CODE RED - Asif Shaihk

[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm sitting in the stands and Kobe Bryant walks in to the stadium. Now, let me tell you, most of the people in the audience were African. I don't think they knew who Kobe was. [00:00:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:11] Speaker A: But let me tell you now, I knew who Kobe was. So when you talk about being starstruck, I was a little starstruck. I was. He had just won his fifth world championship. They had just beaten the Boston Celtics in the. In the seven game. He was a big. He's a big fan. He was a big fan of American. [00:00:27] Speaker B: He's a big. Soccer. [00:00:28] Speaker A: Soccer, yeah. So he walks in and I told my buddy, hey, we're going to meet Kobe. And the whole time I'm walking to see Kobe, I'm thinking, I want to talk about the Lakers. I want to talk about basketball. And something happened. The Holy Spirit came upon me and said, I don't want you to talk about sports at all. I want you to talk about me. And literally in that moment, I walked up to Kobe and I introduced myself as a chaplain and I just said, hey, love is. Love your game, love you as an athlete. But I want to let you know that God has an amazing plan for your life if you put him first. [00:01:25] Speaker B: Asap. Shick. Welcome to the Code Red podcast. [00:01:28] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:01:29] Speaker B: Great to be here. We've connected through our daughters at uf. And so how did they meet? [00:01:35] Speaker A: Do you know? I think they met in a ministry called Doulos. It's a ministry to the Greeks. [00:01:40] Speaker B: And for whatever reason, their hearts were just kind of knit together. And eventually I heard enough stories about you guys, and it was like, okay, maybe we need to. Maybe we need to connect. [00:01:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:50] Speaker A: And, well, it's great because not only are they at UFO where they had UF together, that's also where most of my ministry is. Okay, so that's just jumping right in there. [00:02:01] Speaker B: You live in Tampa? [00:02:03] Speaker A: Tampa, Florida? Well, we live in. It's called Seminole, which is Pinellas County, St. Pete area. [00:02:10] Speaker B: Okay, so. So you have. Some of our people will know you through. You came up on Wednesday night, spoke to our church while I was out of town. Yeah, but you've got the most interesting job probably in ministry at least. And you're a pastor. You're a chaplain to the high performance athletes around the. Around the nation. [00:02:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:33] Speaker B: Really? [00:02:34] Speaker A: Around the world. [00:02:34] Speaker B: Around the world, yeah. Yeah. [00:02:36] Speaker A: So I have athletes all over the world that I work with as well. [00:02:38] Speaker B: How does a man sense that calling? How did that happen? [00:02:43] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a Revelation 3:8 moment. It's where Jesus is standing and standing at this crossroad and saying, basically, I have opened a door that no man can shut. And I think many times, limitations of who we are and how we live our life and our background, you know, whether I was an athlete or not, you know, basically which I was none of these. [00:03:12] Speaker B: And you were. You like to play ball? [00:03:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm a pickup guy. You know, I can pick up, play pickup sports, but at the end of the day, I'm not the guy who should be doing what I do because I don't have that background in reality. So, yeah, going back to. The opportunities that God has opened are just exponential. It's unbelievable to see the open doors that God has opened for me. But it all started somewhere, right. It all started with the desire to say yes to the Lord. So, you know, when God says, I'm calling you, well, what does that look like? Well, sometimes we don't know what that call is until, you know, we say yes. Right. [00:03:55] Speaker B: So you began when you were sensing a call into ministry. I know you went to Bible college and all that, but did you have any idea that it would be sports ministry? [00:04:08] Speaker A: No, there was no such thing when I was in college. It was either you become a youth pastor, a worship leader, a missionary, or a pastor, you know. And so my whole thing was, yeah, I love youth, I want to work with youth, and I want to be a youth pastor. So that's kind of like the understanding of what ministry was to me, I never even heard of anybody doing any kind of ministry to athletes. [00:04:30] Speaker B: Do you have any idea how that developed? Like, who's. I've never heard the history. I don't know anything about it. I don't know if there's a book written on it or anything, but, you know, where somebody said, you know, hey, this is sort of a people group. And just like we would approach a missionary group, you know, a group of people in another country. Yeah, this is an unreached people group in a way nobody's specialized ministry for. [00:04:57] Speaker A: I wonder where that came along. Yeah, I think it probably started more like with religious schools, like a Catholic university, for instance. You take a note. Yeah. You take Notre Dame, for instance. [00:05:09] Speaker B: Right. [00:05:09] Speaker A: That they're about to go on the football field, they're about to go on the basketball court, and they'll have something called a chapel where a priest will come in and do maybe a sermon and speak to the guys. And so at the end of the day, I think that's really where it kind of started. And then you Started seeing guys who were coaching, who were believers and were like, hey, you know, God has made a big impact in my life. I would love to have a motivational speaker come in. And of course, you have to be careful, you know, with athletics on the collegiate level, especially in public universities. It's an option. You don't have to go to chapel. It's something if you want to go. And so I think for me, it started out back in South Africa in 2010. I was there on a collegiate missions trip with a group of Division 1 soccer players. And while I was there with a ministry called Athletes in Action, I. I knew that the Team USA soccer chaplain was there. And right before the Team USA game, he said, hey, I know you're in Johannesburg. Would you like to come and take part in this chapel service? And I said, of course I would. I would love that. [00:06:29] Speaker B: What year was this? [00:06:30] Speaker A: 2010. 2010. [00:06:32] Speaker B: So, yes, the soccer was really kind of becoming on the level of black American football in the States by that time. [00:06:38] Speaker A: Yeah, we had some great guys. Clint Dempsey, Donovan, you know, a lot of good players on the team. And so when I went to the chapel service, it was so natural for me because I looked at these guys, even though they were professional players, professional athletes, the whole world knew who they were because a lot of them were playing in, like, the English and Italian leagues. It was just regular guys. To me, it was no different than the guy who's living in the dorm on college campus. And I kind of approached it that way. And so that, I think, was natural for me. [00:07:15] Speaker B: That's strange. That's almost a superpower to not be starstruck. [00:07:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:07:19] Speaker B: You know, and for guys especially, I would think that would be difficult for athletes. [00:07:24] Speaker A: Well, here. Well, here. And it helps when you don't know who they are. [00:07:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:28] Speaker A: So they were big time players who came to chapel. I didn't know who they were. So. So to me, it was like, you know, if you were a big soccer fan and you walked in that, oh, my gosh, Clint Dempsey's here. You know, Donovan's here. You know, it's like, so for me, it was, you know, just having that. But what happened the next night was the big event was the soccer game that I was at, and I was sitting in the stands. And while I'm sitting in the stands, we're in the middle of nowhere. Africa, South Africa. And maybe 30,000 people in the. In the stands. [00:08:02] Speaker B: Wow. [00:08:02] Speaker A: I'm sitting in the stands and Kobe Bryant walks in to the stadium. Now, let me tell you, most of the people in the audience were African. I don't think they knew who Kobe was. But let me tell you now, I knew who Kobe was. So when you talk about being starstruck, I was a little starstruck. I was. He had just won his fifth world championship. They had just beaten the Boston Celtics in the. In the seventh game. He was a big. He's a big fan. He was a big fan of American. He's a big. [00:08:30] Speaker B: Soccer. [00:08:31] Speaker A: Soccer, yeah. So he walks in, and I told my buddy, hey, we're going to meet Kobe. And the whole time I'm walking to see Kobe, I'm thinking, I want to talk about the Lakers. I want to talk about basketball. And something happened. The Holy Spirit came upon me and said, I don't want you to talk about sports at all. I want you to talk about me. And literally in that moment, I walked up to Kobe and I introduced myself as a chaplain, and I just said, hey, love. Love your game. Love you as an athlete. But I want to let you know that God has an amazing plan for your life if you put him first. And he responded so graciously. And I try not to do too many pictures with these guys, but I had to get a picture with Kobe Bryant, so I gotta send that to you. Yeah, I had to take the picture. So. But you. As, you know, 10 years later, he passed away, you know, so, I mean, you know, the reality is, I. These are small moments in life, right? And when he stands before the Lord, you know, he can. You know, God's gonna say, hey, I presented. I pr. [00:09:38] Speaker B: You were. [00:09:38] Speaker A: I was presented to you 10 years ago. What did you do with that? You know. [00:09:43] Speaker B: You know, are you the type person, if you see someone like that, are you comfortable approaching? Absolutely, Because I'm the opposite. Okay, I've done it. But I've always had bad experiences. [00:09:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:54] Speaker B: So. So as a Pastor Tim, Keller was a big hero of mine. You know, Keller. So Julie and I were in Chicago at a Gospel Coalition event, and she knows, like, I had had so many bad experiences meeting my heroes, that it's like. So I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna ever say anything. We get on an elevator, Keller and his handler, whoever was there with him, Julie and I get on the elevator, and I'm going, should I say something? You know, it's always gone bad. So I looked over and I said, Dr. Keller, I just want you to know this has been an amazing conference. He said, thank you very much. And I said to myself, I said, you know, this went. [00:10:33] Speaker A: This went. [00:10:33] Speaker B: Well, that's cool. The door opened, I went out, I took a hard left and ran right into the wall. [00:10:40] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:10:42] Speaker B: Right? Is the only words he ever spoke to me after that were, oh, right. So from that point on. From that point on, I'm like, okay, just gonna. Just gonna let it go, you know? Would you go right up to him? [00:10:56] Speaker A: Well, I will tell you, my wife and I will be walking. You know, we'll be somewhere, and a guy will walk in the room, walk by me. And I know if they're an athlete, you know, I know if it's a football player in Tampa, they just carry themselves well. You can tell. And I'll, you know, if I feel led, I'll go up and I'll say something specific, like, I don't know, you know, like, how was your season? And they're probably looking at me like, how do you know? You know, and not good, man. It's good, you know? And so I. I try to be careful how I approach people, because I don't want to be a fan, and I don't want to come to them as, like, that they are bigger than me. Like, I'm personal friends with Tony Dungy, Coach Tony Dungeon, and a lot of people refer to him as Coach Dungy. Well, he's not my coach. He wasn't my coach. He's my friend Tony. He's my friend Tony, you know, and the same thing. And I realized that when I was at University of South Florida, when Jim Levitt was our football coach, everybody called him Coach Levitt. And one time I saw him walking down, I hadn't met him yet, and I was like, hey, Jim. And he just turned around, hey, how's it going? And somebody was with me, and they said, wow, you know, we don't really refer to him as that. I said, yeah, he's not my coach. I'm a. I'm a pastor. I'm a minister. [00:12:17] Speaker B: You're a civilian. [00:12:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I am. You know, and to me, it was. But what God showed me was in my life at that point in 2008 to now, every man I approach, there is obviously a respect, but there's also the need for these men to be able to be called out as just regular men. I'm just a regular guy. Hey, brother. How you doing? [00:12:41] Speaker B: Hey, man. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Hey, Jim. Hey, Zach. How's it going? Yeah. And I honor you as a pastor. If I'm on the pulpit with you, and I'm going to refer to you as Pastor Zach, Pastor Terry, you Know, but if it's just you and I, or I see you walking down the street, to me, it's Zach, it's jj, it's John, it's Mike. You know. [00:12:58] Speaker B: You know, we talked about. We talked about this area as a resort. You know, we passed her on an island. And so you have people who've been very successful in their career that they end up in places like this. Had a guy one time tell me, he said when I walked in to a church, it was Bellevue Baptist in Memphis. [00:13:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:19] Speaker B: And he said, I walked in. Adrian Rogers, Dr. Rogers back in the day, actually, it was Steve Gaines at this time was leading that church. And Kenny Hatley, he was over impact logistics, which is a big logistics, moving type product around for people. And Kenny walked in and he said something in his heart, he was thinking, I've got so much I could offer to an organization like this. I could help them with leadership training. I could help them with organization, all these things. He was there a few weeks. No one asked him to be, like, the chairman of this. And then one day, and he's kind of. He's kind of taking it personal, you know, and he said one day, someone asked him, hey, we need your help. And he's like, finally they see my genius or whatever, you know, and he said, we need your help. You've got a little girl, and we need help in the nursery. And so he's thinking, you want me to, like, organize the nursery? And he's like, no, no, we want you to hold babies. And so he said, you know, kind of with a. With an attitude. He goes in, he takes the baby. He's there, and he's rocking this kid. And he's kind of talking to the Lord, going, what are these people thinking? With all that I have to offer, they've got me holding a baby. And he said. The Lord spoke to him and said, kenny, this is what you need. You need a place in your life where you're not in control. You need a place where you're just here to serve, and I may never use you in that capacity in this body. [00:14:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:56] Speaker B: And that just. That stuck with me because no matter how much a person's in the spotlight, they need someone in their life. Was the Roman Caesars. When they would come in on their. Their parades, their victory parades, someone would remind them, you're just a man, you know, whisper in their ear, momentos mori. You know, you're mortal. You're mortal. And I. I think that your role. It sounds something like that. [00:15:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:15:24] Speaker B: Somebody that. That's not starstruck, but you've. You've been around people that are pretty amazing, the open doors God's given you in that world. [00:15:34] Speaker A: Yeah, well, let me. Let me. Let me interject on something you said there, because that. That goes right into being a chaplain with professional athletes. So the majority of guys I work with are on the world stage, right? They win a gold medal, they win a championship. You know, the mic is going to come to them and they're going to thank God. They're going to thank different people. I think for me, there was a moment in Budapest for the World Track and Field Championship years ago where I was sitting in the crowd and one of my guys came across the finish line. Now, there's 70,000 people in the crowd, right? He comes across the finish line. He wins a goal, his fourth World Championship. He won a gold in Paris. He comes across, and he sees me in the crowd. So I always try to position myself in a place where my guys can see me if they're finishing, coming across the finish line. And those tickets usually are very expensive, so I have to break the bank a little bit, you know, to get that seat. Because. Because I want them to see. I've already met with them. [00:16:44] Speaker B: Did somebody teach you that, or was that something that you just. [00:16:48] Speaker A: Yeah, it's something I would want. Yeah, it's something I would want because, remember, I'm there representing these guys. Most of them don't have family. A lot of these African American guys that I work with don't have a parent who might be there. And so I'm kind of, that, dad will, you know, fill that role. So I'm thinking of myself. If I'm coming across the finish line, who would I Want to see? 70,000 people. I want to see the guy who mentors me. And this one guy comes across, he's got his American flag on him. He's got the gold medal on him. And he points to the crowd. He points right at me. Well, guess what? The World Athletics Instagram took that picture and they posted that. That got like 100,000 views. But in that picture, he's looking at someone in the crowd. It was me. It was a very humbling moment. And I said to. You know what he said to me? He said, well, the athlete, I want to have to take that part up with a grant. [00:17:45] Speaker B: I don't want that. [00:17:48] Speaker A: The athlete who pointed at me basically says to me, it was you and I. We did it. We did it, Zach. I didn't just do this. I'm not Just winning. It's you and I. You helped me to get to this point. So that's. That's a very important part of what I do. And at the end of the day, I don't get the recognition in the sense of, like, nobody knows that they're. And a lot of people don't know. They're chaplains. There are a lot of people who don't know what I do, that I'm actually going to all these world events and I'm supporting these guys for 1, 2, 3, 4 days, traveling across the whole world and then coming back home. Because for some of them, it's just like, I need you there for whatever reason I'm wondering. [00:18:31] Speaker B: Because, you know, a lot of athletics are psychological. [00:18:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:35] Speaker B: You know, they're genetically gifted by God for these sports, but so much of it is in their head, whether it's golf or, you know, any sport, combat sports, whatever it might be. And, you know, we saw. Was it Simone Biles who had the moment where she kind of had to step away from it for a while. Have you ever ministered to people in those situations where they just. Psychologically, I mean, obviously, you being there is a big part of that, but have you ever had a moment where they just could not perform up to their standard? How do you minister in those situations? [00:19:10] Speaker A: Okay, so, yeah, so we. The most recent situation was Paris. So here we are, Paris. It's August 7. August 7 is a day before August 8. Of course, August 8 is a big event at the Olympic Stadium. Big runners from our. If I say the names, you would know them. And, you know, a lot of pressure, because here's the pressure that a lot of athletes are getting. It's not necessarily the pressure to perform for themselves. It's a pressure from a brand, you know, Nike, Adidas, whoever it is, saying, hey, you gotta win. You win, you get a bonus. Hey, you know, your coach is saying, you gotta win. You win, I get a bonus. So there's a lot of pressure on an athlete, but then also legendary status. You know, you get to the Olympics, great. You'll always know that you're an Olympian. You win a bronze medal, awesome. You win a gold medal, sets you apart. You're in a whole different ball game right there. So at the end of the day, that's the pressure, Zach, because here we are, August 7th, I get a call from two guys, two guys who the next day did win gold. But they called me and said, hey, we need to meet right now. Oh, what's going on? All right, we can Meet. So take my train ride down to the Olympic Village and they come across the street and we're hanging out, we're talking. What's going on? I'm so nervous. Nervous. This is another day in the office. You're one of the best in the world. You're almost a world record holder. Yeah, but I'm feeling anxiety, I'm feeling pressure. And have you seen your parents? No, I haven't seen anybody. But who do they call? They call the chaplain. For some of these guys, there is an element of. Well, it's a calmness. I know what you're going to bring to me is a calmness. And you don't want anything from me. You just want to help me get to this next level. So I feel like it's being able to pray over them. I mean, seriously, just laying hands on these guys, praying for them, telling them I'm in their corner, hey, you know what? God loves you no matter what. I think that's the big message that I'm trying to really get to athletes today is, you know, as there's so much pressure on you, remember that God still loves you and he has a plan for your life. You've already done some great things and you're going to continue to do great things, but go out there and enjoy it. Have fun. And I think that's a big part. The sponsor's not going to tell you to have fun. Your coach is not going to tell you to have fun. You know, the people who want you to win. Your country is not telling you to go have fun. You know, I mean, the whole thing that happened with Simone Biles, that was unfortunate. But I can tell you there are people who are like, hey, you know, you are supposed to perform at a level that you didn't perform at. And so, yeah, we live in a very harsh reality of winning. And if you don't win, then you're not a winner, which is a false narrative. [00:22:20] Speaker B: Well, you know, the spiritual aspect I'm thinking about, the Apostle Paul seemed to be a big fan of athletics, whether it's racing or boxing, wrestling. You know, he uses a lot of analogies about that. And for a little Jewish kid, they were not allowed to go to the, the Greco Roman sporting events. [00:22:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:43] Speaker B: So somehow or another is this son of a. Of a Pharisee, the son of, you know, a religious person, religious family, The Hebrew of Hebrews. He described himself, you know, he was slipping away watching these sporting events. And there's something about the entertainment of it, the, the motivation of that world that just draws people in. It really impresses me that these athletes recognize that there's more to it, that they're humble enough to reach out to you and bring you in in those moments. That's something I don't think a lot of our young people understand, is if you're going to not only be the best athlete you can be, but if you're going to survive in that world, you're going to have to give attention to your spiritual life. [00:23:35] Speaker A: And you can tell the guys who don't, you know, you can tell the guys who choose not to have that. And I'm not saying they're not going to be successful, but there is an element of success that you get from a mentor, you know, whether it's a chaplain or someone who's positive in your life. Because, you know, social media is a big part of our world today. Obviously, here we're on a podcast. This is social media. It's also what these athletes are putting on social media, you know, and I really try to come alongside guys. So I'll have a guy come and speak to, like a high school. High school of 1500 kids. Well, that's 1500 kids. Now. They're going to start following him or her on social media, right? So, you know, it. What are you putting on there? You know, what kind of music are you adding to your. To your sporting event? You know, what lyrics are on there? You know, are you using explicit music? And it's coming. It's me, because nobody else is going to say that. So I'm coming back to these guys and say, hey, hey, listen, man, just your choice of music today or the things that you just said on there. Probably, you know, you could probably think about, you know, all these kids that are now following you. You're a role model for them because you got up and you spoke about how God is working in your life. Let me help you with this, because this is not an indication of God working in your life by using some of this, some of these type of songs or lyrics. [00:25:02] Speaker B: So how long does it take, typically, for you to kind of build the platform with somebody to be able to say those kind of things? Because I would assume if you led with it, they're going to shut you down now. [00:25:13] Speaker A: It takes a while. It really does. I think it's one of those where I want to continue to be invited to be a part of their life. So I definitely ask the Holy Spirit to lead me. And subtly in conversations, I'll try to use scripture, I'll try To really make it about, let me see what, let's see what the word says. Because I don't want to come across that I'm telling them, you know, and I pray for them all the time. I'll send them scripture or I'll say, this is what I'm praying for. But it's very subtle. But there's one guy that I've been working with, he's one of our best track and field athletes in America. And it's a guy that I just want him to understand God's got purpose for him. But it's going to take some time to get there. And the way I'm doing it is a little bit slower than what maybe some people would say, hey, you know, Asif, you could be a little bit. And I said, no, I feel like this is because he then is the one calling me. He's the one saying, I need to talk to you. Hey, I need you to be a part of my life. He's the one, you know, pointing at me in the crowd. He's the one saying, hey, this is my mentor. You know, sometimes I don't know what I mean to some of these guys. Until I was at a track meet in Gainesville at University of Florida a couple years back and I was with one of the guys and somebody drove by and blew the horn who knew him. And he said, hey man, what are you doing here? He said, I'm here with my mentor. I had no idea I was that to him. And that was early on in our relationship. That meant a lot to me, but it showed me something, Zach, that if he's calling me his mentor, let's take it easy here. Let's take it easy. We got time, we got time. I don't need to rush. Yeah. Wow. [00:27:01] Speaker B: You tell us some of the people that you've been able to build a relationship with and to impact that our audience would know. [00:27:10] Speaker A: Yeah, well, that you could tell. [00:27:12] Speaker B: I know you can't share everybody. [00:27:14] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Christian Taylor is a guy I will use. Christian Taylor just retired and Christian Taylor graduated from University of Florida back in 2010. He was a two time Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump. Solid guy, loves the Lord. He really helped open the door for me to meet with a lot of guys. You know, just meeting with him. Other guys saw it, so they were like, around, hey, who was this guy who you meeting with? You know, and so he's like, oh, this is Asif. You gotta meet Asif. You haven't met Asif. You gotta meet Asif man, he's a big part of my life, so that's been really great. Grant Holloway is one. Another guy. There's another athlete named Giannis David. She. She's actually went to uf, but she is one of the greatest long jumpers in French history, so she's a team. So when I say work with athletes from all over the world, I got athletes in France and Italy, so. And then there's a guy, his name is the Giant Omas, and the Giant Omos is a WWE wrestler, and he actually is the biggest guy since Andre the Giant, and I met him at the University of South Florida back in, you know, 2010. He was a freshman in college playing basketball and 7 foot 3, 400 pounds, and let's just say basketball wasn't going to be his sport. Even though he had a full scholarship, he ended up going into the WWE and started following his career, and he's been very successful. And the relationship I built with him was so good that he asked me to officiate his wedding to Cheyenne. And so we. I love this story because here we are, we're at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Florida, getting ready to do the wedding. So all the people come in, you know, and I realized there weren't any wrestlers. Well, everybody comes in, sits down, and then suddenly all these wrestlers start coming in. They're kind of walking in late. But guys that. Anyone know, you know Bobby Lashley? Gosh, I don't know. Who was it? Mvp? Just different names, big guys, you know. What's his name? Oh, man, I've read. [00:29:40] Speaker B: Were you a fan back in, like, as a kid? [00:29:42] Speaker A: As a fan? Yeah, totally. The Hulk Hogan days and, you know, and all those guys. [00:29:46] Speaker B: So, yeah, our kids. It's funny because there's a new crop of fans for that world coming along. [00:29:52] Speaker A: Oh, it's. [00:29:53] Speaker B: But there was a time. There was a time when, like, our kids, we would. I would say, oh, yeah, we every Saturday would get up and we had cartoons, I had figures, all that stuff. And they're like, for wrestling? Yeah, absolutely. [00:30:06] Speaker A: No, so. So here we are, we're getting ready to do the wedding, and these wrestlers are out, and they don't know who I am, so I'm just another guy in a suit. And I say to them, I said, hey, y'all gonna do something like crazy, you know, like run down the aisle and, like, jump on this guy? And they're looking at me like, who. Who's this guy? And. And they started thinking, you know, high and mighty. And I said, well, I'M the pastor. I'm doing the. Oh, you're the pastor. Oh, okay. No, no, we're not doing anything. We're just here to support. And so they came in and, you know, I walked down and I get ready to do the wedding. We're in the middle of the wedding. Quiet. As you can hear a pin drop in there. You know, the giant omas. He's getting emotional. His wife to be Cheyenne. She's getting emotional. It's time to. It's time for the ring. It's time for the ring to come out. The rings. And his best man comes with the ring. Oh, my goodness. Sack. I don't know what size ring you wear. I know what size I wear, but let me tell you, this ring looked like a bracelet. It was so big. And when the ring came out, I was like, oh, my goodness. And the whole crowd just lost it. Like I said, it was so quiet. I was like, oh, my goodness. And everyone started laughing and I said, hey, guys, I've done a lot of weddings, but I had never seen a ring. It was a size 19 ring. [00:31:25] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. Wow. [00:31:26] Speaker A: I mean, I think the average man may be like 10 or 11, but this was massive. So that just shows you how big of a person. So. So it's. It's these kind of little, you know, little things and that you build these relationships with people and they'll remember for the rest of their lives. [00:31:42] Speaker B: When you. When you see someone that is in the spotlight. [00:31:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:45] Speaker B: And they come to faith in Christ, do you ever counsel them to not wave that flag too soon? And I'm thinking about like a Kanye situation. You know, we were all excited when he kind of came out that he was following Jesus and what, three years later, it. It kind of went south and some of the old demons came back to haunt him and all that. God only knows where his heart is. But, you know, we've seen those situations. How do you. How do you counsel guys when they're. They're getting serious about their faith or they're coming to Jesus? Do you. Do you encourage them to go public with that immediately or. What's the. What's the word? [00:32:27] Speaker A: I think if you take 20, 25, for instance, we've had athletes step up to the mic even right now in March Madness, you had ladies, you had guys step forward and talk about Jesus. I think there's an element of the Holy Spirit in their lives depending on where they are, maturity wise. I mean, you can really tell when an athlete is really solid with Christ in how they Say, you know, one guy could. I mean, I'll take it. I use an example. Vanderbilt University. All right? Football. They beat Alabama. [00:33:03] Speaker B: I mentioned that a couple times. [00:33:04] Speaker A: All right, they beat Alabama. And their quarterback, he starts talking about, oh, my goodness. I want to thank Jesus. I want to thank the Lord. He had a plan for us. And then the next thing you know, he drops the F bomb on the live TV after he says this stuff. And you're like, oh, my goodness, what just happened here? You had it going, but at least now we know where your heart really is. [00:33:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:34] Speaker A: So I think there's an element of emotion. And I. And I hear this in sports. Hey, we got caught up in the emotion, you know, on the field, you know, we'll say things with no. You know, and I'm a big, big proponent against that because it's a wellspring of your heart and what's coming out of your mouth. And, you know, there are a lot of athletes who will say, I give glory to God, but then their life doesn't show it. So I tell guys that you got to be really careful, you know, if you're ready to be all in. Because if you're not, if God is not Lord of all, that he's not Lord at all. And that's a big thing. I preach to a lot of guys. If God is not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. And I think you gotta be all in. So when you're all in and you're gonna have a mic put in front of you and you want to talk about your faith, don't just say, hey, I want to give glory to God. Talk about something that you're dealing with right now. And we just had that happen in March Madness. A young lady for a TCU, you know, she gets up, she's a Big 12 player of the year, and she got up, and she's basically saying, guys, you don't even know what I've been through. I've been through so much. God has brought me through so much. I give him all the glory. But she went really deep, started crying, and he said, he's delivered me from so many things in my life. This is on a podium. And so I think there's words that you listen for, and you got to be like, hey, this person thinks something's going on with them versus just like, I want to give God glory. But, yeah, that was awesome game. And, you know, we're going to. We're going to move on. [00:35:08] Speaker B: What when you. [00:35:09] Speaker A: From. [00:35:10] Speaker B: From the time that you've been in that world. I know that there are certain people you mentioned, Tony Dungey, that have become kind of influential for the faith of others. Who are some of the people that if we're praying and we're. And God brings it to mind. Who are some. Some athletes or coaches that you would say, man, God's using him in a unique way? [00:35:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I would say, you know, I mean, sometimes you got to go back to some of these coaches, you know, Joe Gibbs, who was with the Command. Well, Redskins back in the day, you know, Tony Dungy. There are some guys out there I'm drawing a blank on some names that. [00:35:51] Speaker B: Tell me that story. I know. [00:35:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:55] Speaker B: Unexplained. Just one of those open doors. [00:35:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Joe Gibbs, as you know, great just believer in Christ and, you know, was. Was led the Redskins to four Super Bowls, and they won three. And, yeah, he was. He left coaching to start his NASCAR team, and he. And he came back to coach. And I had an opportunity to go to a chapel service in Tampa when they were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And I had the opportunity to go to a chapel, just invited and, you know, just. You want to sit in the back row, don't want to be bothering anybody. And coach Dungeon Coach Gibbs. See, now I'm referring to him as Coach Gibbs. We have so much respect for him. Not that I don't have respect for him, Joe Gibbs, because he's like my childhood, you know, I think of it, you know, so he comes in, sits in the back row, and, you know, the guy who's speaking says, hey, if you have a coach around, you lay hands on him. I'm like, oh, okay, yeah, you know, and I lay hands on Joe Gibbs. And the guy who I was with when we were driving home after spending time with some of the football players, that was when, you know, he said, hey, I think you're really natural at working with athletes and just, you know, being around these guys. So Gibbs was one of them. But through my career, through my career of working with collegiate athletes, different sports have had, you know, I've worked with soccer players, I've worked with track and field. A lot of those coaches are believers, and they see the value of what I do, and not necessarily that I need to come and preach to them, just being around, being around. Practice. Asif, can you come to practice? Can you and your wife just come and hang out at practice? You know, some of the students are going through things. [00:37:47] Speaker B: It's got to change my tone. [00:37:48] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [00:37:49] Speaker B: You know, I remember. You remember Kelly Green Evangelist. Did you ever know? [00:37:52] Speaker A: No. [00:37:53] Speaker B: So he was back in the 90s maybe, when God had just called me in the ministry and I was trying to discern, should I become like a Student Pastor? I'm 20, 22, 23 years old. Should I become a student pastor? I really wanted to do evangelism. I always felt like I could get lost people in the room and just share the gospel with them. And, you know, anybody that can get the lost people there. And if you share the gospel, when Christ is lifted up, he's going to draw a number of those to himself. So I had an opportunity to speak with Kelly Green, and Kelly was one of these guys that it was a master. I mean, I've seen 120 people in a Baptist church profess faith in Christ under Kelly's ministry. And I approached him one day And I said, Dr. Green, how did you know that God was calling you to be an evangelist? And he wasn't trying to be a smart aleck, but he said, well, the first time I preached, 30 people gave their life to Jesus, and that's not normal. And so it really is as simple as that. If you're trying to discern where God wants you and what your place in the kingdom is, what's working, it's kind of pragmatic. I went to the head of the North American Mission Board and asked about an opportunity to go to a different church when I was in Kentucky. And I really thought he was going to give me like a formula, some algorithm to discern the where you need to serve at spiritually. And he said, where do you think you can make the most disciples? I'm like, well, that's pretty clear to me. So he said, well, go there. That's where we need you. We need you wherever you can make the most disciples. And we overcomplicate some of these things. But obviously the doors you've had open, I've not had open and vice versa. So your place in the kingdom is in this realm of athletics. [00:39:51] Speaker A: And I'll interject something there when you talk about just people who've been influential. So one of my good friends from college, an author named Mark Batterson, Pastor Mark Batterson out of Washington, D.C. mark and I have been friends for over 30 years, and he's been such a huge supporter of what I do. I remember that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were coming up to D.C. to play the Redskins back in. I think it was like 2008 or something, and they needed a chapel speaker. So I told Doug, who was with the Bucks at the time, I said, hey, how about Mark Matterson? So Mark came and spoke, and it was really an amazing opportunity for him to come and speak. And he loved it so much. And next thing you know, he's been doing Super Bowls. He's been doing chapels for a lot of people. One cool story with that was, is that he did a chapel for the Minnesota Vikings. At that time, Brett Favre had. Remember, Brett Favre had been traded to the Minnesota Vikings at the end of his career, and he was going through a couple of things. Mark was the. Was the chapel speaker. And Brett calls his chaplain and says, hey, I want to get a hold of this guy Mark, because he said some things in chapel that really hit me. And so the chaplain was like, I'm trying to think, who can I call? I'll call Tony Dungy. He calls Tony and said, do you have information for Mark Batterson? He said, no, but I know somebody who does. Long story short, Brett Favreau was Mark's childhood icon. You know, Green Bay Packer fan. Right. And Brett invited him to Louisiana to come and spend a day with him. And, you know, it's just amazing to see. I think the story of my life would be also the connections I've made. My desire is to connect people, and if I can connect someone for the greater good, for the gospel, I'm all about that. I always want to make sure that people. Even this podcast, for me, it's all about Jesus. It's all about the glory to God. I want people to see what I do for a living, which is very specialized. You don't just walk into an athletic facility and say, hey, man, I want to talk to the team. You know, you got to know somebody. You don't walk into an NFL facility and say, hey, you can't get past the first gate. I mean, the gate. So I think there's an element of favor. Favor has to come, and that favor is from God. So, Revelation 3. [00:42:33] Speaker B: 8. [00:42:34] Speaker A: I've opened a door that no man can shut, because man will. Will want to say, you're not worthy. [00:42:39] Speaker B: You. [00:42:39] Speaker A: You're not qualified to be speaking to this team. You're not qualified to be. Who are you? Did you. Were you on a team? Did you play professional sports? And I'm. No, I didn't do any of that, but I got the Almighty God with me. I got. I got Jesus by my side, and he's the one I'm going to bring to the table. [00:42:56] Speaker B: When you mentioned Mark last night, was your roommate in college. [00:43:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [00:43:01] Speaker B: And when you said it. I've got to. I've got to confess, when you said that, I thought, oh, man, he's going to tell me something about Mark this bad. Oh, no, I really did. Because that's all we hear. [00:43:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:11] Speaker B: From guys that have been used. The way that Mark has just. God's given him a unique platform of influence and just ministering so many people that when you said that, I held my breath. I'm like, what's he going to say? And you were like, yeah. Back in college, he was the real deal. And he still is. He's the real deal on stage, off stage. And that was such a relief because sometimes. And I think that's one of the things about, like this podcast, being in the spotlight is so. There is a different level of temptation. It's a different level of opportunity, good and bad. This type ministry to me is holding spotlight, you know, showing what someone else. What God is doing with somebody else. And I'm much more comfortable in that role. [00:43:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:57] Speaker B: But these days with social media, with all the things that are going on, it. I don't know how athletes, pastors, anybody that's on that kind of world stage is able to survive. It's just insane. [00:44:12] Speaker A: Yeah. And there's a lot of pressure, you know, and I think that's. I think that's just the whole. The intentionality of accountability as well, you know, just being able to be in communication and being able to let people know what you're doing. And I think that's what happens when you become too isolated and you're on your own, you're doing your own thing. That's when you know the enemy knows what we're doing. Hey, let me tell you something. You know, when I get on an airplane and I'm flying 15, 16 hours, the enemy knows what I'm going to do, you know, and he's going to try to do every hiccup, you know, make every hiccup that's going to mess me up. So I have to really be on my A game when I'm traveling, when I'm. When I'm seeking out guys, you know, and it's. And what's crazy is when I do travel, when I do go somewhere, I get a call from home, something's happening at home, you know, oh, the water heater broke. This happened. Or this happened. Of course, right when I leave town, you know. [00:45:10] Speaker B: Who is your chaplain who speaks into your life? [00:45:14] Speaker A: I would say Mark. Mark is a guy who speaks into my life. And we. We communicate very well to you know, I come to him for a lot of things and even though we're, we're peers or, you know, we're the same age, but I, I think there's a respect from him for me of what I do. You know, he's a, he's a sports guy. He loves sports. He's like, but I couldn't do what you do. And I respect him for being a pastor and what's. What God has done as an author. I use all his material. That's one thing I want to say. I use all his material. Every book that he's published, I know all his books and I use it in my ministry. Any book I need, he gives me all of them. He's probably given me about 3,000 books. [00:46:00] Speaker B: That's so. It's impressive. You know, what was it, Maxwell, that said, success is when those who know you best love and respect you the most? And so often it's like, I mean, I could name guys that I've got their book, but I'm not gonna share it with anybody because I've been with, I know them, you know, and as sad as that is, well, we were. [00:46:22] Speaker A: At a service up in D.C. about a year ago and, you know, I mean, I just kind of slip in and I'm there, you know, I'm old friend, you know, and, and he, you know, when you're, when you're doing a podcast or when you're doing a sermon over on, for the audience on social media, you don't really like, really talk about people in the crowd. But there was a moment that, you know, I was there and Mark said, you know, I want to say, you know, just a shout out to my friend Asif. And, you know, he knew me before all of this and that's big. You know, he's like, he knew me before all this happened because he's been very successful. He's a New York Times best selling author. But for him to say, you know it, to have people in my life that have known me for this long, but knew me before I had all this, that meant a lot to me and that showed the respect and just a really honesty of accountability, I feel. [00:47:17] Speaker B: You know, well, I can, I can tell you from a pastor's perspective when, when we get tempted and we're have the opportunity to blow it. [00:47:27] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:28] Speaker B: The people that come to our minds are not Billy Graham. [00:47:33] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:47:33] Speaker B: They're not our celebrity heroes. It's our friends that expect more of us. It's the men who've mentored us, you know, When I've been in. In situations like that, the faces that come up in my mind or people you've never heard of, but they think that we walk on water, you know, they know us well enough to know better, but they still expect us to walk with Jesus. [00:48:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:06] Speaker B: And those people that I don't want to disappoint, you know. And so you've been given that favor to have that role in multiple people's lives. [00:48:16] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, so two years ago, I kind of hit a wall in ministry. I'd been going for 23 years, and I'd never taken a sabbatical. Never thought I needed one. Never thought this was, you know, just my personality just going, going, going. And it came to a place where I talked with Mark and he's like, have you ever taken a sabbatical? I'm like, no, I don't need that. And I think you do. And so, you know, a couple of different guys, you know, speaking into my life gave me that opportunity. But while I was. When I think about that sabbatical, the rawness of that, there was an element of. I lost my train of thought. [00:48:53] Speaker B: I'm going to my first one. [00:48:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:55] Speaker B: This year, you know, we're going to go down to Roatan for a month. [00:48:58] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:48:59] Speaker B: And so. But, yeah, when I first. When people started mentioning that I'm working on my doctorate, and our cohort, we would go out to Colorado and work through, it was really group therapy more than anything. [00:49:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:13] Speaker B: But they would ask, you know, all of the childhood questions and all that stuff. But they made a big deal about how, you know, some of these guys every year would take a sabbatical. And like, I'm. I'm not, you know, I'm not going to do a sabbatical. I don't even like vacations that much, you know, because you travel for work so much, you know, go. Go speak somewhere, wherever it might be. So to really take a vacation and I'm not speaking makes me uncomfortable. [00:49:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:40] Speaker B: But go for a month, you know, the entire month of July in another country and not be doing ministry. That's. That. [00:49:50] Speaker A: That. [00:49:50] Speaker B: That was scary to me. [00:49:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:52] Speaker B: And so. But from what I'm hearing, it makes a pivotal difference in somebody's ministry. [00:49:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:49:58] Speaker B: And it did for you. [00:49:59] Speaker A: Yeah, it was. It was a big. It was a big. It made a big impact on me. It made me realize the importance of, you know, I didn't know that I needed to step away. I didn't know that I needed to be recharged. I Didn't know that I needed all these things, but I think in conversations with people, you start to become a little bit raw. You start becoming a little bit jaded to ministry and to the things that you just normally do. Like you said, you know, speaking in front of an audience, speaking to athletes, speaking to a college, university, whatever it is. It's stuff I know how to do. It's stuff I can do. It's stuff I can do in my. In my sleep. But was I all there? I started to feel like I wasn't all there. It's like I could do it because I know how to do it. Right. So it'd be like you preaching on your. Yeah, it's like you preaching on a pulpit every Sunday and just like, oh, well, it's something I do. I know how to study for it. I can get up there, give a sermon. People love it, and I, you know, go about my business. But. But there was an element for me that started to feel I wasn't there. [00:51:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:51:04] Speaker A: And I didn't. And I don't want it to not be real. I don't want to live a life that's not right and not fake. I don't want to be fake. [00:51:12] Speaker B: There was a season in our life when it was. I don't think it's ever got down to where it was just going through the motions. Every time I've been in the pulpit, I've been there. But there was a time it would happen more in meetings to where it was like, okay, I know what to say here. Just go through the motions. And it was close to that happening in the pulpit ministry. And I was preaching the best sermons I'd ever preached because I worked on it for 20 years. And the church was. My audience was bigger than it had ever been. And there was a moment when it seemed like the Lord was saying to me, I miss the old Zach, that kid that would stand up as if when he walked off this stage, the world would end and everybody was about to be thrust into one of two places. I missed that guy. [00:52:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:11] Speaker B: That had urgency, passion. He didn't get all the theology right all the time. He said some things he probably shouldn't have said, but that's where I want you to be now. I want you to be that guy who would take risks, that guy who would live and preach with passion and urgency. And so I went back and I took a couple of the sermons that I preached in the beginning and re preached those sermons 25 years later. And it stirred up something inside of Me that used to be there, and I didn't know it was gone. [00:52:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:51] Speaker B: You know, and I'd become, as Piper would say, a little too professional. [00:52:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:56] Speaker B: You know, and these brothers were not professionals. [00:52:58] Speaker A: When I came and spoke to your church, it was a Wednesday night when I came. And one of the things I felt like the Holy Spirit really wanted me to say to your audience was this, that we have the opportunity. Every single one in here has the opportunity. Make a difference every day for Jesus. You know, whether you're retired and you go to the same coffee shop every day, you know, you're not just there. I remember back in the old days when people would come to a coffee shop and read the newspaper, you know, sit there and have their own newspaper up and kind of call it a day, hang out for an hour or two and drink their coffee and go on. But I feel like we were just at this hotel down the street, come for breakfast, and there's a young man sitting there. Hey, how's your morning? How are y'all doing? And he's someone who worked there, and he had special needs, but that was his job. They hired him, and he was just a smile on his face and, hi, how's it going? I'm just here to. And I thought about that, that even he had purpose, even of where he is in his life. He's not letting his disability dictate his life. He's there every morning with a smile, making sure everybody's smiling. So I feel like for all of us, wherever we're at in life, it's not like, okay, even ministry people are like, what are you going to do when you retire? I said, retire. I said, man, I don't know what that looks like. I mean, as long as the door is open for me to continue to work with athletes, as long as you guys are inviting me in and I have the God given health and ability to do it, I'm going to continue on. I will continue on to do it until God takes me home, or I can't just do it anymore. But I think there's an element of what does that look like, what retirement look like for me? I love what I do. I get to travel the world. I go to countries that I would have never gone to in my life. I'm able to speak to people in a group, in a group that I would never think that I would have the opportunity. My girls grew up in a home where on almost every Sunday, they could turn on the tv, and on TV they would either. I would see oh, there's one of daddy's football players. A chaplain that he knows or a coach that he knows. I mean, and I have girls. They got. They got to a point where I was like, oh, no big deal. My dad knows all these people. If I had boys, they'd probably be like, oh, my goodness. Yeah, my dad knows everybody, you know, But. But there was an element of. I almost turned on the tv, and there's somebody on TV that I know from sports because of how connected God has given the. Given me that opportunity to do that. [00:55:46] Speaker B: When you're going and you're ministering to the. To the track guy, and you're sitting in a place where a dad would sit, and that's expensive, how do you fund what you're doing? [00:55:59] Speaker A: Yeah, so basically, what I really try to help people understand, like Team usa, for instance, is not funded by the United States government. Most countries are funded by their government. Team USA is funded through sponsorship. Yeah, their sponsorship. So, like, if you have an athlete, let's say young Joe Smith over here, Amelia island, made it to the Olympics. Now Team USA will pay for him to fly to the Olympics and take care of him. But anyone else in his little entourage, whether it's mom, dad, trainer, coach, they all have to pay to get there on their own. So where. Most of these countries are paying for the whole entourage to come. So I kind of say, hey, Team USA athletes are having to find money and raise funds for their entourage to go. Same thing with me. I'm considered a missionary. I travel. One of my athletes asked me one time, who pays for you to come? I said, oh, I raised all my funding. What do you mean by that? And so it was really a good opportunity where to say, hey, you know. You know, the times that we spent together. And sometimes when I take pictures with you or I do a video with you, that's for people to know what we're doing, because I asked them for support. I raise support every summer because I go to either Olympics or I go to world events. And. And so it's a really great opportunity. At first, I was kind of. I don't know if I want to do that, you know, but. [00:57:36] Speaker B: Well, it's like. It's like, you know, vicariously. A lot of our people who can give, they can't go in those spaces, but they can help you do it. [00:57:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And they feel. They feel part of it. So when I. When I. You know, when I go and a guy is up there with his gold medal, they're like, oh, my goodness, I Supported that guy on that trip. I'm part of that. Because let's. You know, if you, if you ask your congregation how many people are going to watch the Olympics this week, 98% of the people are going to raise their hand and say, I'm going to watch something in the Olympics. Right. So the whole opportunity for me to be there is a great opportunity, but I can't do it without the support of individuals. [00:58:17] Speaker B: Well, this ministry is the same way. But you look at people who came to Christ through media and who've been discipled through media, and now God's blessed them, they're able to help. They understand the mechanism, that airtime is expensive, they understand production's expensive, but the average person, it just shows up on the Internet. And the ministry, the message may minister to them, but they don't understand the framework. In the same way, there are certain people that understand that the world of sports, the world of athletics, that it's much more than just going in the gym, going on the field, that there's lives. [00:59:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:59:02] Speaker B: And the influence that's given to them, and if God's given them means that they have $100 extra or more, a lot more, then to support someone like you can really be a cool thing for them. [00:59:16] Speaker A: So let me. Let me tell you. I went to one of the. I went to London for the Olympics. And when I did that, I did that with an organization. In 2016, I went to Rio. I was by myself, and I ended up staying in Rio in a very. In a very tough place. It was probably not a good area for me to stay in. And there was a lot of crime in that area. I had to take a bus just to get to the Olympic Village. And I was in a foreign country, didn't know the language. After that Olympics, I decided for me to be most effective, I have to be as close to Team USA as possible. So now as I've gotten to know different guys in Team usa, the opportunity for me now to stay almost at the hotel where they're staying or across the street has become more prevalent. But that we're talking, this is not days in. This is not, you know, so when I used to raise in my funding 10 years ago is not the same what it is today. Because if I want to be effective, I don't want to be a train right away. I don't want to be on a bus ride away in a country that I don't know how to speak the language. And if a guy is calling me, so I'm on Call. So when those guys called me on August 7, when I said earlier in this program, they said, hey, Asa, we need to meet with you in 15 minutes or 15 minutes, I'm just five minutes away. [01:00:49] Speaker B: If you're on the other side of. [01:00:50] Speaker A: Town, that's not right. That's not going to happen in a foreign country that I don't really know how to get around. Or I have to take an Uber, you know, and even that or taxis these days, you just don't know. And especially wearing American stuff. [01:01:04] Speaker B: Right. [01:01:04] Speaker A: I try not to do that. Yeah, I don't wear any of this. So that's another thing I want to tell the audience. I don't wear any of this. I put in a backpack. When I get to the village, I put it all on. But I don't wear any of these things. Like when I go to any foreign countries, maybe like England, I'll do that. But, but, but certain places I don't do that. So I got to be careful with that. [01:01:23] Speaker B: So if somebody is watching this program, they say, I want to support what he's doing. How can they learn more? How can they give? Tell us. [01:01:29] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, no, they can. I work through a missions organization called Global Service Associates and we basically. It's a donation. Just give a donation. It's tax deductible and it's great. You can give monthly. You know, you can be a partner and I send a newsletter out every month and let people know what we're doing. Or you can give a one time gift. You know, some people love just giving one time gifts. And we're coming into a season where we're going to be going to Tokyo for 10 days for the World Athletics Outdoor Championships. 10 days in Tokyo. I don't know if you know anything about Tokyo. It's not cheap going to Tokyo. So you're talking about flights, you're talking about hotels, you're talking about transportation, you're talking about food. So that's just one event. But there's some other events in the summer that I'll be attending around the US and around the world as a chaplaincy group. We try to get together and meet up, but many times that's in different countries. [01:02:27] Speaker B: Wow. [01:02:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:02:28] Speaker B: Well, you know, hopefully send me your social media, send me all that stuff so we can make sure to put it in the show notes and direct links, how they can give. [01:02:36] Speaker A: Sure. [01:02:37] Speaker B: But brother, thank you for coming in today. I'm excited that our daughters are friends. [01:02:41] Speaker A: Yes. [01:02:42] Speaker B: And just, man, I'm proud of what you're doing. [01:02:44] Speaker A: Thank you. [01:02:45] Speaker B: I'm praying for you. [01:02:46] Speaker A: Thank you. [01:02:46] Speaker B: Keep up's good work. [01:02:47] Speaker A: I appreciate.