to the master coach.
So for a champion, you you'realways pointing people back to
the master coach, right, alwaysback to Jesus, always where it
(17:00):
should go.
But then you, you can leave alegacy that says you know, this
person encountered me on my pathand they showed me some unique
skills and some unique giftingsthat I didn't even know I had in
me and they pull that out of meand because of that, you know,
I can step on those buildingblocks that they gave me and
then that person then can do thesame for other people.
(17:22):
So it's a legacy that neverstops going.
You know, we think about Paulin the Bible.
Paul doesn't know I mean, maybehe does now but you know, paul
probably never knew at thatmoment when he was writing those
letters billions and billionsand billions of people were
going to be quoting him, youknow, and he was just getting
that download from God.
So you know it really is notonly our, our gift to be able to
(17:45):
do that, but really is ourresponsibility, because God
hands us his word in a way, andthen we have to take the things
inside of us and then pass italong.
We can't just bury it fromwhere it's at Right.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Absolutely.
I mean, you mentioned Paul andI'm like Paul is the man that
I'm like.
Oh, what did Paul say?
What did Paul do?
Right?
And so, even when I think aboutPaul, I think about Philippians,
chapter three, and how he talksabout like hey, yeah, like I
was circumcised on earth day,meaning that his family followed
(18:18):
the law, right.
So in those times, culturally,like because his family followed
the law, because he was part ofthe Roman, like he was
considered prestige.
It was almost like in this, inthis worldly sense, in this
Roman sense, like he perceivedhe had everything that you
should strive for.
Yet in Philippians 3, heessentially says like I have had
(18:41):
to forget all those things ofthe past and press forward
towards the mark of Jesus Christ, which, even as we talk about
again, just identity and whereyou believe you are because of
maybe your past or because ofthe mess you're in, is not what
defines you.
And I think about all thethings like Paul literally
persecuted Christians and he hadto make a daily choice to put
(19:03):
that behind him and say I'mgoing to walk in the new
creation with Christ.
I'm going to press forwardtowards the mark of this eternal
thing, right.
And when I think about that.
I'm like he was definitely,definitely, like you said,
definitely a champion, um,pushing for that eternal thing
rather than focusing on thethings that materialistically
(19:24):
are earthly.
He had already achieved if hewent by the world roman
standards of that time.
Yeah, yeah, definitely, okay.
So I always like to like, whenI come in contact with people
that I see and believe are, likeman, you have a cause, like you
(19:45):
are pushing it Right.
And because, again, my ownexperience, I know that the
things that I am most passionateabout in the kingdom of God for
sure has come through some pain.
It has come through meovercoming particular areas
where I'm like I don't wantanyone else to go through this
the way I did.
How can I help you not be alonein this?
(20:07):
How can I help you know thatJesus is here with you in this?
And so when I think about that,I'm curious like what is your
passion?
What's your passion and whatled to that?
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Well, people are my passion.
That really is I love people.
That's, you know, our church'slogo is we're all about people
and I'm like, hey, you stolethat from me, that's mine.
But I love people and it's nota conditional kind of love, it
(20:39):
really is.
Even when people have bad days,even people are not kind or you
you have to do life with, withcertain behaviors, you know,
even at that I still love them.
I can't, I cannot help it andand sometimes that gets me in
trouble because people are like,oh, you know, but but I do.
(21:01):
And so, helping people to findthat, like I love to ask
questions when I'm with people,I am like the question
manufacturer.
I want to know everything aboutyou, especially if it's like
the first time we're going outfor coffee or dinner, what is it
about you?
What?
What's like the first timewe're going out for coffee or
dinner, what is it about you?
What's your life, what's yourhistory, what's your passion?
Like I'm always askingquestions because then I get to
(21:24):
a point where I'm like so youhave a passion for this, and
then my next thought is how canI support you in that?
How can I pray for you in that?
Is there something tangiblethat I can do to help you in
that.
And I I follow up with peopleand so I think I think that, but
also feeling like I didn'talways have what I needed.
You know, through throughdifferent stages of my life, you
(21:46):
know I needed guidance andmentorship and love at certain
parts of my life when it wascritical, and I didn't have it.
And so I'm not Jesus right.
So I'm not going to step in andsay, hey, you know, look at me
I'm.
I just want to say, you know, Iknow a guy, you know like
you're going through struggle.
(22:06):
Let me show you, let me let metalk to him.
And to tell people authenticallyI am.
So, if I could pick one wordabout it is authenticity to tell
people I am absolutely notthere, I'm on a journey, I have
no success.
There's no PhD after my name,there's no um, you know,
accredited accolades, becausethere's not, there is a mess in
(22:29):
progress.
So that's why I want to helppeople is because I want to be a
lighthouse on that journey, notnecessarily to walk within the
whole journey Sometimes you do,sometimes you don't but just to
be a light on that journey, tosay, Ooh, in that place I got
some warmth, I got some comfort,I got some encouragement, and
then they can move on with theirjourney.
That's, that's what I want todo for them.
(22:50):
Hey, let's take a quick breakto tell you about Grace-Filled
Community.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Grace-Filled Community is an organization
that focuses on the primaryprinciples of the Church of Acts
, centered around buildingcommunities that impact the
Kingdom of God.
We do this through three coreextensions.
The kingdom of God we do thisthrough three core extensions.
One, graceville Church Network,where we empower churches and
(23:25):
nonprofits for God's success andgrowth.
We offer tailored growthstrategies rooted in biblical
principles that will help youexpand your reach and impact
your communities.
Just like the early church, wefocus not on attendance and
numbers, but on discipleship,providing leadership teachings
and trainings to today'sministry leaders.
Our second extension is Projectof the Grace Field, where we
(23:48):
provide biblical counseling,mentorship, workshops and events
that are dedicated toencouraging individuals to live
a life filled with grace andpurpose, rooted in the
understanding that all havefallen short and are a working
project.
Let us help the individuals inyour community grow as they walk
(24:10):
with God and experience thefullness of his love.
Our third extension isGrace-Filled Business.
Grace-filled Business is hereto help small faith-based
business owners develop theirbusiness in a way that honors
God, that brings increase andallows them to pour back into
his kingdom, through marketplaceministry and financing his
(24:31):
kingdom.
We do this through our 15 yearsof experience of virtual
administrative work, digitalmarketing, business development
and consulting Welcome back.
Yes, man, I love that, Even whenI think about like what we do
within Gracefield community.
Our biblical counselingcomponent is called Project of
(24:54):
the Grace Field and it's reallybecause we all are a working
project.
None of us have arrived rightBecause, again, scripture says
we go from glory to glory untilwe enter that place.
So if you're still here onearth, if no one hasn't told you
I am going to tell you, youstill have work to do, you have
not arrived right and so we'reall on this journey.
(25:14):
Yeah, we may all be indifferent stages and I also like
to say it doesn't depend onyour time of walking with Christ
.
I think sometimes there's thisnotion that, oh, I've been saved
for 20 years, or I've beensaved for 40 years, that doesn't
negate the person that's beensaved for two months.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
What are you?
Speaker 1 (25:36):
doing with what you've been given?
Yes, okay, so I think of people.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I'm sorry, oh no, go, please, please.
And I just think that God putsus uniquely in places where
we're at, you know, in ourbusinesses and our, in our
volunteering in our community,in our churches, even where we
have at, you know, in ourbusinesses, in our volunteering
in our community, in ourchurches, even where we have
coffee.
You know, we're strategicallyplaced in a moment and we are
made to make an impact.
(26:05):
I don't ever like to go intoany place of business and not
look at it and recognize atleast one person.
You know, if I'm walking downdown an aisle, you know I like
your scarf.
Or you know, and sometimespeople just they're like
somebody saw me, you know, andthey they'll, they'll smile.
Or you know, after the lady atthe dollar store has been,
(26:27):
person after person after person, you know, and hey, you know,
thank you so much for being here, because y'all say my life on a
regular basis.
It really is just just that itdoesn't always have to be big
things.
We always think that it has tobe big and in lights, and we've
got to have a five-year plan forit and all of that.
But but God works in the now,he really does.
(26:48):
He works in the in the past.
He works in the now and heworks in the future, but he, he
has us working in the present.
That's where he's at, so heknows the whole story, beginning
from end, and we have to walkthat out every day.
It's important that we'rethinking about those things.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Yes, man, onyx, you are speaking my heart, you are
talking my language.
I'm like that is exactly theway that I choose to navigate
life.
When I see someone I'm lookingto, I'm literally looking and
waiting, like Holy Spirit.
How can I encourage them?
And, like you said, sometimesit's just saying like hey, I
like your earrings, hey, I likeyour shirt, like, hey, you look
(27:24):
really nice in this.
Right, just that simple word ofencouragement, and it doesn't
have to be all super spiritual.
I'm not coming with them likeokay, let's go to Philippians 2.
This right, it's justacknowledging them as an
individual and showing them thatsomeone has taken the time to
acknowledge them.
I mean, in the world we live intoday, especially in I call it
(27:46):
the microwave sense of our world, right, sometimes individuals
are so quick to I'm trying toget from one thing to the next,
one thing to the next, that wedon't pause to acknowledge the
very thing that's right in frontof us.
Yeah, or very person right infront of us.
Our listeners know that mydefinition, and if you know it,
(28:07):
say it with me.
If this is your first time,then here we go.
But yes, this is Nicole Cater,so you're not going to find this
in the dictionary.
This is Nicole Cater'sdefinition of grace, and my
definition is that understandingand giving empathy to the.
What you're seeing to today, thereaction you're seeing today
(28:29):
from an individual, is not basedon their now, but it's based on
their past experience that hasshaped what we see today, and
the reality is like youmentioned.
My number one example is thatcashier.
It's that cashier that has hadpeople left and right come
through, people that don't havespeed, people that are on their
(28:49):
phones while she's like how canI help you with something else?
People that are rude becausethis price maybe was different
than what they thought.
And then I get to her and she'slike hi, here you go.
She doesn't know me, she has noreason to be rude to me, right?
Like it's not because of me.
There's some past experiencethat has shaped what I'm seeing
today and I need to be able tosit with all the fruits of the
(29:13):
spirit because that's theevidence that the spirit is
within me and extend grace toher so that I can be loving, so
that I can be kind, so that Ican be gentle, so that I can
encourage and I can be merciful.
Like in all those things.
It's only by understanding andgiving empathy to what I'm
seeing today.
This isn't about me, and I knowI tend to say that and
(29:34):
sometimes it comes off mebecause I'm like it's not even
about you, but really it's not.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
We're human.
Yes, yes, I think anytime.
Anybody that's been around youyou know for for a moment, but
anybody that's been around youknows that you live from the
overflow of God's grace.
It is, it just pours out of you, and so anybody that gets near
you, you know, I hug on you, Ijust rub up against that,
(30:03):
anointing a little bit, you know, and but, but it really is, and
that's that's where we shouldlive.
We should live from, from theoverflow of God's grace.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Yes, thank you.
I'm like I'm so excited.
This God's grace, yes, thankyou.
I'm like I'm so excited.
This is one of the reasons I'mso excited for our podcast and
I'm like I just knew I'm likethis is going to be a
conversation that's so sweet tomy heart because it's about
people, and you and I both sayit the same way like love people
, like I love God, and I lovepeople because they're his right
(30:33):
, they're his, and what aprivilege it is to do.
Every good and perfect giftcome from above.
You know, even scripture sayschildren are a blessing, like we
are children that grew up.
So we're still a blessing, westill are.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
We still are.
Need parenting still.
Yes, yes, oh yes, especially indriving.
You learn a lot about gracewhen you drive.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
Definitely, and especially around here in Texas.
Like I, you know, I'm grew upin California, been in Texas now
for about seven years and, um,people always talk about
California driving but I liveout, like towards the country,
right, so I have to pass thecity and I live out towards the
country and there's a lot of the18 wheelers that are on these
(31:24):
country roads and y'all.
I'm in the stage of teachingthe 16 year old how to drive and
like, if somebody have advice,help me, because I'm like I want
to teach you, and he very much,so it's like a rule follower,
right, like he's that oldest kidsyndrome, right, so he's like a
rule follower.
He's like the speed limit says70.
Well, actually, because we arein a country, the speed limit
(31:47):
says 75 and I'm like but do yousee this truck running up on us
at 85?
Like I would like to speed upsome, please look oh, brain for
you on that.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
That, that's, that's an era.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
Oh man, yes, it is I y'all.
There've been times that I'mlike Lord, is this the day?
Oh, thank you, thank you, we'rehere, but no, he has been doing
fantastic.
I mean, it is a journey andthat's the thing is.
You talked about the now, right, there's so many things that
happen in our day to day.
That is an opportunity to sharechrist.
(32:25):
It's just an opportunity.
It doesn't have to be in thefour walls of a church building.
It doesn't have to be, you know, with a bible right in front of
us.
It doesn't have to be through aspecial song, like it is
through us.
Yeah, it is us.
His spirit lives inside of usand so we're sharing him in how
(32:48):
we treat people, how we love ourpeople, how we express him to
others.
Like we know that the saying islike the greatest testimony is
the life you live.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
Yeah, and I think too that you know one thing I
learned I took a leadershipclass last year and one thing I
just got from that class notthat it was said, but we had a
lot of women in there that wereintroverts and you know, those
of us who are comfortablegetting up and speaking in front
of people was like, oh, youhave to do a presentation and
I'm like, okay, my biggestthought is what am I going to
(33:20):
talk on?
Their biggest thoughts was howam I going to get bravery to get
up there and speak?
And then when they did, I was Imean the bomb just dropped.
I was wow, you know, that voicewas in there, that that heart,
that expression of God was inyou and you.
You were saying sometimes Irealized that those who have the
(33:41):
quietest personalities reallyhave the loudest voice.
So that's just my encouragementto any of your listeners is you
may be somebody that you'relike I am so scared to talk in
front of people and all that,but you have a voice.
I mean people right now andthey do podcasts like this or
they do different things thatGod has a way to use every
(34:02):
expression, even if you didn'thave a voice or even if you had
a you know like you couldn'thear or you couldn't see, or you
know one of your senses was notthere, god not only will
compensate for that, butsometimes he gives you a greater
gift in that sense because theother one isn't there.
And so, you know, we all canuse what we have to express God,
(34:25):
and he wants us to do that, andhe even says that in the Bible.
Sometimes the background peopleare the ones that he loves on,
sometimes more because they'rein the background.
So what he says is you're seen.
And so that I think that's myheart too is I always want to
make people seen.
I always want to make sure thatnobody you know gets left out.
(34:46):
You know they.
There's not a line for to talkto the person that cleans the
bathroom.
You know what I mean.
The line is always for the guyon the platform.
But the one that makes me mostcomfortable when I go to a
conference is the one who'scleaning the bathroom.
Yes, if I don't have twominutes to go to the bathroom
and feel comfortable, and it'smessy and dirty, I'm not going
(35:07):
to be happy the rest of the time, right?
Yes, you know, you got torepresent and you got to be
seeing those people because theyare some of God's greatest
gifts and sometimes they'resmarter than I am.
Most of the time they'resmarter than I am.
People just don't ask, you know, yes absolutely, I think about
all the time.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
So y'all, in our church we do have a cafe area
and I think about one lady I wasgoing to shout her name, ellen,
she is phenomenal.
But I was having I already saidy'all down some mornings.
I'm still trying to get thatenergy flowing.
Okay, I was having one of thosemornings.
It was an early morning andsome things had already happened
(35:47):
throughout that scope of justserving others.
And I remember coming and allof a sudden I mean her not
knowing anything about mymorning she said have you ever
had a man of chai?
And I'm like what's a man ofchai?
I never heard of that.
So here's a tip, y'all, if youare in Texas, and I will just
(36:09):
say, if you happen to come toGateway Church, especially South
Lake Campus, yes, that is myhome church.
I am very proud because that'swhere God has me and I'm being
obedient to him.
So I'm happy to be there.
If you come there and you wanta good drink, ask them for a
manna, chai tea, hot or ice,it's great.
But so she said, have you evertried a manna?
(36:32):
And I'm like no, and shedoesn't even know.
I was almost at the point oftears that day of just feeling
like what is happening, and shesays I'm gonna make you a manna
chai.
So I'm like, okay, she gives methe manna chai best drink ever,
y'all best what.
(36:54):
And with that I'm like, even inher giving it I'm like manna,
manna.
Lord, you know, you know andyou provide for this moment.
You provided manna from heavenbecause that's what they needed
and you knew y'all, I neededthat manna chai tea and lord
(37:14):
knew that.
He was going to speak to methrough that chai tea in that
very moment to encourage me andwhat was happening in the
circumstance.
She's like I'm just makingcoffee, but in her suggestion
and her obedience of being therelet's just start with that her
obedience of being there and nottaking for granted what she
(37:37):
does she gave me a drink thaty'all, that is my go-to drink.
I get it.
If you see me at the cafe, youknow what I'm getting.
It's a man of chai, okay.
And it really spoke to me andit really encouraged me to press
through a moment that I wasstruggling with and in that, the
very thing that made mesomebody made of seeing me on
the platform or me teaching aclass, or me standing up front
(38:01):
doing something.
It started with her encouragingme with that cup of chai tea,
so she was the one that I'm likey'all should be giving claps
for her Like cause.
I may not have pushed throughto show up for this class and
teach this today if she hadn'tgiven me that bed of chai.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Well, and you know the word inHebrew, the word chai, right,
chai is life.
So really, she gave you breadand life and life.
Yes.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Yes, so him, yeah, yeah.
So okay, onyx, if you have nothad the man of chai, I'm like
next service, I'm going for it?
Speaker 2 (38:41):
Yes, do it.
I'm like, come find me.
I'm going to go for it to be ablessing to me for Savannah
Saturday.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
I'm going, yeah, all right, yes, oh gosh, I love this
.
This has been such a great time.
Before we go, cause I just Imean, I have a list of questions
, but before we go, I do want toask you like servant leader,
servant leadership.
I feel like that is somethingthat both you and I just really
(39:08):
take hold of.
I know both of us are big, likeJohn Maxwell, like readers and
and kind of all into servantleadership.
So I do want to ask you, in thescope of being a champion,
right, how do you see servingleadership fitting into being
exactly that, like being achampion?
Speaker 2 (39:30):
I would.
I would not want anybody tocome to me that didn't have some
kind of grit with somethingLike I said.
It's wonderful when, whenpeople just know how to do
something and they've read amanual or read a book, or they
can just do something.
But it's so much more to mewhen somebody says this is my
(39:50):
story and because of this I'mserving, and so servant
leadership is just that.
In other words, you come from aplace of I shouldn't even be a
leader, I don't have all thedon't have all the
qualifications maybe, or even ifyou do have qualifications, you
know that you wouldn't havegotten there without God.
You, you know that some part ofyou is messed up and has been
(40:15):
messed up or was messed up, andso there's an immediately
disqualification for any of us.
It doesn't matter who we are,because we have a sin-based
nature, and so when you servepeople, it's not that you really
earn the right to be a leader,but I think it gives you much
more of a standpoint of I'vebeen in the mud and I'm going to
(40:38):
be in the mud with you.
So you're not looking down onpeople saying you will do this
and I need you to do this.
You're saying I'm going to getin the mud with you and we're
going to do this together andI'm going to take responsibility
for the outcome of this, but atthe end of the day, my place is
below you.
I may have a title above you,but my place is below you.
(40:58):
And Jesus does that.
He washes our feet right.
He shows us that.
So I think that that's thegreatest example is that, look
you, you might have theknowledge and you might have all
the accreditation, all thatstuff to be able to do what you
do.
But if you are not willing toget down on that playing field
with your people and say I'mgoing to do what I'm asking you
(41:19):
to do, or I'm going to cry withyou through this, or I'm going
to be there for you, then reallyyou come from a place of I'm
the man on the mountain and Idon't have anybody around me.
And who wants to be aroundsomebody like that?
You want people to be loving,but again, at the end of the day
, it points people back to Jesus.
And if I'm not a kind of aleader that's going to say I'm
(41:43):
made in the image of my leader,the leader, my Lord then how can
I tell you what to do.
I have no right, I have noplace to be able to do that, so
that's why it's so important tome.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Right, absolutely, I think, in all the areas of the
spaces of leadership.
One of the things that I alwayssay is, like the higher the
title actually means the lowerand the closer I am to the
bottom of your feet.
Yeah, because I am literallyhere to serve, like you, and I
(42:15):
think of Jesus washing feet likethe higher up you go, it
technically should be the moreand more that you are opening
the doors to serving.
Yes, and so when I think aboutall the components of leadership
, and even in the sense of whenI look at leaders that are
struggling to get people to jumpon board or to do their part,
(42:37):
my question always is where areyou leading from?
Because when individuals seethat you have a passion, that
you're in this for the rightcause, right, and you give a
vision even scripture tells uslike write the vision so that
others may run with it.
Right, like when you do that,they'll jump on board and they
(43:02):
will, like you will beencouraging a task versus
demanding or even really asking.
It's more of an encouragementof like hey, I believe you're
empowered to do this, can youtake care of this?
Yes, and they take thatopportunity to say yes, I'm
going to own it.
You know, one of the things,even in servant leadership, that
(43:23):
I've learned over time is alsothis ability to trust and I
think that's a part ofconversation that is left out of
leadership at times is onewe're trusting God in the things
that he has placed us to lead.
At that point, right, and sothat's one of the key parts is
you don't want to be leadingsomeplace that you're not called
(43:44):
to lead.
Yes, and that's why there's aaspect of having to examine your
heart and make sure that whatyou are doing is the thing that
he's called you to do for thatseason.
Yes, and so when you're leadingfrom a place that you're called
to in that obedience, that'sthe thing that drives your
leadership aspect.
(44:04):
That obedience, that's thething that drives your
leadership aspect.
But the fact of trust andtrusting Lord that you called me
here, so you're going to giveme the tools, the resources, the
people you are going to provide, because this is where you
place me, not I place myself.
Yes, and then the secondcomponent in that is trust those
that you're leading is trustthose that you're leading Not to
(44:24):
be a what would we call it Likea helicopter leader, right, but
a leader that, like, I'mempowering you and I'm going to
trust you to do this, and areyou going to make mistakes?
Absolutely, because we're human, as high as the title you go,
you're going to make mistakestoo, right?
And so in our humanity, aremistakes going to be made
Absolutely?
(44:44):
But I'm trusting that this isGod's first of all and that I
can trust you and empower you tocarry something out without
being a helicopter over it,because, really, when you're
helicoptering, you're saying itonly I can do it and only my way
is the way that works.
Yep, yep, when all reality,it's only God's way and I'm just
(45:06):
a vessel that has a privilegeto be used by him, right?
Speaker 2 (45:10):
yes, and helicopters flatten people.
They get too close to you.
You know you don't want to dothat either.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
So so so true, very true, yeah oh my goodness.
I have absolutely loved ourtime on itix.
I knew I would.
Speaker 2 (45:26):
It's been amazing.
Man, if y'all get a chance tocome down to Gateway, man, I'll
hug on you.
I love people.
I told you so you're going toget hugged, you know.
It's just.
It's a joy and excitementreally to serve the Lord.
And, nicole, thank you so muchfor what you're doing, because
without community, I mean unityis, in that word, right, and
(45:46):
that's so important.
And we're finding now, in thesedays of AI and all that kind of
stuff, that you know, thingscan get dark pretty quick in
certain areas and we need eachother, we need humans, we need
interaction and contact, and youcannot do better than when
you're putting Jesus andcommunity together.
It really is foundational, it'scrucial, I think, to the world
(46:08):
we're living in.
So I just want to say thank youfor all the work that you're
doing and may it continue togrow fruit.
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Yes, yes, oh, thank you, thank you.
Let me tell you it definitelyis a journey.
Talk about being places whereyou're called to, because most,
most don't know like.
This podcast was not somethingI wanted to do.
First of all, why would I addsomething extra on my plate?
Why would I add something else?
And the reality of even?
That's why we can't judgesomeone that maybe has a
(46:38):
platform space, because I liketo say, those that are often
used by God in a platform spaceare the people that don't want
the platform.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
Right.
Speaker 1 (46:47):
I have fought this podcast for just about a year
ago I fought this podcast and Ifinally out of it truly in a
sense of frustration, like fineLord, yes, right, yeah, right,
(47:08):
yeah.
But in that I will tell you ithas done more for me and my soul
that I don't know about thelisteners and I'm sure I pray
every recording that it impactsyou, but every time we do a
podcast it has encouraged me, ithas been something for me in it
, and so I just love how ourHeavenly Father is so sweet that
he's like when you do the thingfor me, I got you, I know what
(47:30):
you need, yeah, and so thank youfor just acknowledging the work
happening here at GracevilleCommunity.
Lord knows, I couldn't do itwithout the team that supports
me, but I'm also just so great,just so grateful for people like
you that jump on board andshare your story and share your
love for kingdom and what you'redoing to impact others, and so
(47:52):
I appreciate you, friend.
You have encouraged my hearttoday.
Hugs, girl hugs.
Speaker 2 (47:57):
Yes, hugs, hugs, girl .
Speaker 1 (48:01):
Oh well, to our listeners, I do want to tell you
once again thank you for tuningin to Gracefield Community, as
always.
If you're seeking community,please you can email grow at
gracefieldcommunitycom and wewould be happy to connect you
with some community partnersthat we know are safe and that
we trust nearby you.
(48:22):
So if you're looking forcommunity, please reach out.
Onyx, I know that people havelistened to this and they're
like how do I stay in touch withthis girl?
I love her because I love you,so I know they do too.
So tell us how can we make sureto stay connected with all the
things and the encouragingchampion words that you have?
Speaker 2 (48:41):
I'm on Instagram and Facebook.
So, onyx Conklin, you justlooked me up by that.
So that's me, and I only postencouraging stuff.
So if you're looking fordiscouragement, you're going to
be in the wrong place.
Right, right, I hear you.
I only know how to love.
Speaker 1 (48:57):
Yes, yes, oh, I love that.
Well, what's in you definitelyflows out of you.
So, thank you, we will put, wewill definitely put Ony and
Instagram and the show notes soyou guys can click and be
connected.
I'm going to tell you you willbe encouraged by her Facebook
and her Instagram posts andyou'll get some sports education
there too.
Y'all, yeah, yes, oh.
(49:22):
Thanks again for tuning in.
We pray blessings over each ofyou and may you continue to walk
with the lord.
God bless.
Thank you for tuning in totoday's episode of graceville
community podcast.
We would like to invite you tovisit gracevillecommunitycom.
Graceville community is allabout doing church the way
(49:44):
Church of Acts did, using fivemain principles that we see in
the Book of Acts.
Sharing resources, as believerspooled their possessions and
resources to support those inneed, as we see in Acts 2.44.
2 44.
(50:08):
Through hospitality the earlyChristians practice hospitality
by opening their homes to others, as we see in Acts 2 and 46.
By financial aid the church inAntioch sent financial aid to
believers in Judea during a timeof famine, as described in Acts
11 and 29.
Prayer and encouragement theysupported each other through
(50:29):
prayer and encouragement, as wesee in Acts 4 and 24.
And finally, spiritual guidance.
The apostles and eldersprovided spiritual guidance and
teaching to help strengthen andbuild the community, as we see
in Acts 1530.
I would like to encourage you.
If any of those areas are areasin which you are in need or can
(50:54):
contribute, please reach out toGraceville Community.
We are working together acrossthe world with ministries and
individuals alike to help bringback the Church of Acts.
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