October 24, 2024 • 25 mins
Can you handle the hilarity of losing what might just be the most essential RV component during a road trip? Join us as Andrew Gaer and Scott Hawkins recount the uproarious tale of their misadventures with a missing pooper tank on their journey to Tallahassee, Florida. As they navigate Walmart parking lots and draw amusing parallels with the notorious Dave Matthews Band incident, laughter becomes the constant companion. This episode captures the essence of camaraderie and the unexpected joys of life on the road, topped off with a heartwarming visit to a church linked to Andrew's mom, offering a true slice of the whimsical world of RV travel.
But it's not all laughs and giggles; we also dive into the profound with a conversation about the significance of baptism. Reflecting on a unique church service, we explore the meanings of repeated baptisms and how they resonate with faith and commitment. From the Lutheran view of baptism as an unrepeatable promise to alternative expressions of faith like foot washing, we invite listeners to ponder their spiritual paths. This episode promises more than just stories; it's a journey through belief, community, and the grounding power of open dialogue. Join us for a heartfelt exploration of faith, with insights that just might resonate with your own spiritual journey.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Well, thank you out there in listener land.
Thank you for giving us 20minutes of your time.
Unless you're listening at oneand a half speed, then it's
probably like more, like 15minutes, and we sound very, very
fast.
We are so glad to go with youon this road trip to talk about
where we went and what we didserve in churches, sleep at a
Walmart parking lot.
(00:42):
You are with Andrew Gere,that's him, scott Hawkins,
that's me, and we are continuingon the journey in the Lazy Days
Motorhome, which now is minusone pooper tank.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
An essential component of a house.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
No one wants to drive away from Walmart parking lot
and there's a little turd pilein the where the tube would have
been.
It's like oh, that doesn't workthe same way as when you have
the poop retainer to collect allof that.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
So uh, yeah, you said it.
You said it well I mean, itwouldn't it wouldn't have been
the first time, there wasprobably a little pile in the
parking lot of a walmart no, no.
And the fact that our, our turdpile did end up all over the
road of the keys.
It wouldn't have been the firsttime there was probably a
little pile in the parking lotof a Walmart no, no.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And the fact that our turd pile did end up all over
the road of the Keys.
That's a whole other part ofthat truth.
But when you maybe we didn'tsay this, but when you would
open the, you know it's one ofthose airplane like toilets or
RV toilets I'm sure you've seenwhen you step on the thing that
flushes and when you would stepon that, right below you was
(01:46):
road.
That was all you had.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
it wasn't yeah, it was all gone, it was all.
Yeah, you know you could seethe road below you.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yes, there's the road and there was definitely
conversation of like how muchtrouble would we be in if we
just like slowly open as we godown the road because we still
have the toilet there, and thenall of a sudden, somewhere on
the 10 freeway there's a littlelittle turd pile, as we've
already talked about.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
So no, no, we didn't do that we talked about it, but
we never.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
We did we there?
We did not number two, no no,there's a lot of I mean, that's
all I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We did a lot of potential that you have there,
so we did not pull a DaveMatthews band situation.
Oh, this is a famous story.
I don't know how long ago, butthey were apparently.
They were in a tour bus, yes,and they emptied their tank
while on the go, and it was likeon a bridge, no, and it went
(02:42):
off the bridge and like onto aboat down below or something
like that, yeah, it was Shut up,it was bad news.
Onto a boat, oh gosh, yeah,yeah, I don't know if it was in
Chicago, oh, yeah.
It was kind of a story thatwould definitely be a story Wow,
yeah, we never did that.
Well, you know they have thatsong where it goes.
I ate too much.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So okay, there it was .
Yes, you do Sorry.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yes, you do Got to get rid of that.
I'm going to look up DaveMatthews Band and you know what
I'm not.
Let's keep going.
We don't want to.
Okay, this is not the point oftoday to talk about that.
Today is and the next few dayswe travel, we get back on the
(03:36):
road and we head up toTallahassee, florida.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Which fun fact does everybody?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
know that Tallahassee is the capital of Florida?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Now they do.
Who would have thought right,remember, over our Florida state
geography?
Because we have been in Floridaa long time, remember that the
top half of Florida is the South.
So when you are in thePanhandle or you're in
Tallahassee, you are still inwhat feels very, very much like
the South.
Once you enter the peninsulapart, that's where you start
(04:02):
getting into the Midwest retiredpeople or the Northeast retired
people or just the Disney area.
But when you're in that tophalf you're in the South.
So we drove back up and we havebasically succumbed to the fact
that we are going to have tohave places that have bathrooms
(04:23):
or hotels along the way becausewe can't get the rv fixed.
It's drivable, which is lucky,because I mean if it was the
other end, who knows what wouldhave happened.
I guess maybe it was easier tofix the front because that would
just be an engine and amechanic maybe trying to take
care of that.
But yeah, it's drivable and sowe can go and be totally safe,
(04:44):
but we just can't use it like itwas meant to be used.
So now we have a new plan.
We already had this Tallahasseeplan set up and we were going
to go to this church.
That, I believe, is connectedto your mom.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, so my mom worked at a dentist office and
she had these patients and they,uh, were pastors, and so they
moved out of california and wentto tallahassee, I think, to
plant a new church.
So she kept in contact withthem and uh like e23 or oh yeah
(05:24):
Something.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It was pretty hip name.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Like it was.
It was the whole thing, I don't.
I don't remember much about it,except like the he's like
pulpit thing.
You know what do you call that?
You call it the pulpit, yeah,yeah.
Or the the lectern, the lectern, yeah, or the the lectern, the
lectern.
Yeah, it was like some coollike metal, which in 2004, like
(05:49):
metal stuff was cool, kind ofthat industrial they probably
had a bunch of pallets, becausepallets were probably cool back
then.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
A bunch of you know like sack, what's that?
That brown sack?
Oh, what's it called?
The fabric I'm thinking of.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
A beanbag chair.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
No, not a beanbag chair, that like fabric that I
told you, oh burlap, kind ofBurlap, oh yeah yeah, yeah.
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I was like I don't know where you're going with
that, but so anyhow.
So that was our connectionthere.
And then what turned out coolabout that was, you know, we
kind of explained the situationhey, we're coming to town but we
don't really have, you know,the, the capabilities of the
motor home that we once had.
So they connected us with afamily, the Monroe family, who
(06:37):
had a farm, and this family wasso gracious to say hey, why
don't you come and park on ourfield behind our house and when
you need to use the restroom,just come on into the house and
use our restroom?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
But this was one of those examples again of oh look,
how big the kingdom of God is,when you just start asking
around and saying, hey, cansomeone help with this?
Yes, they can.
And I mean it was like a littleslice of like paradise, right
Like this farm felt like it wasin the middle of like the forest
and it had this really coolbarn and this really cool house
and it had a pool and they had abasketball court barn, this
(07:26):
really cool house and had a pooland they had a basketball court
and like all of this land andwe're like this is the coolest
place to live.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, and they had, I want to say, five kids, had a
lot of kids, four or five kids,I think, and then some four or
five kids, I think, and thensome, like they were the type of
family who was so generous towhere, you know, they had all
these kids.
But they were also the type ofpeople where, I think, there
(07:54):
were always people comingthrough staying for a while.
And so one of the things we didwhen we got there, so the first
night we got there we haddinner with this family.
So we met them.
They had a big spread.
I don't remember exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You probably remember the details of the food I wish
I did, but it's gone.
I would.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But you're right, that's a good movie, I bet it
was great and I believe therewas lots of people involved, and
so after dinner they had a barnin the back.
So again, it's like there wasthe house and then right off the
house was like basketball hoopand a pool, so they kind of had
their backyard and then it was abig field and then there was a
(08:30):
barn, and I think we have somepictures that we'll share of
that, and so they were workingon this barn.
There was the loft, the secondstory, in this barn, yeah, and
they were hanging drywall in itbecause they were actually going
to turn it into an apartment.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
So some of their friends, or I don't think it was
one of their kids.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, Some friend, cousin, relative, somebody in
the church was actually going tobuild it into an apartment so
they could house people thatwere passing through or staying
for a while in that apartment.
So we got the chance to, uh, tohelp them hang some drywall and
just it was just thisincredible community, right.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
It was.
It was and I think that was oneof our first times, for me at
least like hanging drywall, butI, it was fun, and there was a
lot of like over our head, work.
We were like putting it on theceiling and, yeah, really felt
like we were.
We were a part of that andhelping them and doing what we
wanted to do, which was just bea part of the community and give
(09:35):
our hands and our time towhoever needed it, and it was
really cool.
It was really cool.
It was really cool and yeah,totally I mean felt welcomed
immediately.
No awkwardness, no, like youshould be here, you shouldn't be
here, just a part of what wasgoing on.
(09:56):
And that's the thing thathappened.
And they were so incrediblygenerous and kind and, yeah, I
really think, something that weall could learn from and just
have that kind of openness towherever, whoever calls, whoever
needs help.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
but really a cool thing yeah, so I just I just so
this family um lloyd and andMelanie were their names.
That's the mom and dad, yeah,lloyd and Melanie Monroe I
believe he was a lawyer.
Yes, that sounds right.
(10:35):
And so one of the interestingthings, that, as we were getting
to know them and talking tothem, they were preparing to
actually leave Right, they werepreparing to actually leave the
US.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
And become missionaries in Guatemala.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Wow, and so I still get their newsletter.
Maybe I'll add a link to thenewsletter.
And I just got anothernewsletter from them 19 years.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
We should reach out to them.
Why don't you reach out to them, andrew, like?
Email them back.
I'm positive they'll come on oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So this that would be great.
That would be really cool tohave them on and see what
they're doing.
So I get this newsletter.
Yeah, there's picture.
It's funny.
It's like you see a picture ofsomebody that you haven't seen
in 19 years and you're like, yep, that's them.
That's them, and so they're outthere just serving people in
Guatemala yeah, I need to readmore to see what they're doing,
(11:33):
but just incredible people.
You know, just incrediblepeople.
And even though we describedthey had this amazing setup
where you know he's a lawyer intown, they've got these kids
here.
Yeah, they've got this greathome and they just, you know,
answered god's call and left itall and, yeah, and went to
(11:53):
guatemala and I think it's oneof those things that also they
were doing what god was callingthem there too.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
So if god hadn't called them to guatemala like he
would have used them intallahassee, so if God hadn't
called them to Guatemala like hewould have used them in
Tallahassee, they just knew thatGod was calling them there.
So I think I do think that asAmerican Christians, we have to
be a little bit cautious, tothink OK, every time God's call
is to take us to, you know, someforeign country.
Guys, we live in a place thatneeds a whole lot of ministry,
(12:22):
needs a whole lot of ministry.
It needs a whole lot ofoutreach, and if you start to
view your home and yourneighborhood as a mission field,
that would be huge.
So once we hear, oh, they wentand did this.
Yes, because there are peoplewho I know are searching after
what God was calling them for.
But God has called you to thatneighborhood right now, guys,
(12:44):
wherever you are, and are youseeing it as the mission field,
are you aware of your neighborsand what they need and
encouraging them in Christ?
So, yeah, just I think there'sthat little thing we just have
to be aware of.
That's always like it doesn'thave to pull you out of your
neighborhood.
But if there's a re ignition orrelighting of the fire to love
your neighbors, that would beawesome.
Ignition or relighting of thefire to love your neighbors that
(13:06):
would be awesome it's.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's funny because the the series at our church
right now is about missions andour pastor, who's my
brother-in-law, talked aboutthat very thing recently.
So we had different people comein from all over the world who
are serving wherever they are.
But he talked about when theyfirst planted the church there
(13:28):
in Buena Park.
You know he was trying tounderstand where he was being
called and you know he feltstrongly that it was Buena Park
and he's like but I grew up herein Buena Park, why would I do
that?
And then he started to lookinto the city and he's talking
about when you plant a church,you look into all the things
(13:49):
like the demographics, becausethat's what you do.
And then he was like I realizedthat the world is here, People
from all over the world havecome here, is here, right?
People from all over the worldhave come here.
And just because I'm in buenapark, california, doesn't mean
that the people don't need thatright.
And so exactly what you said,scott, like just you don't, yeah
(14:11):
I, I remember being in youthgroup and stuff and you think,
oh, missions means go, and youread the great commission, right
, and it and it's go out.
And so you, just, you justthink yeah it's easy to do, it's
understandable here, but youabsolutely can Cause your
neighbor.
You don't know what exactlybelieve, or?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
think or or need Right, like.
So, yeah, absolutely think thatthat's good.
So we did end up going to thechurch and, um, as going to the
church and as Andrew and I werepreparing, we talked, and he
doesn't remember much about thechurch service.
I have one particular memorythat I actually use quite often
for some different teaching, andwe were there during a baptism
(14:51):
service and the way that they dobaptisms there was.
They would have the person comeforward and talk about their
personal testimony, so whythey're being baptized, what God
has done, all of thosewonderful things.
Well, one of the young men whogot up to talk, he was probably
in his 20s, he started sharingand his story was basically well
(15:17):
, I got baptized when I was 11.
And I really felt, you know,the Holy Spirit.
Then I started smoking somecigarettes and I did a little
shoplifting.
So I got baptized when I was 14.
And really, you know, wasrepentant.
And then I had sex with mygirlfriend and so I got baptized
when I was 17.
And I'm pretty sure we were onhis fifth baptism, that we were
(15:42):
watching and I so you know, youguys know, I'm a Lutheran pastor
and we believe in kind of onebaptism as the idea that in
baptism it's not our work butit's God's work to us, and God's
work never fails right.
(16:02):
So, although he and this is theteaching point I used although
he felt like, oh, I need torecommit my life to Christ, so
I'm going to use the waters ofbaptism to do that, I would
argue that that's a misuse ofthe waters of baptism, because
he is saying to God yourpromises didn't work, I need
(16:28):
those promises again.
There are different ways thatwe can recommit to Christ.
I think that one of and this isa whole other lecture at some
point, but I think one of thethings we underuse in the church
is foot washing.
If he wants to be committed toserving the church, he should
get down on his knees and washthe feet of the people in the
congregation, and this is a signof humility and service, not a
(16:53):
okay, I gotta be baptized againso I can remake those promises.
Well, god's promise hasn'tfailed.
God hasn't given up on you.
God hasn't been like well,since you had such a good
girlfriend, guess what?
You're out, yeah.
And I worry that the danger inthat kind of view of baptism is
that our salvation becomes solike the stock market up and
(17:15):
down, up and down, up and down,and then our feeling of security
in our salvation goes up anddown with it that way, whereas
the fact of salvation, the factof baptism, is that God's
steadiness is there and hispromises never fail.
So I always use thisillustration of in baptism, god
(17:37):
is taking the child, the person,placing them in his hand, and
his hand never lets go, whereasso many people see baptism as me
choosing to hold on to hand ofGod.
But because I'm a human andsinful, I slip and my hands slip
and I fall, and that feels verytiring and insecure, whereas
(17:57):
being placed in the hands of Godis secure and safe, and so
that's my little like use ofthat.
So it's the reason I rememberthat that moment was for that
one, and I think there were acouple of other people who got
baptized on that day.
So the service was like worshipand baptism and I just remember
(18:17):
watching that and going, oh,like, in a lot of ways, you know
, I sit here and I wonder now,20 years later, like how many
more times has that guy beenbaptized?
Yeah, and what kind of life hashe had to lead where he's
constantly feeling like, oh, Ifailed.
God.
I need again to prove to himhow much I love him.
Boy, that's a.
That's to me a sad a sadrelationship to God.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, it's interesting.
And if you're a listener who islistening because you just
think we're the mostentertaining people out there
and you're really interested inthe road trip aspect and we
sprinkle some church talk inhere, um, you know, if you're
not sure what you believe, Iguess I would say that's okay,
(19:06):
you know, explore it, find out.
You could, you could reach outto us.
Scott's a pastor.
He believes these things.
I know maybe you've been to achurch that believes something
different.
Maybe you um or has a different.
Maybe you've been somebodywho's baptized been baptized
five times, maybe.
Yeah, I think there isdefinitely um ways to.
(19:34):
I don't want to say the wrongthing, like I'm not saying that
Scott is right or wrong.
I'm saying Scott probably ismore right than I could be,
cause you've studied this deeply.
I think the point is like havea conversation, find out for
yourself.
I think there's it.
It does also sort of showcasethe um, like the, the humanity
(19:58):
of us.
All right, because I think alot of people see baptism as
like my commitment to you.
This is a physical, public,outward act that I am doing to
show that I have committed mylife, and then that's why you
get the people, because I workedon the camp, on a houseboat, so
we were surrounded by water.
Believe me, every week we hadbaptisms and every summer there
(20:19):
was a couple of kids who werelike, well, I was baptized last
year and I was real feelinggreat about camp, and then I
went home and then I, yeah,smoked some cigarettes did this
stole some things had sex withmy girl, whatever, and so.
But now I'm feeling great againbecause I've been here for four
days and so, but now I'mfeeling great again because I've
been here for four days and so.
So, like well, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
And that that to me, and I think the thing that's
most important is I I think thatwe don't consider very often
like the natural outcomes ofsomething that we believe back
here.
And so what breaks my heart forthat kid or for that person who
was baptized five times at thechurch, is their up and down
(21:03):
relationship with Jesus.
Yeah, because they don't thinkhe is loving them in the midst
of their sin Right.
And so then they're like Ifailed him, my baptism didn't
work, I'm a horrible person,yeah, oh, that's true.
But God hasn't failed you, godhasn't given up on you.
And so what I love about theLutheran baptism, and that's the
(21:25):
part.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
sorry to interrupt, but that's the part that people
really have a hard time graspingis like my grace is sufficient
for you, meaning like, eventhough you're going to screw up
every day, you're gonna fallshort every day, like right, he
still loves you, he still hasyour back and you are still
saved in spite of all this but,but we have a really hard time
(21:48):
accepting that like a free gift.
We're, we're taught we're.
There's no such thing as a freelunch.
Exactly, there is a free lunch,and is that good?
Is that good?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
and that's the thing, and so it's so and it's so
countercultural.
It's so.
Like you said, we are wired upas legalists, um, as as our, our
wiring, just as humans, youknow, we want to earn it, we
want to prove it, we want to doenough, and the gospel comes in
and just teaches us somethingradically different.
And that's where it's like oh,I love for people to understand
(22:22):
how secure in Christ they areand hope I was good enough, I
hope I did enough, I hope I no,as brothers and sisters, which
is something I think that welearned on the road trip, and we
(23:04):
don't see a whole lot of todayin regards to politics or even
religion, where it's like we areallowed to disagree over things
and still love each other.
To disagree over things andstill love each other.
We're allowed to say, okay, Iwant to believe in believer's
baptism, you want to believe ininfant baptism, but we see a
bitter world out there thatneeds to be loved.
Let's work together to do that,but we like to isolate
(23:28):
ourselves in the camps becauseit's how we're wired again as
tribal people, and so we, Ithink, as believers.
One of the things I learned onthis trip is boy, the church is
a lot bigger than the Lutheranchurch, and we can agree to
disagree.
We can have wonderfulconversations and still go out
and do good work together.
(23:48):
So that'd be the thing that Iwould encourage whoever like.
Yeah, if you think what I'msaying is yeah, great, or you
know well, but what about this?
Let's talk about it and let'sstill love each other at the end
, because that's what we do here, different from the world, I
hope.
So, yeah, that's what Iremember about that, so I do use
that part.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's great, hey, let's.
Let's end it here today andmaybe we'll talk a little bit
more about Tallahassee next time.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
but yeah, sincerely, reach out to us this is
fascinating stuff, so Scott cantalk about this all day long, so
reach out if you want to have aconversation yes, before we get
ourselves into the jacuzzi,seriously reach Monroe family,
seriously reach out to them, seeif they want to come up, talk
(24:41):
to us okay, all right, bye guys,until next time, thank you.
Well, thank you out there in listener land.
Thank you for giving us 20minutes of your time.
Unless you're listening at oneand a half speed, then it's
probably like more, like 15minutes, and we sound very, very
fast.
We are so glad to go with youon this road trip to talk about
where we went and what we didserve in churches, sleep at a
Walmart parking lot.
(00:42):
You are with Andrew Gere,that's him, scott Hawkins,
that's me, and we are continuingon the journey in the Lazy Days
Motorhome, which now is minusone pooper tank.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
An essential component of a house.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
No one wants to drive away from Walmart parking lot
and there's a little turd pilein the where the tube would have
been.
It's like oh, that doesn't workthe same way as when you have
the poop retainer to collect allof that.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
So uh, yeah, you said it.
You said it well I mean, itwouldn't it wouldn't have been
the first time, there wasprobably a little pile in the
parking lot of a walmart no, no.
And the fact that our, our turdpile did end up all over the
road of the keys.
It wouldn't have been the firsttime there was probably a
little pile in the parking lotof a Walmart no, no.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
And the fact that our turd pile did end up all over
the road of the Keys.
That's a whole other part ofthat truth.
But when you maybe we didn'tsay this, but when you would
open the, you know it's one ofthose airplane like toilets or
RV toilets I'm sure you've seenwhen you step on the thing that
flushes and when you would stepon that, right below you was
(01:46):
road.
That was all you had.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
it wasn't yeah, it was all gone, it was all.
Yeah, you know you could seethe road below you.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yes, there's the road and there was definitely
conversation of like how muchtrouble would we be in if we
just like slowly open as we godown the road because we still
have the toilet there, and thenall of a sudden, somewhere on
the 10 freeway there's a littlelittle turd pile, as we've
already talked about.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
So no, no, we didn't do that we talked about it, but
we never.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
We did we there?
We did not number two, no no,there's a lot of I mean, that's
all I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We did a lot of potential that you have there,
so we did not pull a DaveMatthews band situation.
Oh, this is a famous story.
I don't know how long ago, butthey were apparently.
They were in a tour bus, yes,and they emptied their tank
while on the go, and it was likeon a bridge, no, and it went
(02:42):
off the bridge and like onto aboat down below or something
like that, yeah, it was Shut up,it was bad news.
Onto a boat, oh gosh, yeah,yeah, I don't know if it was in
Chicago, oh, yeah.
It was kind of a story thatwould definitely be a story Wow,
yeah, we never did that.
Well, you know they have thatsong where it goes.
I ate too much.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
So okay, there it was .
Yes, you do Sorry.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yes, you do Got to get rid of that.
I'm going to look up DaveMatthews Band and you know what
I'm not.
Let's keep going.
We don't want to.
Okay, this is not the point oftoday to talk about that.
Today is and the next few dayswe travel, we get back on the
(03:36):
road and we head up toTallahassee, florida.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Which fun fact does everybody?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
know that Tallahassee is the capital of Florida?
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Now they do.
Who would have thought right,remember, over our Florida state
geography?
Because we have been in Floridaa long time, remember that the
top half of Florida is the South.
So when you are in thePanhandle or you're in
Tallahassee, you are still inwhat feels very, very much like
the South.
Once you enter the peninsulapart, that's where you start
(04:02):
getting into the Midwest retiredpeople or the Northeast retired
people or just the Disney area.
But when you're in that tophalf you're in the South.
So we drove back up and we havebasically succumbed to the fact
that we are going to have tohave places that have bathrooms
(04:23):
or hotels along the way becausewe can't get the rv fixed.
It's drivable, which is lucky,because I mean if it was the
other end, who knows what wouldhave happened.
I guess maybe it was easier tofix the front because that would
just be an engine and amechanic maybe trying to take
care of that.
But yeah, it's drivable and sowe can go and be totally safe,
(04:44):
but we just can't use it like itwas meant to be used.
So now we have a new plan.
We already had this Tallahasseeplan set up and we were going
to go to this church.
That, I believe, is connectedto your mom.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, so my mom worked at a dentist office and
she had these patients and they,uh, were pastors, and so they
moved out of california and wentto tallahassee, I think, to
plant a new church.
So she kept in contact withthem and uh like e23 or oh yeah
(05:24):
Something.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It was pretty hip name.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Like it was.
It was the whole thing, I don't.
I don't remember much about it,except like the he's like
pulpit thing.
You know what do you call that?
You call it the pulpit, yeah,yeah.
Or the the lectern, the lectern, yeah, or the the lectern, the
lectern.
Yeah, it was like some coollike metal, which in 2004, like
(05:49):
metal stuff was cool, kind ofthat industrial they probably
had a bunch of pallets, becausepallets were probably cool back
then.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
A bunch of you know like sack, what's that?
That brown sack?
Oh, what's it called?
The fabric I'm thinking of.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
A beanbag chair.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
No, not a beanbag chair, that like fabric that I
told you, oh burlap, kind ofBurlap, oh yeah yeah, yeah.
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I was like I don't know where you're going with
that, but so anyhow.
So that was our connectionthere.
And then what turned out coolabout that was, you know, we
kind of explained the situationhey, we're coming to town but we
don't really have, you know,the, the capabilities of the
motor home that we once had.
So they connected us with afamily, the Monroe family, who
(06:37):
had a farm, and this family wasso gracious to say hey, why
don't you come and park on ourfield behind our house and when
you need to use the restroom,just come on into the house and
use our restroom?
Speaker 1 (07:05):
But this was one of those examples again of oh look,
how big the kingdom of God is,when you just start asking
around and saying, hey, cansomeone help with this?
Yes, they can.
And I mean it was like a littleslice of like paradise, right
Like this farm felt like it wasin the middle of like the forest
and it had this really coolbarn and this really cool house
and it had a pool and they had abasketball court barn, this
(07:26):
really cool house and had a pooland they had a basketball court
and like all of this land andwe're like this is the coolest
place to live.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yeah, and they had, I want to say, five kids, had a
lot of kids, four or five kids,I think, and then some four or
five kids, I think, and thensome, like they were the type of
family who was so generous towhere, you know, they had all
these kids.
But they were also the type ofpeople where, I think, there
(07:54):
were always people comingthrough staying for a while.
And so one of the things we didwhen we got there, so the first
night we got there we haddinner with this family.
So we met them.
They had a big spread.
I don't remember exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You probably remember the details of the food I wish
I did, but it's gone.
I would.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
But you're right, that's a good movie, I bet it
was great and I believe therewas lots of people involved, and
so after dinner they had a barnin the back.
So again, it's like there wasthe house and then right off the
house was like basketball hoopand a pool, so they kind of had
their backyard and then it was abig field and then there was a
(08:30):
barn, and I think we have somepictures that we'll share of
that, and so they were workingon this barn.
There was the loft, the secondstory, in this barn, yeah, and
they were hanging drywall in itbecause they were actually going
to turn it into an apartment.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
So some of their friends, or I don't think it was
one of their kids.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, Some friend, cousin, relative, somebody in
the church was actually going tobuild it into an apartment so
they could house people thatwere passing through or staying
for a while in that apartment.
So we got the chance to, uh, tohelp them hang some drywall and
just it was just thisincredible community, right.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
It was.
It was and I think that was oneof our first times, for me at
least like hanging drywall, butI, it was fun, and there was a
lot of like over our head, work.
We were like putting it on theceiling and, yeah, really felt
like we were.
We were a part of that andhelping them and doing what we
wanted to do, which was just bea part of the community and give
(09:35):
our hands and our time towhoever needed it, and it was
really cool.
It was really cool.
It was really cool and yeah,totally I mean felt welcomed
immediately.
No awkwardness, no, like youshould be here, you shouldn't be
here, just a part of what wasgoing on.
(09:56):
And that's the thing thathappened.
And they were so incrediblygenerous and kind and, yeah, I
really think, something that weall could learn from and just
have that kind of openness towherever, whoever calls, whoever
needs help.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
but really a cool thing yeah, so I just I just so
this family um lloyd and andMelanie were their names.
That's the mom and dad, yeah,lloyd and Melanie Monroe I
believe he was a lawyer.
Yes, that sounds right.
(10:35):
And so one of the interestingthings, that, as we were getting
to know them and talking tothem, they were preparing to
actually leave Right, they werepreparing to actually leave the
US.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
And become missionaries in Guatemala.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Wow, and so I still get their newsletter.
Maybe I'll add a link to thenewsletter.
And I just got anothernewsletter from them 19 years.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
We should reach out to them.
Why don't you reach out to them, andrew, like?
Email them back.
I'm positive they'll come on oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So this that would be great.
That would be really cool tohave them on and see what
they're doing.
So I get this newsletter.
Yeah, there's picture.
It's funny.
It's like you see a picture ofsomebody that you haven't seen
in 19 years and you're like, yep, that's them.
That's them, and so they're outthere just serving people in
Guatemala yeah, I need to readmore to see what they're doing,
(11:33):
but just incredible people.
You know, just incrediblepeople.
And even though we describedthey had this amazing setup
where you know he's a lawyer intown, they've got these kids
here.
Yeah, they've got this greathome and they just, you know,
answered god's call and left itall and, yeah, and went to
(11:53):
guatemala and I think it's oneof those things that also they
were doing what god was callingthem there too.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
So if god hadn't called them to guatemala like he
would have used them intallahassee, so if God hadn't
called them to Guatemala like hewould have used them in
Tallahassee, they just knew thatGod was calling them there.
So I think I do think that asAmerican Christians, we have to
be a little bit cautious, tothink OK, every time God's call
is to take us to, you know, someforeign country.
Guys, we live in a place thatneeds a whole lot of ministry,
(12:22):
needs a whole lot of ministry.
It needs a whole lot ofoutreach, and if you start to
view your home and yourneighborhood as a mission field,
that would be huge.
So once we hear, oh, they wentand did this.
Yes, because there are peoplewho I know are searching after
what God was calling them for.
But God has called you to thatneighborhood right now, guys,
(12:44):
wherever you are, and are youseeing it as the mission field,
are you aware of your neighborsand what they need and
encouraging them in Christ?
So, yeah, just I think there'sthat little thing we just have
to be aware of.
That's always like it doesn'thave to pull you out of your
neighborhood.
But if there's a re ignition orrelighting of the fire to love
your neighbors, that would beawesome.
Ignition or relighting of thefire to love your neighbors that
(13:06):
would be awesome it's.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
It's funny because the the series at our church
right now is about missions andour pastor, who's my
brother-in-law, talked aboutthat very thing recently.
So we had different people comein from all over the world who
are serving wherever they are.
But he talked about when theyfirst planted the church there
(13:28):
in Buena Park.
You know he was trying tounderstand where he was being
called and you know he feltstrongly that it was Buena Park
and he's like but I grew up herein Buena Park, why would I do
that?
And then he started to lookinto the city and he's talking
about when you plant a church,you look into all the things
(13:49):
like the demographics, becausethat's what you do.
And then he was like I realizedthat the world is here, People
from all over the world havecome here, is here, right?
People from all over the worldhave come here.
And just because I'm in buenapark, california, doesn't mean
that the people don't need thatright.
And so exactly what you said,scott, like just you don't, yeah
(14:11):
I, I remember being in youthgroup and stuff and you think,
oh, missions means go, and youread the great commission, right
, and it and it's go out.
And so you, just, you justthink yeah it's easy to do, it's
understandable here, but youabsolutely can Cause your
neighbor.
You don't know what exactlybelieve, or?
Speaker 1 (14:29):
think or or need Right, like.
So, yeah, absolutely think thatthat's good.
So we did end up going to thechurch and, um, as going to the
church and as Andrew and I werepreparing, we talked, and he
doesn't remember much about thechurch service.
I have one particular memorythat I actually use quite often
for some different teaching, andwe were there during a baptism
(14:51):
service and the way that they dobaptisms there was.
They would have the person comeforward and talk about their
personal testimony, so whythey're being baptized, what God
has done, all of thosewonderful things.
Well, one of the young men whogot up to talk, he was probably
in his 20s, he started sharingand his story was basically well
(15:17):
, I got baptized when I was 11.
And I really felt, you know,the Holy Spirit.
Then I started smoking somecigarettes and I did a little
shoplifting.
So I got baptized when I was 14.
And really, you know, wasrepentant.
And then I had sex with mygirlfriend and so I got baptized
when I was 17.
And I'm pretty sure we were onhis fifth baptism, that we were
(15:42):
watching and I so you know, youguys know, I'm a Lutheran pastor
and we believe in kind of onebaptism as the idea that in
baptism it's not our work butit's God's work to us, and God's
work never fails right.
(16:02):
So, although he and this is theteaching point I used although
he felt like, oh, I need torecommit my life to Christ, so
I'm going to use the waters ofbaptism to do that, I would
argue that that's a misuse ofthe waters of baptism, because
he is saying to God yourpromises didn't work, I need
(16:28):
those promises again.
There are different ways thatwe can recommit to Christ.
I think that one of and this isa whole other lecture at some
point, but I think one of thethings we underuse in the church
is foot washing.
If he wants to be committed toserving the church, he should
get down on his knees and washthe feet of the people in the
congregation, and this is a signof humility and service, not a
(16:53):
okay, I gotta be baptized againso I can remake those promises.
Well, god's promise hasn'tfailed.
God hasn't given up on you.
God hasn't been like well,since you had such a good
girlfriend, guess what?
You're out, yeah.
And I worry that the danger inthat kind of view of baptism is
that our salvation becomes solike the stock market up and
(17:15):
down, up and down, up and down,and then our feeling of security
in our salvation goes up anddown with it that way, whereas
the fact of salvation, the factof baptism, is that God's
steadiness is there and hispromises never fail.
So I always use thisillustration of in baptism, god
(17:37):
is taking the child, the person,placing them in his hand, and
his hand never lets go, whereasso many people see baptism as me
choosing to hold on to hand ofGod.
But because I'm a human andsinful, I slip and my hands slip
and I fall, and that feels verytiring and insecure, whereas
(17:57):
being placed in the hands of Godis secure and safe, and so
that's my little like use ofthat.
So it's the reason I rememberthat that moment was for that
one, and I think there were acouple of other people who got
baptized on that day.
So the service was like worshipand baptism and I just remember
(18:17):
watching that and going, oh,like, in a lot of ways, you know
, I sit here and I wonder now,20 years later, like how many
more times has that guy beenbaptized?
Yeah, and what kind of life hashe had to lead where he's
constantly feeling like, oh, Ifailed.
God.
I need again to prove to himhow much I love him.
Boy, that's a.
That's to me a sad a sadrelationship to God.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, it's interesting.
And if you're a listener who islistening because you just
think we're the mostentertaining people out there
and you're really interested inthe road trip aspect and we
sprinkle some church talk inhere, um, you know, if you're
not sure what you believe, Iguess I would say that's okay,
(19:06):
you know, explore it, find out.
You could, you could reach outto us.
Scott's a pastor.
He believes these things.
I know maybe you've been to achurch that believes something
different.
Maybe you um or has a different.
Maybe you've been somebodywho's baptized been baptized
five times, maybe.
Yeah, I think there isdefinitely um ways to.
(19:34):
I don't want to say the wrongthing, like I'm not saying that
Scott is right or wrong.
I'm saying Scott probably ismore right than I could be,
cause you've studied this deeply.
I think the point is like havea conversation, find out for
yourself.
I think there's it.
It does also sort of showcasethe um, like the, the humanity
(19:58):
of us.
All right, because I think alot of people see baptism as
like my commitment to you.
This is a physical, public,outward act that I am doing to
show that I have committed mylife, and then that's why you
get the people, because I workedon the camp, on a houseboat, so
we were surrounded by water.
Believe me, every week we hadbaptisms and every summer there
(20:19):
was a couple of kids who werelike, well, I was baptized last
year and I was real feelinggreat about camp, and then I
went home and then I, yeah,smoked some cigarettes did this
stole some things had sex withmy girl, whatever, and so.
But now I'm feeling great againbecause I've been here for four
days and so, but now I'mfeeling great again because I've
been here for four days and so.
So, like well, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
And that that to me, and I think the thing that's
most important is I I think thatwe don't consider very often
like the natural outcomes ofsomething that we believe back
here.
And so what breaks my heart forthat kid or for that person who
was baptized five times at thechurch, is their up and down
(21:03):
relationship with Jesus.
Yeah, because they don't thinkhe is loving them in the midst
of their sin Right.
And so then they're like Ifailed him, my baptism didn't
work, I'm a horrible person,yeah, oh, that's true.
But God hasn't failed you, godhasn't given up on you.
And so what I love about theLutheran baptism, and that's the
(21:25):
part.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
sorry to interrupt, but that's the part that people
really have a hard time graspingis like my grace is sufficient
for you, meaning like, eventhough you're going to screw up
every day, you're gonna fallshort every day, like right, he
still loves you, he still hasyour back and you are still
saved in spite of all this but,but we have a really hard time
(21:48):
accepting that like a free gift.
We're, we're taught we're.
There's no such thing as a freelunch.
Exactly, there is a free lunch,and is that good?
Is that good?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
and that's the thing, and so it's so and it's so
countercultural.
It's so.
Like you said, we are wired upas legalists, um, as as our, our
wiring, just as humans, youknow, we want to earn it, we
want to prove it, we want to doenough, and the gospel comes in
and just teaches us somethingradically different.
And that's where it's like oh,I love for people to understand
(22:22):
how secure in Christ they areand hope I was good enough, I
hope I did enough, I hope I no,as brothers and sisters, which
is something I think that welearned on the road trip, and we
(23:04):
don't see a whole lot of todayin regards to politics or even
religion, where it's like we areallowed to disagree over things
and still love each other.
To disagree over things andstill love each other.
We're allowed to say, okay, Iwant to believe in believer's
baptism, you want to believe ininfant baptism, but we see a
bitter world out there thatneeds to be loved.
Let's work together to do that,but we like to isolate
(23:28):
ourselves in the camps becauseit's how we're wired again as
tribal people, and so we, Ithink, as believers.
One of the things I learned onthis trip is boy, the church is
a lot bigger than the Lutheranchurch, and we can agree to
disagree.
We can have wonderfulconversations and still go out
and do good work together.
(23:48):
So that'd be the thing that Iwould encourage whoever like.
Yeah, if you think what I'msaying is yeah, great, or you
know well, but what about this?
Let's talk about it and let'sstill love each other at the end
, because that's what we do here, different from the world, I
hope.
So, yeah, that's what Iremember about that, so I do use
that part.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
That's great, hey, let's.
Let's end it here today andmaybe we'll talk a little bit
more about Tallahassee next time.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
but yeah, sincerely, reach out to us this is
fascinating stuff, so Scott cantalk about this all day long, so
reach out if you want to have aconversation yes, before we get
ourselves into the jacuzzi,seriously reach Monroe family,
seriously reach out to them, seeif they want to come up, talk
(24:41):
to us okay, all right, bye guys,until next time, thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides.  Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer  Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.