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Hello everyone, welcome to From the Table Podcast.
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And this is episode five.
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And this is a really special time.
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Uh the table is full.
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We have Gen Z here around the table, and we are going to discuss uh Gen Z's hopes in some really important areas of the world and see how the table culture of Jesus is impacting your generation uh from one generation to the next.
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As I was preparing for this, I was in Psalm 145 where it says, one generation will declare your mighty works to another.
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And I really pray that as we as you guys join us, as we take this time, that we will get to see that.
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You know, that one generation can share and one generation can share, and we're gonna see uh the mighty works of God revealed.
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So thank you, Leticia, Victoria, and Josh for being here, and we're we're ready to jump in.
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So happen to us.
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Yeah.
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I mean, this is what it's all about.
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You know, uh I'm not too old, but I'm kind of getting there.
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And this is my daughter, by the way.
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Uh, so I'm really excited to have her right in the middle of this table today between these two.
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Yeah.
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But uh Leticia.
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Letitia is an incredible part of SEAPC and actually leads a lot of our missions work coming from the United States to the nations and within Brazil.
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She is from Brazil, and she is a medical doctor, and she became a medical doctor at the age of 23, and also has a master's in leadership.
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And so God has really moved through your life, Letitia, to uh not hold back even at a young age, to have hopes and dreams and to see change.
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And I I wanted to ask you today, and for our audience, you know, how do you see the table of culture of Christ impacting global missions?
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Because obviously you've experienced a lot of that even at a young age.
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You've worked with many different generations at a high level.
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Uh, what are you seeing?
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What are you sensing uh for Gen Z for missions?
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Well, I think our generation, we see a lot of identities, not so much about the church's names or brands or anything like that.
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It's just like, hey, we love Jesus, we want to serve each other.
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It reminds me a lot of Romans when they talk about one body but different parts.
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So we all submit submit our gifts or talents to the table, and we're like, hey, we're here to support each other, we're here to serve and strengthen the church, which is the ultimate goal to share the gospel and for every woman, man, and child to hear about Jesus Christ and what he did in the cross.
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So when we think about the stable culture where we lay our ourselves down and we look at each other, and there's no hierarchy, which is very, very prevalent in in the healthcare.
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There's no titles, it's just brothers and sisters who are adopted because of what Jesus did in the cross, and we just serve each other like family.
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Uh, I think that's when the change happens.
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So it's not going on a mission settling our own agenda, but rather just being like, hey, what do you need and how can we serve and how can we strengthen the local church?
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And I see a lot of the Gen Zs doing that.
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It's like, hey, I love Jesus, you love Jesus, let's serve together and let's share that love.
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It's simpler.
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Simpler.
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Yeah, simpler.
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Why do you think that's significant for Gen Z uh in their engagement in missions?
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Like, because each generation inherits a world that they're called to.
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Why is it important for Gen Z missions to reflect the harvest that's in Gen Z, uh, where their hearts are, where their minds are, where culture is, what they're faced with.
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Like God really prepares a generation to reach a generation.
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So when you see that in missions, um, anything more that you see on that and the significance.
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I see a lot of uh taboos being broken overall.
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So we see a lot of Gen Z with tattoos or with different hair colors, or just the way they speak is different, you know, of the slangs, no cap and stuff like that.
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And even with those slangs, they're able to share Jesus.
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So there's no titles, there's no the uh legalism that the previous generation established, like this is how you preach, this is how you share, this is the agenda of a mission trip, they they break all of that, and it's a great way to reach their own generation because they speak their language.
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When you think of the generations that came before you, what things do you appreciate uh that have been passed to you in missions?
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Uh, what are some of the blessings that you think that your generation carries in missions that were inherited from the work of others?
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And now you want to maybe want to take that further.
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You're saying, like, we need to go even stronger into that.
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Anything come to mind?
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Well, it's it's easy to think about my own family.
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I'm the third generation of believers, and also the second generation of missionaries in my family.
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So seeing what they did, I learned a lot of what they do, right?
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And things that we can grow, grow uh strengths and weaknesses.
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And uh, I think overall, what goes from generation to generation is the love of Jesus Christ.
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Don't lose focus and keep fighting for the good fight.
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Like Paul said, you know, like fighting, fighting the good fight, keeping the journey, finishing the race.
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That's really what matters.
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And seeing that in my parents, after 20 years of missions, they still have that fire, they still care for uh the the bro the the loss, they still care for the Prago sign, like they did back in the first year of missions with even more fire, more experience.
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So I take that as a big lesson for sure.
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Awesome.
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I know a prayer for me is that for my generation that we would fight for instead of fighting more, you know, like fight for you.
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And I know that people fought for me.
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Um, we want to fight for you.
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Uh instead of fighting uh against, we want to fight for.
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And it's amazing how much God has given Gen Z.
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I mean, the amount of resource, the amount of technology to reach the world.
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So when you think about stewarding what you've been given, what do you hold as like, okay, I know we've been given a lot.
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What is your passion to use it?
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How is your passion to use what God has given your generation and missions?
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I think our generation, compared to the previous generation, we have a lot of access to technology or social media, and that can reach unreached areas that we don't necessarily need to be there physically, but people can hear this podcast wherever they are.
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That we in uh closed nations where uh Bible might not enter, but hey, a different book, or even social media, Instagram.
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I've been in places where they don't have they don't have uh ceilings, they don't have walls, they don't have windows, but they have internet.
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And they follow me on Instagram or they they follow the church after we went on a mission trip.
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So we definitely have been given a lot, and with that, we also have a lot of responsibility because we are exposed to a lot every day.
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Yeah.
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Either that is good or that is bad, and it's not so much what we we just see from the outside is what we take in, and we decide to share as well because the power of life and death is in the tongue.
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So it's dangerous, and I think a lot of the mentorship from the previous generations will help us steward that because they have also been exposed to really bad things in the past.
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And how do you filter that?
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Well, what we take in that's profound.
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Can you give a a word to your generation right now about missions?
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A charge to Gen Z about missions?
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What would you say to them if you had, and we obviously we have many that are gonna watch, but if there was a hundred of them in the room right now, what would you say to them?
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What charge would you give them personally?
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I always think of for I was lost, but now I'm found.
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If if we love our neighbors like like Jesus told us to, we don't want them to be lost, we don't want them to die, we don't want them to suffer and be bound by depression, anxiety, or the lack of identity.
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We want them to know who they are, and we want them to know that Jesus Christ did something that no one else could ever done for us.
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No one else would ever do that for us.
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And there's a hope, there's a way, there's a truth, and there's life.
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And if we found that, we should share that because it's it's life-changing.
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Awesome.
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Thank you.
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Yeah.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for living it like you do.
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Victoria.
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So Victoria's traveled obviously with our family around the world, many nations, many meetings with dad, mom, uh, from world leaders to kids to everybody in between.
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I know that that had a deep impact on your upbringing, of course, or your decision in what you would do with your life.
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And I know that you went to Regent University and got a bachelor's in government international relations, and that was uh wonderful, but not a surprise.
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Uh, because I know you saw things.
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You saw good things, you saw hard things, you saw injustice, you saw justice, you saw people without a voice and people with a voice, and that moved you to want to see impact in the government sphere of nations.
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And I'll ask you that question today.
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Uh, how do you see Gen Z and the table culture of Jesus impacting uh nations and their governments and how they lead people, how they uh prepare for a future?
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That's a full question.
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Uh yeah.
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I think as far as the table goes, I think it's really cool that Gen Z is really focusing on going back to the basics of family.
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Um and government originally was all about the family and how do we support the family, how do we protect the family?
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And you know, most of Gen Z isn't in government positions at the moment.
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Um, so I'm very curious to see how that's gonna go.
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But it's a lot about I just want to have a family, I just want those simple things in life.
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Um I feel like our generation before us was very ambitious in like doing stuff on our own.
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And Gen Z is very much like, I wanna, I wanna have those people, I want to have my people um around me and just learning how to do that.
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Because again, like online is hard to have that connection.
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So I think this generation is really trying to learn because they can feel that disconnect that they've had, because they've been online their whole lives, and there's I think they're finally starting to notice, like, hey, this is there's something more.
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I need something more, and I think they're starting to go out and find it.
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Um, yeah, so for government in the world, I'm very curious to see how that's going to embed into when they do get those positions um within their own governments and their own fears.
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Um, yeah, there's so much like within the government that I'm very curious about because they're going back to the basics, I feel like government is going to.
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I'm praying it does, um, because it's so corrupt in every nation um in different ways for sure.
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Um, but it's so complicated.
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Uh government has taken on the role of the family, of the church, of the schools, everywhere.
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And with that comes, it's not really a government anymore in the way that they were designed to be.
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So people are not doing the things that they're called to do.
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They're not raising their family, they're having someone else do it.
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They're not um really teaching their children, they're having someone else do it.
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They're not relying on their own gifts, their own talents, because they somehow they can get it from the government systems.
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So, which is not what it was really designed for, it's designed to protect the country.
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It was designed to um build an opportunity for the people to grow, not be their growth, if that makes sense.
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Um, and obviously the church, at least here in the states, has, I'm praying, is waking up to the fact that they have more responsibility than just filling a church room on a Sunday.
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Um, so much of what the government does now is what the church used to do: provide for the poor, um, create a home for those who don't have one, um, be that support, be a place for kids to learn as well was a huge thing.
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Even when I was little, we had classes at school.
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I mean, we had classes at church, um, so which was really cool.
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But yeah, so I'm praying that Gen Z is going to be that generation that brings it back to the basics of what it was meant to be and not suffocating people because I mean it's pretty easy for a government to do all these things because they have way more power and way more influence over everyone and every sphere of their life.
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And it makes, you know, people trapped.
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They're kind of stuck there.
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They don't have anywhere else to go, and they don't learn how to do it on their own.
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I think Gen Z is really independent.
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We really want to learn, we really want to grow, and we really want to do it ourselves without um, you know, people just handing it to us.
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We don't, I feel like, I don't know for everybody, but for me, the friends that I've had in school, the number one thing is they didn't want to cheat, they didn't want to even use AI.
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They wanted to be themselves, which I was surprised.
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I'm like, it's pretty easy just to use AI.
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But it was so much of like, no, this is I want to grow.
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There's actually a deep hunger for learning um and knowing knowledge.
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Wow.
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So yeah.
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That was a lot.
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Yeah, the Gen Z is a huge generation of population.
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Huge.
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Uh so you're going to have people that are seeing a hope in a future, you're gonna have some that are just gonna feel like I'm lost in the digital world.
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I'm just um and I have to recreate my own future online.
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Um, I'm living vicariously through social media.
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What would you say to nations and people living in nations in your generation that are living under a very suppressive environment?
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Um, maybe where they don't have the freedom, but they see freedom online every day and they dream for an opportunity to be able to have what you described take place.
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How would you encourage them?
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How would you challenge them to have hope in a future?
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I think the biggest thing you could do in that situation is find those like you, find those people who also see the struggle, but also know there's a way for it to change.
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And the more people you build up, the more of a voice that you do have.
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Um, and the more ideas, the more thoughts, and I feel like the more hope you have because you're not alone in it and you don't feel like you're alone in it.
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Um, because yeah, a Gen Z can be very isolated as well, like you mentioned, being online.
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So if you can find real world people that you can stand side by side, you can physically see them in front of you, and they're having the same emotion, they're having the same hope as you.
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I f I mean that's how countries were born.
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People had an idea and they found other people with the same idea.
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And they the the more they added up, the more numbers they had, and the more ideas and the more support they could get because they're like, oh, they have a lot of people who are fighting for this idea.
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It's hard to stop a lot of people.
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Right.
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So, yeah, if you can find those people who, you know, they have hope, but they're also struggling with you together.
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I think that's a big one.
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Yeah.
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And we see with Iran the the growth in the church, and that's very much Gen Z driven.
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Nepal just had a recent uprising because they just had enough, and that was Gen Z driven.
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Um, you had the Arab Spring that happened not too long ago.
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People that are just like, we have to break through, and we don't know any other way, but sometimes violence, right?
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But I I love what you shared.
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It's like, okay, we need change, but we need to go back to a root of family, and we need to speak into that root, which is very powerful.
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Yeah, I mean, violence, violence can bring some immediate change to deal with the situation.
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But I I really have a hope for your generation that you will see the deeper root and that you'll speak to the deeper root, you won't shy away from the deeper root, but you will prophesy to it, you will pray into it, you will unite around it.
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Um, because the quick fix doesn't last.
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And we have to go to the root of what people are crying out for.
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Uh so awesome.
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Thank you.
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Josh.
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Joshua Rubin.
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Uh love you, Josh.
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We we're just so blessed by having you in our team uh here at SCAPC.
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And you know, you're you've helped us so much with communications, with managing relationships, and which is so complex in our time.
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People are a part of a hundred different things in one moment.
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And what do they give their heart to?
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What do they have time to invest in?
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And I know you have a degree in data science, a master's in that, and you've dedicated your your natural learning, but I know you have a spiritual calling, uh, and you can see it like you want people to connect well and you want things to last, you want relationships to last.
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And when you think about Gen Z and the table, which is about relationship and communion, what do you see for your generation?
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What do you want to see with relationships and stewarding relationships well and communication with one another?
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Because that's such a challenge today.
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I agree with you.
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But again, when you asked me that question, it was interesting.
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I was just reading up a little bit this morning.
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Um, I discovered it was newest to me.
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Every second in this world, um, there's six thousand terabytes of information flowing to and fro every second.
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Six thousand six thousand, about six thousand is five thousand something, but close to six because five nine nine five something.
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Anyway, coming back to that.
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Wow.
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That much information is like every yeah, it's also like every morning I wake up and like the first thing when I wake up, I'm being sold to my toothbrush, is a sales pitch, my phone is a sales pitch, my bedstand is a sales pitch, everything is a sales pitch.
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It's like everybody wants me to buy something early in the morning, and that's information overload.
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Yeah.
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It's especially for someone living in this generation, it's like, okay, everybody wants my time, and I don't have time.
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There's that constant sense, people my age, people around college age, it's around that as well.
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Especially in universities.
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I think you guys see that too.
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It's like that's one thing.
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Young people do not have time.
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It's like we're always short of time.
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.400
We're always so busy doing something that we don't have time.
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:34.160
In this, when we then come into relationships, something Matt always said was um relationships are built with love, and love equals trust and time.
00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.839
But I'm like, if there is no time, then what are we built to?
00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.839
Nobody has time for anything anymore.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:40.799
Yeah, it's real.
00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:47.519
Um how do we manage to connect the whole message for Gen Z there?
00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:53.599
I'd always say we always want the same thing across time.
00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:55.839
We all want fellowship.
00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:07.839
And the foundation for fellowship, especially for us as Christians, is um I've been in one john for a while, and then it's that's one verse that always sticks out in the opening.
00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:18.160
It's the whole pitch for one john in my head, is if we walk in the life and we have fellowship with one another, the basis for fellowship is our shared life in Christ.
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.119
Yes.
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.039
But and we all want that.
00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:28.799
That's something we desperately need, we want that goes back to why we do what we do, why we want to connect with everyone.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.200
I think that's where we sit.
00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:37.839
It's like, yes, we want fellowship, and that's what we need, because that's we have that design for it.
00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:41.359
We we live in relationships, we live and we need fellowship.
00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.039
That's how God created us.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:45.359
So yeah, that's that's that.
00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, somebody's sitting here in Oak.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.119
Want today we sit here, I'm sure somebody sitting somewhere in New Zealand is going to listen to us because we're also connected.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:16.000
And again, we're connected with a time delay of probably a blink of an eye.
00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.480
Like if you say something here today, it's gonna go out there before you even blink.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:22.960
That's how quick information flows.
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:33.440
But in that, there's I think growing up as well in this generation, something we constantly see is we were brought up with the whole idea of you are a brand.
00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:37.440
Like you yourself are a brand, you're not just a part of a brand.
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:39.920
It's like, oh, Joshua Rubin should be a brand.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:47.759
Build your degree, build your this, build your image portfolio, put your profile picture, put your bio page, your lines.
00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:55.039
Um, I'm a little outdated for social media, but you just described LinkedIn and LinkedIn.
00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:55.759
There you go.
00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:59.839
That's my but that's that's how we grew up with.
00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:06.960
It's like my career councils always told me, hey, uh how you're perceived is what will help you get ahead in life.
00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.599
And you yourself are a brand, and you need to project that and build that brand.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:15.759
And I'm like, okay, but if I'm a brand, then what about the person?
00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.440
It's like I'm no longer a person, then I'm an entity.
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:25.519
Then everything is okay, then for my brand, I need to build documents, no longer friendship.
00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.279
We have agreements at this point.
00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.240
Uh but that we can't live like that though.
00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:30.720
No.
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.880
We we shouldn't live like that.
00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:43.519
So coming back to the whole idea of relationships and managing relationships, and that I don't see relic relationships as something we get to manage.
00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:45.119
I don't think we should.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:50.319
That's just a good idea, but bad practice.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:53.039
But relationships are a gift from God.
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.039
These are things we get to have, not something we have to have.
00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:05.119
And everything, especially in SAPC that we this culture that the office we have, is we love friendship around the table.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:09.359
We love these relationships that come to us by God.
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:17.599
God sends these people to us, and then we get to steal this because not because we have to, but because we get to spend time with our friends.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:25.920
Any given day, I know you, Matt, Tony, anyone in this office, you would drop every day's work and go spend time with friends.
00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.880
And that that's the inner heartbeat.
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:29.839
I know that.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:40.720
And that's where people like me come in, and I'm like, hey guys, we get to do that, but also we have something we want to do at a larger scale.
00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:50.400
And they're like, oh yeah, how do we do this interpersonal one-on-one relationships at a scale of tens of thousands and millions of people at this point?
00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.160
So that's where that's it.
00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:54.079
Kind of like what Victoria was sharing.
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.759
It's not just uh, it's not just what you're doing, it's the way.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:00.160
The way in which we do it.
00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:09.200
Because we, you know, we do have a calling and we have a purpose, but the way in which we do it is not to build our own individual brands at the expense of one another.
00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:14.319
Boy, that is uh that is not what Jesus showed us at all.
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:26.079
It's uh it flip everything Jesus says, and that's something I love about the scripture, and especially in this generation, is it flips everything on your head there?
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.039
It's it's so counterintuitive.
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:35.359
This world says we grew up with the whole idea of you build your brand, and Jesus is like, you want to be first, go be last.
00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.599
It's like, okay, okay, Jesus, I'll do this, but I don't like doing this, you know.
00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:47.759
It's it doesn't get me ahead in life, but again, that's where true value is.
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:49.519
That's that's fun.
00:25:50.480 --> 00:26:06.079
I think of the uh disciples uh when Jesus had gone, had left and went to heaven, and they were carrying on his mission, and they said actually the the people in the city and the religious leaders looked at them and they marveled.
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.960
And they didn't marvel because of their brand.
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:18.559
They didn't marvel because of their government status or their fluency in religion and helping the poor.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:26.000
Uh, all those, you know, not not to take anything away from from any one of those individual things, but that's what we talked about today.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:39.359
And just as we circle around the table as we close this time, I think of their faces and what they must have thought when these people looked at them and said, Well, who are they?
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.319
I and they said something so profound.
00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.440
They said, I perceive you have been with Jesus.
00:26:49.359 --> 00:27:00.720
It overrode everything, it overrode their natural qualifications, it overrode their their own weaknesses, that they looked not like the right men or women for the job.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:02.480
They had been with Jesus.
00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:19.200
So when you say time, if we spend time with the table with him and with one another, we will go out into the world as a generation, generations, and people will say, uh there's no other explanation than they've they've been with somebody I've not been with.
00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:24.400
They they didn't just do the marketing strategy that was taught to me.
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:33.759
They didn't read the latest political agenda, they didn't, you know, have the latest uh missional strategy, you know, they didn't just recite it back.
00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:41.039
I perceive that lay, you've been with Jesus, Victoria, you've been with Jesus, Josh, you've been with Jesus, that we have been with Jesus.
00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.880
There's no substitute for that.
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:50.880
So if we really are getting real and serious about changing the world, that is actually the best and quickest way to do it.
00:27:51.920 --> 00:28:07.599
We can take all we can take all the gifts God gives us, but if we miss the time and the stewardship with Him, it just looks so much like what everybody else is pumping out there, and they get overloaded, they get hurt, they get disillusioned.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.839
So thank you, each one of you.
00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:23.680
This was gold, it was powerful, and I pray that we all got to just dig into this, pray for Gen Z in these areas, um, and also uh learn from them and believe with them and stand with them.
00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:27.839
So thank you guys for coming to From the Table and let's do it again.
00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:29.920
Thank you.
00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.199
Hello everyone, welcome to From the Table Podcast.
00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:15.279
And this is episode five.
00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:18.320
And this is a really special time.
00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:20.160
Uh the table is full.
00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:38.960
We have Gen Z here around the table, and we are going to discuss uh Gen Z's hopes in some really important areas of the world and see how the table culture of Jesus is impacting your generation uh from one generation to the next.
00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:47.759
As I was preparing for this, I was in Psalm 145 where it says, one generation will declare your mighty works to another.
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.759
And I really pray that as we as you guys join us, as we take this time, that we will get to see that.
00:00:53.920 --> 00:01:00.880
You know, that one generation can share and one generation can share, and we're gonna see uh the mighty works of God revealed.
00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:07.760
So thank you, Leticia, Victoria, and Josh for being here, and we're we're ready to jump in.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.200
So happen to us.
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:10.239
Yeah.
00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.560
I mean, this is what it's all about.
00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:18.560
You know, uh I'm not too old, but I'm kind of getting there.
00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:20.560
And this is my daughter, by the way.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:26.239
Uh, so I'm really excited to have her right in the middle of this table today between these two.
00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:27.280
Yeah.
00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:29.760
But uh Leticia.
00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:41.200
Letitia is an incredible part of SEAPC and actually leads a lot of our missions work coming from the United States to the nations and within Brazil.
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:51.599
She is from Brazil, and she is a medical doctor, and she became a medical doctor at the age of 23, and also has a master's in leadership.
00:01:51.760 --> 00:02:01.359
And so God has really moved through your life, Letitia, to uh not hold back even at a young age, to have hopes and dreams and to see change.
00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:10.400
And I I wanted to ask you today, and for our audience, you know, how do you see the table of culture of Christ impacting global missions?
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:14.159
Because obviously you've experienced a lot of that even at a young age.
00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:17.520
You've worked with many different generations at a high level.
00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:18.800
Uh, what are you seeing?
00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:23.039
What are you sensing uh for Gen Z for missions?
00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:31.280
Well, I think our generation, we see a lot of identities, not so much about the church's names or brands or anything like that.
00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.840
It's just like, hey, we love Jesus, we want to serve each other.
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It reminds me a lot of Romans when they talk about one body but different parts.
00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:54.879
So we all submit submit our gifts or talents to the table, and we're like, hey, we're here to support each other, we're here to serve and strengthen the church, which is the ultimate goal to share the gospel and for every woman, man, and child to hear about Jesus Christ and what he did in the cross.
00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:06.960
So when we think about the stable culture where we lay our ourselves down and we look at each other, and there's no hierarchy, which is very, very prevalent in in the healthcare.
00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:15.680
There's no titles, it's just brothers and sisters who are adopted because of what Jesus did in the cross, and we just serve each other like family.
00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.080
Uh, I think that's when the change happens.
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So it's not going on a mission settling our own agenda, but rather just being like, hey, what do you need and how can we serve and how can we strengthen the local church?
00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.400
And I see a lot of the Gen Zs doing that.
00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:35.199
It's like, hey, I love Jesus, you love Jesus, let's serve together and let's share that love.
00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:36.159
It's simpler.
00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:37.039
Simpler.
00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:38.319
Yeah, simpler.
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Why do you think that's significant for Gen Z uh in their engagement in missions?
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Like, because each generation inherits a world that they're called to.
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Why is it important for Gen Z missions to reflect the harvest that's in Gen Z, uh, where their hearts are, where their minds are, where culture is, what they're faced with.
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Like God really prepares a generation to reach a generation.
00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:10.479
So when you see that in missions, um, anything more that you see on that and the significance.
00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:15.199
I see a lot of uh taboos being broken overall.
00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:25.759
So we see a lot of Gen Z with tattoos or with different hair colors, or just the way they speak is different, you know, of the slangs, no cap and stuff like that.
00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:28.959
And even with those slangs, they're able to share Jesus.
00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:45.920
So there's no titles, there's no the uh legalism that the previous generation established, like this is how you preach, this is how you share, this is the agenda of a mission trip, they they break all of that, and it's a great way to reach their own generation because they speak their language.
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:57.680
When you think of the generations that came before you, what things do you appreciate uh that have been passed to you in missions?
00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:06.079
Uh, what are some of the blessings that you think that your generation carries in missions that were inherited from the work of others?
00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.160
And now you want to maybe want to take that further.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.920
You're saying, like, we need to go even stronger into that.
00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:13.759
Anything come to mind?
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:17.279
Well, it's it's easy to think about my own family.
00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:22.079
I'm the third generation of believers, and also the second generation of missionaries in my family.
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.839
So seeing what they did, I learned a lot of what they do, right?
00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:29.759
And things that we can grow, grow uh strengths and weaknesses.
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And uh, I think overall, what goes from generation to generation is the love of Jesus Christ.
00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.040
Don't lose focus and keep fighting for the good fight.
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Like Paul said, you know, like fighting, fighting the good fight, keeping the journey, finishing the race.
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:46.000
That's really what matters.
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And seeing that in my parents, after 20 years of missions, they still have that fire, they still care for uh the the bro the the loss, they still care for the Prago sign, like they did back in the first year of missions with even more fire, more experience.
00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:04.240
So I take that as a big lesson for sure.
00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:05.279
Awesome.
00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:14.720
I know a prayer for me is that for my generation that we would fight for instead of fighting more, you know, like fight for you.
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And I know that people fought for me.
00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.759
Um, we want to fight for you.
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Uh instead of fighting uh against, we want to fight for.
00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:27.519
And it's amazing how much God has given Gen Z.
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:35.439
I mean, the amount of resource, the amount of technology to reach the world.
00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:43.600
So when you think about stewarding what you've been given, what do you hold as like, okay, I know we've been given a lot.
00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:46.720
What is your passion to use it?
00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:51.120
How is your passion to use what God has given your generation and missions?
00:06:51.920 --> 00:07:07.120
I think our generation, compared to the previous generation, we have a lot of access to technology or social media, and that can reach unreached areas that we don't necessarily need to be there physically, but people can hear this podcast wherever they are.
00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:15.199
That we in uh closed nations where uh Bible might not enter, but hey, a different book, or even social media, Instagram.
00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:22.720
I've been in places where they don't have they don't have uh ceilings, they don't have walls, they don't have windows, but they have internet.
00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:28.800
And they follow me on Instagram or they they follow the church after we went on a mission trip.
00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:36.240
So we definitely have been given a lot, and with that, we also have a lot of responsibility because we are exposed to a lot every day.
00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:36.480
Yeah.
00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:48.079
Either that is good or that is bad, and it's not so much what we we just see from the outside is what we take in, and we decide to share as well because the power of life and death is in the tongue.
00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:58.800
So it's dangerous, and I think a lot of the mentorship from the previous generations will help us steward that because they have also been exposed to really bad things in the past.
00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:01.120
And how do you filter that?
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:04.800
Well, what we take in that's profound.
00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:10.560
Can you give a a word to your generation right now about missions?
00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.160
A charge to Gen Z about missions?
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:23.759
What would you say to them if you had, and we obviously we have many that are gonna watch, but if there was a hundred of them in the room right now, what would you say to them?
00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.079
What charge would you give them personally?
00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:29.920
I always think of for I was lost, but now I'm found.
00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:43.200
If if we love our neighbors like like Jesus told us to, we don't want them to be lost, we don't want them to die, we don't want them to suffer and be bound by depression, anxiety, or the lack of identity.
00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:51.039
We want them to know who they are, and we want them to know that Jesus Christ did something that no one else could ever done for us.
00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:53.759
No one else would ever do that for us.
00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:58.240
And there's a hope, there's a way, there's a truth, and there's life.
00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:03.600
And if we found that, we should share that because it's it's life-changing.
00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:04.879
Awesome.
00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:05.679
Thank you.
00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:06.480
Yeah.
00:09:06.799 --> 00:09:07.600
Thank you.
00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.399
Thank you for living it like you do.
00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:13.120
Victoria.
00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:26.879
So Victoria's traveled obviously with our family around the world, many nations, many meetings with dad, mom, uh, from world leaders to kids to everybody in between.
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:33.919
I know that that had a deep impact on your upbringing, of course, or your decision in what you would do with your life.
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:44.320
And I know that you went to Regent University and got a bachelor's in government international relations, and that was uh wonderful, but not a surprise.
00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:46.639
Uh, because I know you saw things.
00:09:47.440 --> 00:10:07.440
You saw good things, you saw hard things, you saw injustice, you saw justice, you saw people without a voice and people with a voice, and that moved you to want to see impact in the government sphere of nations.
00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.320
And I'll ask you that question today.
00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:24.799
Uh, how do you see Gen Z and the table culture of Jesus impacting uh nations and their governments and how they lead people, how they uh prepare for a future?
00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:26.720
That's a full question.
00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:28.080
Uh yeah.
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:36.639
I think as far as the table goes, I think it's really cool that Gen Z is really focusing on going back to the basics of family.
00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:44.480
Um and government originally was all about the family and how do we support the family, how do we protect the family?
00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.440
And you know, most of Gen Z isn't in government positions at the moment.
00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:51.759
Um, so I'm very curious to see how that's gonna go.
00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:58.159
But it's a lot about I just want to have a family, I just want those simple things in life.
00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:04.000
Um I feel like our generation before us was very ambitious in like doing stuff on our own.
00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:13.679
And Gen Z is very much like, I wanna, I wanna have those people, I want to have my people um around me and just learning how to do that.
00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:17.919
Because again, like online is hard to have that connection.
00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:31.279
So I think this generation is really trying to learn because they can feel that disconnect that they've had, because they've been online their whole lives, and there's I think they're finally starting to notice, like, hey, this is there's something more.
00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:35.279
I need something more, and I think they're starting to go out and find it.
00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:48.720
Um, yeah, so for government in the world, I'm very curious to see how that's going to embed into when they do get those positions um within their own governments and their own fears.
00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:59.120
Um, yeah, there's so much like within the government that I'm very curious about because they're going back to the basics, I feel like government is going to.
00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:07.279
I'm praying it does, um, because it's so corrupt in every nation um in different ways for sure.
00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:09.200
Um, but it's so complicated.
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:16.480
Uh government has taken on the role of the family, of the church, of the schools, everywhere.
00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:23.679
And with that comes, it's not really a government anymore in the way that they were designed to be.
00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:27.519
So people are not doing the things that they're called to do.
00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:30.320
They're not raising their family, they're having someone else do it.
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.320
They're not um really teaching their children, they're having someone else do it.
00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:41.679
They're not relying on their own gifts, their own talents, because they somehow they can get it from the government systems.
00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:46.559
So, which is not what it was really designed for, it's designed to protect the country.
00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:55.279
It was designed to um build an opportunity for the people to grow, not be their growth, if that makes sense.
00:12:55.440 --> 00:13:07.120
Um, and obviously the church, at least here in the states, has, I'm praying, is waking up to the fact that they have more responsibility than just filling a church room on a Sunday.
00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:21.600
Um, so much of what the government does now is what the church used to do: provide for the poor, um, create a home for those who don't have one, um, be that support, be a place for kids to learn as well was a huge thing.
00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:24.240
Even when I was little, we had classes at school.
00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:28.159
I mean, we had classes at church, um, so which was really cool.
00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:49.039
But yeah, so I'm praying that Gen Z is going to be that generation that brings it back to the basics of what it was meant to be and not suffocating people because I mean it's pretty easy for a government to do all these things because they have way more power and way more influence over everyone and every sphere of their life.
00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.279
And it makes, you know, people trapped.
00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:52.639
They're kind of stuck there.
00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.960
They don't have anywhere else to go, and they don't learn how to do it on their own.
00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:59.440
I think Gen Z is really independent.
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:09.120
We really want to learn, we really want to grow, and we really want to do it ourselves without um, you know, people just handing it to us.
00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:18.559
We don't, I feel like, I don't know for everybody, but for me, the friends that I've had in school, the number one thing is they didn't want to cheat, they didn't want to even use AI.
00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:21.919
They wanted to be themselves, which I was surprised.
00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.720
I'm like, it's pretty easy just to use AI.
00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.320
But it was so much of like, no, this is I want to grow.
00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:33.440
There's actually a deep hunger for learning um and knowing knowledge.
00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:34.159
Wow.
00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.360
So yeah.
00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:37.440
That was a lot.
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:42.720
Yeah, the Gen Z is a huge generation of population.
00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:43.840
Huge.
00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:54.960
Uh so you're going to have people that are seeing a hope in a future, you're gonna have some that are just gonna feel like I'm lost in the digital world.
00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.759
I'm just um and I have to recreate my own future online.
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:04.559
Um, I'm living vicariously through social media.
00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:16.960
What would you say to nations and people living in nations in your generation that are living under a very suppressive environment?
00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:28.399
Um, maybe where they don't have the freedom, but they see freedom online every day and they dream for an opportunity to be able to have what you described take place.
00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:30.080
How would you encourage them?
00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:33.919
How would you challenge them to have hope in a future?
00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:45.679
I think the biggest thing you could do in that situation is find those like you, find those people who also see the struggle, but also know there's a way for it to change.
00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.240
And the more people you build up, the more of a voice that you do have.
00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:59.039
Um, and the more ideas, the more thoughts, and I feel like the more hope you have because you're not alone in it and you don't feel like you're alone in it.
00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:04.879
Um, because yeah, a Gen Z can be very isolated as well, like you mentioned, being online.
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:14.240
So if you can find real world people that you can stand side by side, you can physically see them in front of you, and they're having the same emotion, they're having the same hope as you.
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.200
I f I mean that's how countries were born.
00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:21.039
People had an idea and they found other people with the same idea.
00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:33.120
And they the the more they added up, the more numbers they had, and the more ideas and the more support they could get because they're like, oh, they have a lot of people who are fighting for this idea.
00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:34.960
It's hard to stop a lot of people.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:35.360
Right.
00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:43.919
So, yeah, if you can find those people who, you know, they have hope, but they're also struggling with you together.
00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:45.360
I think that's a big one.
00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:45.919
Yeah.
00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:52.080
And we see with Iran the the growth in the church, and that's very much Gen Z driven.
00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:58.480
Nepal just had a recent uprising because they just had enough, and that was Gen Z driven.
00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.440
Um, you had the Arab Spring that happened not too long ago.
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:08.160
People that are just like, we have to break through, and we don't know any other way, but sometimes violence, right?
00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.000
But I I love what you shared.
00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:18.559
It's like, okay, we need change, but we need to go back to a root of family, and we need to speak into that root, which is very powerful.
00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:23.920
Yeah, I mean, violence, violence can bring some immediate change to deal with the situation.
00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:38.480
But I I really have a hope for your generation that you will see the deeper root and that you'll speak to the deeper root, you won't shy away from the deeper root, but you will prophesy to it, you will pray into it, you will unite around it.
00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:42.000
Um, because the quick fix doesn't last.
00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:45.920
And we have to go to the root of what people are crying out for.
00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.359
Uh so awesome.
00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:48.559
Thank you.
00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:51.359
Josh.
00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:54.319
Joshua Rubin.
00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.079
Uh love you, Josh.
00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:00.640
We we're just so blessed by having you in our team uh here at SCAPC.
00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:09.039
And you know, you're you've helped us so much with communications, with managing relationships, and which is so complex in our time.
00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.880
People are a part of a hundred different things in one moment.
00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:16.480
And what do they give their heart to?
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:19.359
What do they have time to invest in?
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:35.599
And I know you have a degree in data science, a master's in that, and you've dedicated your your natural learning, but I know you have a spiritual calling, uh, and you can see it like you want people to connect well and you want things to last, you want relationships to last.
00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:45.119
And when you think about Gen Z and the table, which is about relationship and communion, what do you see for your generation?
00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:52.640
What do you want to see with relationships and stewarding relationships well and communication with one another?
00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.039
Because that's such a challenge today.
00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.680
I agree with you.
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.920
But again, when you asked me that question, it was interesting.
00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.160
I was just reading up a little bit this morning.
00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:08.000
Um, I discovered it was newest to me.
00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:15.920
Every second in this world, um, there's six thousand terabytes of information flowing to and fro every second.
00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:24.240
Six thousand six thousand, about six thousand is five thousand something, but close to six because five nine nine five something.
00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:27.039
Anyway, coming back to that.
00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:27.440
Wow.
00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:45.599
That much information is like every yeah, it's also like every morning I wake up and like the first thing when I wake up, I'm being sold to my toothbrush, is a sales pitch, my phone is a sales pitch, my bedstand is a sales pitch, everything is a sales pitch.
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:52.480
It's like everybody wants me to buy something early in the morning, and that's information overload.
00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:52.880
Yeah.
00:19:53.039 --> 00:20:01.519
It's especially for someone living in this generation, it's like, okay, everybody wants my time, and I don't have time.
00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:09.279
There's that constant sense, people my age, people around college age, it's around that as well.
00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:10.880
Especially in universities.
00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:12.640
I think you guys see that too.
00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:14.720
It's like that's one thing.
00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:16.799
Young people do not have time.
00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.119
It's like we're always short of time.
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:22.400
We're always so busy doing something that we don't have time.
00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:34.160
In this, when we then come into relationships, something Matt always said was um relationships are built with love, and love equals trust and time.
00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.839
But I'm like, if there is no time, then what are we built to?
00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:39.839
Nobody has time for anything anymore.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:40.799
Yeah, it's real.
00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:47.519
Um how do we manage to connect the whole message for Gen Z there?
00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:53.599
I'd always say we always want the same thing across time.
00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:55.839
We all want fellowship.
00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:07.839
And the foundation for fellowship, especially for us as Christians, is um I've been in one john for a while, and then it's that's one verse that always sticks out in the opening.
00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:18.160
It's the whole pitch for one john in my head, is if we walk in the life and we have fellowship with one another, the basis for fellowship is our shared life in Christ.
00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:19.119
Yes.
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.039
But and we all want that.
00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:28.799
That's something we desperately need, we want that goes back to why we do what we do, why we want to connect with everyone.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.200
I think that's where we sit.
00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:37.839
It's like, yes, we want fellowship, and that's what we need, because that's we have that design for it.
00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:41.359
We we live in relationships, we live and we need fellowship.
00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:43.039
That's how God created us.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:45.359
So yeah, that's that's that.
00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, somebody's sitting here in Oak.
00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.119
Want today we sit here, I'm sure somebody sitting somewhere in New Zealand is going to listen to us because we're also connected.
00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:16.000
And again, we're connected with a time delay of probably a blink of an eye.
00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.480
Like if you say something here today, it's gonna go out there before you even blink.
00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:22.960
That's how quick information flows.
00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:33.440
But in that, there's I think growing up as well in this generation, something we constantly see is we were brought up with the whole idea of you are a brand.
00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:37.440
Like you yourself are a brand, you're not just a part of a brand.
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:39.920
It's like, oh, Joshua Rubin should be a brand.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:47.759
Build your degree, build your this, build your image portfolio, put your profile picture, put your bio page, your lines.
00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:55.039
Um, I'm a little outdated for social media, but you just described LinkedIn and LinkedIn.
00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:55.759
There you go.
00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:59.839
That's my but that's that's how we grew up with.
00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:06.960
It's like my career councils always told me, hey, uh how you're perceived is what will help you get ahead in life.
00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.599
And you yourself are a brand, and you need to project that and build that brand.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:15.759
And I'm like, okay, but if I'm a brand, then what about the person?
00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:19.440
It's like I'm no longer a person, then I'm an entity.
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:25.519
Then everything is okay, then for my brand, I need to build documents, no longer friendship.
00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.279
We have agreements at this point.
00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.240
Uh but that we can't live like that though.
00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:30.720
No.
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.880
We we shouldn't live like that.
00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:43.519
So coming back to the whole idea of relationships and managing relationships, and that I don't see relic relationships as something we get to manage.
00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:45.119
I don't think we should.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:50.319
That's just a good idea, but bad practice.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:53.039
But relationships are a gift from God.
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:57.039
These are things we get to have, not something we have to have.
00:23:57.279 --> 00:24:05.119
And everything, especially in SAPC that we this culture that the office we have, is we love friendship around the table.
00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:09.359
We love these relationships that come to us by God.
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:17.599
God sends these people to us, and then we get to steal this because not because we have to, but because we get to spend time with our friends.
00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:25.920
Any given day, I know you, Matt, Tony, anyone in this office, you would drop every day's work and go spend time with friends.
00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:28.880
And that that's the inner heartbeat.
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:29.839
I know that.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:40.720
And that's where people like me come in, and I'm like, hey guys, we get to do that, but also we have something we want to do at a larger scale.
00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:50.400
And they're like, oh yeah, how do we do this interpersonal one-on-one relationships at a scale of tens of thousands and millions of people at this point?
00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.160
So that's where that's it.
00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:54.079
Kind of like what Victoria was sharing.
00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.759
It's not just uh, it's not just what you're doing, it's the way.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:00.160
The way in which we do it.
00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:09.200
Because we, you know, we do have a calling and we have a purpose, but the way in which we do it is not to build our own individual brands at the expense of one another.
00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:14.319
Boy, that is uh that is not what Jesus showed us at all.
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:26.079
It's uh it flip everything Jesus says, and that's something I love about the scripture, and especially in this generation, is it flips everything on your head there?
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.039
It's it's so counterintuitive.
00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:35.359
This world says we grew up with the whole idea of you build your brand, and Jesus is like, you want to be first, go be last.
00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:41.599
It's like, okay, okay, Jesus, I'll do this, but I don't like doing this, you know.
00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:47.759
It's it doesn't get me ahead in life, but again, that's where true value is.
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:49.519
That's that's fun.
00:25:50.480 --> 00:26:06.079
I think of the uh disciples uh when Jesus had gone, had left and went to heaven, and they were carrying on his mission, and they said actually the the people in the city and the religious leaders looked at them and they marveled.
00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.960
And they didn't marvel because of their brand.
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:18.559
They didn't marvel because of their government status or their fluency in religion and helping the poor.
00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:26.000
Uh, all those, you know, not not to take anything away from from any one of those individual things, but that's what we talked about today.
00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:39.359
And just as we circle around the table as we close this time, I think of their faces and what they must have thought when these people looked at them and said, Well, who are they?
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:42.319
I and they said something so profound.
00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.440
They said, I perceive you have been with Jesus.
00:26:49.359 --> 00:27:00.720
It overrode everything, it overrode their natural qualifications, it overrode their their own weaknesses, that they looked not like the right men or women for the job.
00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:02.480
They had been with Jesus.
00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:19.200
So when you say time, if we spend time with the table with him and with one another, we will go out into the world as a generation, generations, and people will say, uh there's no other explanation than they've they've been with somebody I've not been with.
00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:24.400
They they didn't just do the marketing strategy that was taught to me.
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:33.759
They didn't read the latest political agenda, they didn't, you know, have the latest uh missional strategy, you know, they didn't just recite it back.
00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:41.039
I perceive that lay, you've been with Jesus, Victoria, you've been with Jesus, Josh, you've been with Jesus, that we have been with Jesus.
00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.880
There's no substitute for that.
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:50.880
So if we really are getting real and serious about changing the world, that is actually the best and quickest way to do it.
00:27:51.920 --> 00:28:07.599
We can take all we can take all the gifts God gives us, but if we miss the time and the stewardship with Him, it just looks so much like what everybody else is pumping out there, and they get overloaded, they get hurt, they get disillusioned.
00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:09.839
So thank you, each one of you.
00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:23.680
This was gold, it was powerful, and I pray that we all got to just dig into this, pray for Gen Z in these areas, um, and also uh learn from them and believe with them and stand with them.
00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:27.839
So thank you guys for coming to From the Table and let's do it again.
00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:29.920
Thank you.
