Full Transcript for Chasing Dreams

for six years. And ⁓ anyway, some of them are very best days. But ⁓ I worked alongside Robert. ⁓ not during hurricane relief, but we've done all sorts of things, but I'm an artist and and I like to paint and I've done a gambit of things in the last. Thank you. Not the best. not the worst, not the best, but enjoying myself on the ride. And ⁓ yeah, I produce creative Bible study resources and have hosted some women's retreats that Chelsea has been a part of. speaker-0: You're a great artist. You're a great artist. speaker-3: Some might say the best thing. speaker-1: For years and ⁓ we have four kids and yeah, Robert was on staff at our church. We ⁓ we do we have too many things going on to be completely speaker-3: Forgot about speaker-0: You really do. Then yeah, your intro could go well forever. speaker-2: That's why you're here today. speaker-1: I'm so good. speaker-2: ⁓ well guys, thank you so much for ⁓ joining us today. And ⁓ I when I thought about this episode of just like chasing dreams, I I thought about the night, the night family, the night life. And ⁓ one thing that we admire about you guys is you have a lot of courage and you've always ⁓ you've said yes to things that God's put on your heart and you've just gone after it. And so I'm excited about our conversation today, just about talking about dreams and But I would love for us to kind of like rewind and go back to the beginning, like when you guys first met and you both knew that you had a calling on your life and dreams on your heart. Like how did that like they are older than us. You're forty now. You're forty. You both turned forty. speaker-0: They're they're they're older than They did a long time ago. speaker-1: So the year of forty. This is the year of the promised land we're coming out of the desert. Forty one. speaker-0: Did y'all have your beeper numbers? speaker-2: ⁓ my gosh. But yeah, take us back to like just that time where you kind of like your worlds collided, you you started to pursue dreams together. Like what did that look like for you guys? speaker-1: So good. ⁓ we met at 18 in Charleston. We were we were in college and I am a dreamer to a fault to be honest. There was a season of life when I wasn't allowed to say I have an idea to Robert because he said it was a trigger word at that point in our speaker-3: April has been known to call me a dream square. speaker-1: I used to call my dream squasher, but I feel like you're a dream Yeah, I feel like you're a dream I don't know, Ellen. Activator, yeah. We're both activators, I would say. But we made a eighteen. ⁓ Robert was on staff at Seacoast and Charleston for all that time until we moved to Asheville. And actually, this is a funny story. I don't know if you remember this. ⁓ when we were in premarital like counseling, the class and speaker-2: That's hard to believe. speaker-1: I feel like for some reason either they asked us this as a question or I asked you, I said, What is your dream, babe? Like what if you could do anything for the rest of your like with your whole life, what would you do? I remember the response. speaker-3: I said I would just be a worship leader. speaker-1: work at Seacoast because there's we like love Seacoast. It is such a home to us. But to me, I was like, that is not where I go. That's it. You know, you're like 20 at the time. And so ⁓ poor Robert, I think he didn't realize what he was getting stuff into when he but I got enough dreams for the both of us. And now almost 20 years into marriage. Actually we're gonna be 19 this year. I think it's been such a joy to see Robert is like a he's a doer, like to the nth degree. Like he will make it happen. And so often you will say something along the lines of I just want to make your dreams come true, or something like so dreamy like that. But I think he really means it. I don't know. speaker-0: Well, I'll say this too, you know, and I I I can't say enough about April Knight and Robert Knight. Like, I can almost get emotional talking about that. ⁓ but there is in first Samuel, and this is kind of my life verse, I have him tattooed on me around my my purpose and my calling, ⁓ where Samuel goes to his armor bearer. Yeah. And he's like, Hey, let's go to the camp of these Philistines. And If we win, we win. But if not, we'll see what happens. And God's with us either way, but like I wanna go attack with you. And the armor bearer says I'm with you heart and soul. And I think for every dreamer, there's gotta be a armor bearer. Yeah. Right? And and it's cool for you guys because you have a dreamer and the armor bearer in your marriage. And being Like living alongside you guys, that's exactly what it is. And it's it's it was always cool for me to watch Robert try to make y'all's dreams come true. Whether or not they were initiated by you or him. Yeah. It's like you gotta have somebody that's like, all right, let's let's go. Like like win or lose, let's go. And 'cause they're risky. Like the dreams are risky. You know? speaker-2: Absolutely. Well tell us a little bit about some of the dreams that you have, Chase. Obviously there's some that we've been a part of. speaker-1: So good. speaker-0: Tell us about the time that you lived in Park Circle and you like we have a dream. Let's let's let's paint our floors. speaker-3: That was all speaker-0: The goal of this podcast to be an hour, it's not gonna be speaker-1: So ⁓ in hindsight, that probably wasn't my best dream, but it was influenced by I mean Joanna Gaines wasn't even in ⁓ around ⁓ in the same way, but yeah, that was my lower level ⁓ dreams, but we did it. And then you know what, right before we sold our speaker-3: House. speaker-1: And we stayed ⁓ and then the house sold in two days. So, you know, that's a great word, Robbie. It's every dream is not gonna be a home run, you know what I'm saying? Like they're not all home runs. speaker-0: The first time that we went to y'all's house, the second time we met y'all, we walked into your house and I

saw white floors and I was like, these people can't be trusted. speaker-2: Yeah. ⁓ speaker-1: The real issue is I'm not even that clean of a person. So for me to put she could have white floors, you know what I'm saying? speaker-2: ⁓ Yeah. This a this right here is just a depiction of our marriage where I try to bring like the seriousness and then he just brings all the sarcasm and funny and sometimes we balance each other and sometimes we just find speaker-0: I'm sorry, what was your question, Chelsea? speaker-1: Great team. They all are amazing. Such a good team. speaker-0: So what about your dreams? speaker-2: So I know that when we first met you guys, ⁓ it was it was through a series of events, but ⁓ you were at Seacoast, Robert, and ⁓ April, you were pursuing ⁓ was it scripture journal at the time? Or what yeah, what was it that you were pursuing? And ⁓ and then later on, ⁓ speaker-1: Yeah. Started. Yeah. speaker-2: This ⁓ a question was asked to you and that was to be a part of a church plant in Asheville, North Carolina. And we were asked to be a part of that as well. What was that like? Just ⁓ being pursued by someone and then ⁓ them laying out kind of this vision that they have, but then trying to figure out, well, is this like the dream for our life? Is this like something that we want to be a part of? Like what was that like for you guys? speaker-1: Great question. speaker-3: Well, I would say initially we said no. speaker-1: In our minds. I was like, speaker-3: To each other. We were kinda like rail down easy, you know, like how do we tell them without hurting their feelings too bad? Yeah. And you know, we got on a FaceTime with them and I remember getting off the FaceTime thinking, Well, our answer is not immediately no. So now we've gotta pray about it and pursue it and see where God takes us. ⁓ and then we went on that vision trip to Asheville. ⁓ and I just remember speaker-2: Yeah, I think speaker-3: as we kind of walked through the city and prayed about it and earned ⁓ you know, the vision for the church, ⁓ we just knew we were supposed to move to Ash. speaker-1: Yeah. I don't know if I've ever told you this, Robbie, but sitting at that Double Tree hotel conference room, it was something that you said that made that like clicked in my heart about like, okay, I think we're supposed to do this. No. I I've never told John Mark that. So John Mark, if you're listening, I love you. You're such a great pastor and it's been an honor to sit with you. It was what I don't even remember what Robbie said, but I was like, whatever Robbie said, like it Clicked in my heart and I was like, let's freaking go. And if you don't know us personally, you know, like we are like, we kind of bleed like family of God ministry. We like, we love it. And so in making our decision, I think both of us, we knew like we have we loved our time at Seacoast. We're not wanting to leave. Like there was nothing in us that was like, Yeah, we need a new adventure. But it

was like, We knew we had skills, well, not me. I mean, I'm like my skills are I'm nice. I will invite you to my house for dinner and I give good hugs. Robert's skills are like super very, very ⁓ church valuable in production. So ⁓ we knew like we're not afraid to work hard. A god dream, right? We were like, we we can do this. And we also knew that speaker-2: For yeah. speaker-1: where we were leaving would thrive without us. And so I mean, I'll get hyped for something God is doing pretty much in twenty minutes if I feel like the vision is is on. speaker-3: ⁓ Here's some pigeons. speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah. So anyway. speaker-2: Well, I appreciate you sharing that because I think like when you feel like a dream is starting to bubble up in your heart and in your family and you're like, Okay, we're for this, let's do this and then it you get into it and it's like, Whoa, this is a lot harder than I thought. This is a lot scarier than I thought. Like it was really exciting, like the honeymoon phase is you're dreaming, but then it's like you're in the thick of it. And so kind of like and I know we have our own stories as well, but kinda like fast forward So you said yes to planning a church in Astro. You know, we all did and so did other people ⁓ that came with us, but what was that like? Just kind of getting into the trenches and the thick of the the dream, you know what I'm saying? speaker-3: Yeah. Yeah, I mean well it was probably a little more difficult for us at first because we decided to buy a foreclosure and gut it and try to move into it. speaker-2: That's true. Right down the street. speaker-1: was not yeah. speaker-3: But you know, that was no big deal. ⁓ speaker-0: I if if there's anyone I've ever known to make hard things harder, it's Robert Nelgram. And that's a fact. speaker-2: That is speaker-0: That's historical science right there. speaker-3: Listen, listen let's just let's just rewind to when we went to look at the house and we walked in and it was falling apart and April goes, This is the one. The ceiling falling apart speaker-0: Yeah. Y'all made it beautiful. It was beautiful. speaker-1: It was beautiful. speaker-3: So it was a heart. yeah, I mean it's you know, church planning is not for the faint of heart. I'll say that. And ⁓ you know, for us it was kind of, you know, we decided, hey, we we could go and we could see a major impact in Asheville by being a part of this church plant, you know, and basically we were like our home church will be fine, you know, they'll be great without us, but we have some skill sets that we can bring to the table and help the church thrive. And ⁓ we really felt the Lord called us there and here. And, you know, we've served faithfully and know that like even through the the hard parts of ministry, the reality is life is hard no matter where you are or what you do. Because, you know, we're you know, we're not promised an easy life. You know, this isn't this isn't our home. And so we're here temporarily and we know that ⁓ God has been faithful in the ups and the downs and church planning, you know, probably one of the harder things that we've ever done. Yeah. ⁓ but God has remained faithful. And, you know, I just remember even having young kids as a part of it, you know, we moved here, we had Jed was, I don't know, maybe and Benelby was two. And, you know, and then we had two more kids on top of that. speaker-1: Three speaker-0: Feels like five more. speaker-2: Yeah. ⁓ speaker-3: ⁓ but I don't know. I mean, I think there's you know, no matter where you are, it's all perspective, right? So you know, you you know, you have ups and downs in life regardless. And I think that, you know, we've seen God do incredible things here and ⁓ has always had us in his hand. Yeah. And so it's been cool to see to look back on the last eleven years that we've lived here almost and ⁓ to see his hand through it all. Yeah. speaker-2: Sure. So absolutely. ⁓ speaker-1: I'm so good. ⁓ I think a couple of things come to mind. There were definitely moments in the last ten years where I I questions definitely like, is this so where the Lord you know, is this is really hard. This is really heartbreaking, this is very tolling. So two things. One is I got to a point where I had to ⁓ kind of release the pressure if the dream came to fruition on my back. Meaning like it's not that I wasn't gonna work hard, but sometimes it's like I I had this thought like if I like one of my biggest fears was like if I don't connect with the right person, they might leave the church and then have this different view of God because I did not connect with them well. And that ⁓ quickly became like so heavy that I realized I can't carry that weight. Yeah. All I can do is my best. And also knowing that the the time when God brings that fruit of your dream. I mean, to be honest, I we're in year eleven. I would say the early days truly were this honeymoon phase. I mean, I remember our first conference we were all at, all six of us, art conference. And I just looked and I feel like we were all just like, This is the best church team in the whole world. We are freaking this is speaker-2: Yes. speaker-1: But it wasn't something that like I felt like we were so great. It was just like God had his hand on this very special group of six people who were like going for broke to see people come to Jesus in a city that was far from him. And I still believe that now I believe that to this day. How I felt then I was true. And how I feel now eleven years later is there was a stent of about four years when I was so burnt out because I was trying to carry too much and be for someone. You know, like I'm a yes man, yes girl, so I was a yes to everything. And then I am like exhausted and grouchy sometimes. And I think, you know, there was a time when our church went through some really hard things and I w everything in me wanted to leave, but there was something This man and the Spirit of God who is saying,

⁓ it's not time yet. And if you are willing to stay and press in in a hard thing and not give up on this God ordained dream, you will see healing. And in that moment, and and you would see fruit on the other side, which I didn't believe, although someone had spoken that over me as a really like a word of prophetic prayer. And I like laughed when she said it because I was like, Well, I can't even imagine. that happening. But because of Robert's willingness to hear God and be brave and say, no, we're gonna, we're gonna stay, we're gonna walk, we're gonna stay this out. ⁓ three years later, I feel like we are seeing this fruit of faithfulness that we would have missed had we given up. And so I think like when you feel like you want to give up on the dream that you're certain God called you to, I think it's so valuable to have somebody who is you're who has strength in your weakness to come alongside you and say, I feel God saying this. And I want us to, you know, for us it was my husband. Sometimes it might not be your husband or wife. It might be a mentor or or a pastor or a close friend to kind of hold those, hold your arms up when you are too tired to, and that was truly what it was for our family. So it's been a beautiful, really hard journey, but I'm so glad that we stayed with God, stayed in that moment of kind of persevering is exactly what it felt like. Velation six nine I'm tired of having that verse because I just want to have the hard voice. Like I'm like Lord But for so many years I feel like it's that promise, that that encouragement, don't grow weary. And yeah. speaker-2: Yeah. The hardest ⁓ So good. Of course, support. speaker-0: Can I speak to my ⁓ I love so much about what you just said. ⁓ Chelsea and I were talking last night about this podcast and just talking to you guys and talking about dreaming and ⁓ because you guys are just great dreamers and sometimes I think that word gets used to like explain people who don't ever make an impact in the world. And that's not y'all. Like y'all are dreamers and then like, okay, how do we make this matter? And I told Chelsea last night, it seems like there's this there's this journey that we go on. And you just described it. And so for somebody listening right now who's like, okay, that's their story. There's a part of what what April just said, yeah, that is in every story of the dreamer. Absolutely. Okay. And it's so it's so interesting to me that you just said all you said, 'cause you just laid out all what I told Chelsea last night. I said, I feel like we had a dream and a vision. Given to us by John Mark that was given from God about reaching this city. And there's a whole lot of honor. I would love to throw to John Mark. We'll have him on the podcast probably. ⁓ and you guys would love to do the same thing. ⁓ there's this dream and there's this vision to reach a city who's far from God, right? And see what God can do if you just be obedient to that. So you have this dream and then you go into it with expectations. speaker-1: Mm. speaker-0: Dude, we're about to blow this thing out. Like they this the city's never seen a church like us. you know, Robert Knight is coming, and people know who this dude is. And Robert Knight is good at a lot of things. Robert Robbie Denson is good at people stuff. And John Mark is a great preacher and a good visionary. Yes. Yeah. Like almost like welcome to us, Astro. Right? So you have your dream. Yeah. speaker-2: We're the SMARS church plan. speaker-0: Then you have your expectations and then what are you hit with? Reality. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So you go from a launch day of two hundred and fifty people to eighty-nine. Right? Yeah. And so like there's a dream, there's expectations, because you're excited, and we were way too young to do what we were doing. Then you're hit with reality. snap, this is hard. Yeah. Like what we said yes to is really, really difficult and it's not as Pardon my English or French, sexy as what I thought it would be. This is really hard. And like, are we gonna make it? Are we gonna make it, you know? ⁓ so you got your dream, you got your expectations, and you got your reality, and then you go, ⁓ there's God. And maybe this is just a me thing where I this is my journey in it, where it's like, I said yes to God, you welcome God, now you got us. ⁓ crap, this is hard. Okay, God. What do you want to do? Because we need you on this. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And and we were there long enough, six years, to go through that whole phase of like, okay, now that we've gotten through there's like a a a maturity phase you gotta get through to go, okay, God, what do you try to do here? Cause we tried way too hard to control this thing. This dream of yours. Yeah. It wasn't our dream. For sure. It was your dream. It wasn't even John Mark's dream. It was God's dream that he delivered. And we I know that while I was there, while we were there, we got into that God and movement and moment of that dream. And it was really, really cool to be a part of it. speaker-2: I love what you said because there were so many parts in the journey where it was like God was teaching us where we had these expectations of like what this dream would be like and then it would be and then it was so much harder, but we had expectations what it would be like for us personally, ⁓ relationally, spiritually, and then you're in the thick of it and it's like, Dang, this is hard. Are we d are we doing the right thing? And I know for us we got there a little bit before I think everyone else ⁓ moved down and I d we miss our families like crazy. And it was so it was a hard transition. It's like, yes, God, we're doing this. We know we're called to this, but like we really miss like our family. ⁓ but we were so grateful to have you guys and the red wines, like just to be able to like know like we're not alone in this. ⁓ but then even like when you're in the thick of church planning, it's like this is exhausting. Like this is You had no

doubt that this is what you were supposed to be doing, but it was exhausting whether it was setting up with very young kids or just knowing like it's all hands on deck, you know. I may not be able to like serve in the area that I thought that I was going to serve or whatnot. And ⁓ this made me think of a a funny story of just like Sundays that were just like I don't know, what's the word? Not great Sundays, but we talked about this with you guys ⁓ when we were in Astro a couple of months ago, but like the Sunday ⁓ the car story. ⁓ speaker-0: Super easy. speaker-1: Tell that tell that story. That's a speaker-2: Please tell this story, okay, Robert? Go ahead. speaker-0: Versions of the story, Rob go ahead. speaker-2: This is just rubber to speaker-1: G. ⁓ speaker-0: This is Robert and Robbie to a tea. speaker-2: So what happened? speaker-0: So there so we had to have a ramp. We we were we did we planted a church on a mountain. Mountains are like this. So when be buildings get built on it, sometimes you have to have a ramp to get to the building. We had a ramp. So we had to use this ramp to get everything into the building. Well, this one particular Saturday night, apparently, this car parked in front of the place where we put our ramp. And so we get there and speaker-2: Shame. speaker-0: I look at it and go, shoot, there's a car parts here. We can't have church today. Dang it. Like all right, well, how are we gonna email everybody? We can't have church. And while I'm thinking about how we can't have church, Robert Knight and ⁓ Mike Randall and whoever else has got the car picked up and moving it as the alarm goes off. speaker-1: So speaker-0: At six AM in the morning, as they move across the parking lot, I'm going, ⁓ no, the cup the cops are gonna get called. Now we can't have church because and I didn't want to cancel church. I just knew we had to. speaker-2: How did we get the alarm off? speaker-0: I don't know. I don't know. Listen, listen. The battery died. Probably. speaker-2: Might sound like it's good speaker-0: My head y'all picked it up. See that's what saying? Yeah. It's all perspective. 'Cause in my head, I turn around and you guys have picked up the car. How'd you get over there? All right, we're back on baby. speaker-1: Sasha speaker-2: Story I love because it's just like ⁓ this did not know how this did not go how we thought it would. ⁓ also didn't you guys have a baby on one of our speaker-3: One year one year birthday. Remember Robbie Robbie and John Mark said do not go have a baby on the first birthday. And speaker-1: That was the Lord. I mean I did, but I wasn't really in charge. speaker-2: I mean it was awesome, don't get me wrong. But it was just like of of of all days. speaker-1: So good. ⁓ I'll say something when I'm thinking about the story of the car movie. I think it just highlights how important it is to when you have a dream or when you've been called to something that you have people around you who are gifted in different ways. Because I also, if if I was hosting a retreat or event, there was a car and something, I would have been like probably just cried like this can't happen, you know. But when you have someone who thinks differently than you, They're gonna use their their skills and their, you know, Robert and Mike Randall, they're like very innovative in that they they helped in that area where they were gifted to continue keep the dream rolling. And I think if you're a dreamer or you have a dream in your heart or you've been called to something, it is paramount to get people around you who are gifted in your weakness and who also are willing. to drink the Kool-Aid of what God is doing in your heart. And I mean that in like the most honoring way. Like the reason we were able to say yes to to being part of the gathering church and following John Mark's vision is because that's exactly what it was. It was an anointed vision from God. And so really we're kind of both like this. When God has said something or God has put a dream, we're like, let's freaking go. And We're we're just riding on the f the the strength of God, God's ability. You know, it's it's less the dream in my heart as it is this is actually the Lord's dream, which is what you had said, Robbie. And I think in the early days of dreaming, if you're listening and you have this personal dream, ⁓ I think part of the wrestle in the beginning is is this just me or is this from the Lord? That's the hardest. I mean, I think thinking personally with with my work or the dreams that we have for our family. being able to sift through those, is this a personal desire or is it a dream and and what I feel like I'm learning 40 years into living now that I'm 40 and I'm a little wiser, is I think oftentimes that personal dream, if you are living a life aligned with God, is often God's dream for you. For sure and what He has purposed your life for. And that was it, I had 10 years of struggling through that. Mentally, you know, like spiritually. Because I want to go where God wants me to go. So then it's like when you say this is a dream in my heart, there's this risk of seeming prideful or self driven or fill in the blank, you know. Especially when your dream or vision isn't necessarily a specifically gospel focused dream, like something like a church plant, you know. Yeah. speaker-2: Absolutely. That's so good. I love that you touched on just having community around you. I think it was mind boggling that so many people came to be a part of the gathering and then also those who joined the church and just jumped right in. I think it's such a beautiful part of just community and like, God man, this this is happening. Like this is your dream. Look at this. Like it's coming to fruition. And so I would love to just kind of ask a follow up question. You know, you talked about community that kind of helps you guys move forward for you personally, like pursuing dreams. H is there anything else that just kind of

helped you move forward personally or relationally that helped you as the dreams got difficult, as they got hard? Like what what what what kept you going? speaker-3: I mean I'll just say it's important to have people around you that you know, I mean Robbie, we've always talked about this. As a staff, just making sure that you have people you're connected with that are in your same realm of things, you know, in ministry, having other worship guys or production guys that I can, you know, call on when I need to figure something out or when we run into a new scenario that we haven't run into before, you know, somebody who's a little bit ahead of you. and and you know, having someone, you know, that you can trust. in bringing even if it's bringing the frustration in the moment of what you're walking through ⁓ and to be able to bounce that stuff off of so i think just having a support system that is outside of your immediate community is also important because there's there's aspects of it that you don't necessarily want to share with people close to you yeah or within your network or a part of your church because you have those those true frustrations that you know you don't want to mess up the DNA or the culture, and knowing that like, you know, we all have things that we deal with, we all have frustrations that we go through. But having someone who's completely disconnected from your ministry or from your area of expertise and they can kind of speak life into you or give advice, you know. So I think it's important to surround yourself with those people who may have an understanding of what you're walking through. Yeah. ⁓ but maybe a little bit ahead of you too, so that they can Speaking to you. Yeah. speaker-1: That's so good. speaker-2: Okay. That's good. That's good. speaker-0: Yeah, I think ⁓ what you said is so cool. And for anybody listening around, like doing life with people, whether you have a dream with them or not, I think it's really important to be able to live life with people directly. Yes. ⁓ that you can complain about to the person that Robert just talked about. Like, for example, like if Robert needs to go to someone that I don't know but that's his person, and Robert and I just do life so closely together, like we just did. Like With with church staff it's hard because you we have to work together so there's accountability, but yet we treat each other like family sometimes. That's not healthy. Cause how do you hold family accountable sometimes? Like how do you get frustrated with family and say, Hey, there's a deadline here? But like there's gotta be somebody, whether it's on your staff or in your life, that I know if Robert's going to complain about me, he freaking loves me. You know? And and and He's gotta have an outlet to be like, man, you know, and whether it's me or it's John Mark, it's like, man, I just I'm I'm irritated right now and I'm frustrated. But like that person's gotta be a safe person. Yeah. Not to affirm you or to make you feel good about yourself, to challenge you sometimes. But like I need I needed to allow you to have that person because I'm a I'm a full of mistakes too. But we're on the same mission and the same vision. And I know you love me and I know I'm imperfect. And in the same way, it's like, man, Chelsea, I think Robert might be crazy. You know? Like I you know, yeah, it's I just the point is like I love you, Robert, and you know I love you. And but it's like we still work together and it's hard. So I think we just we have to have personal relationships that people are on a dream with. Yeah. But also to your point of like, we gotta have an outlet. But the outlet has to be someone that we trust. Yeah. To you know, with with with our frustrations. speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, I think that was one of the messiest parts for ⁓ me personally, probably both of us, and I don't know if y'all experienced this at all either, but in this role of doing something so hard as church planting, I think in the times when I thought somebody else had the same conviction of calling to this specific purpose or assignment, if you will. Yeah. And then sharing my frustrations with that person about maybe something that's happening. And then realizing in hindsight, ⁓ crap. This person does not feel the same conviction that I do. And so they weren't actually a safe person to share my frustration with. Yeah. Even though I felt like it it actually doesn't matter what they say to you. It doesn't even matter, unfortunately, if they tell you like, ⁓ for sure, me too. I I also feel this same conviction. speaker-2: Okay. Yeah. speaker-1: it it it can explode really quickly. And so I think be making sure like, although not in a way of gossip but in a way of venting, ⁓ I would say definitely having that person who one hundred percent is safe. And if they're not safe, then don't share your hardships with them, you know, because I think it can ⁓ get real tricky ⁓ and kind of blow in your face, which I experienced, unfortunately. But I think in those moments also God, you know, I wrestled with God about that one time in a very specific situation like that, because in my frustration, I was, I couldn't understand why somebody I loved did not jive with what I was saying. And basically I felt like God said to me, You have been called to a different place of ministry than this person. So they don't have to understand and you don't have to understand theirs. You have to know, run your race, stay in your lane. I mean, anytime you are running after a God driven vision, and it's also I'm not saying we never make mistakes, right? Robbie, I feel like you said that. Like we've all got our issue. Like I certainly I've done a lot less than stellar in the last 11 years. I think there were some times when ⁓ God was saying, speaker-2: That's good. Yeah. speaker-1: April, you are where I want you. And this other person might be where I want them as well. And

just because you don't understand each other, you gotta know where I've called you and run your race to honor God, not for the approval of man, for the for the you know, yeah, call of God for that well done from the Lord. And that has probably been one of the hardest parts of the last eleven years. speaker-3: Yeah. Uh-huh. Hundred percent. speaker-2: So good. I think it's so easy to get caught up in comparison as well when you're pursuing your dream and it gets harder, or you're in just in the thick of like whatever is going on in your life and it gets much harder than you thought. And it's easy to look at other people or just like compare and ⁓ wish things were different or easier or whatnot. And that's like that that that's really hard as well. ⁓ thank you guys for sharing that. I was so good. ⁓ I'd love to just ask ⁓ you know, as you ⁓ pursued your dreams, like what how did it feel when they started to shift or they started to change? And ⁓ maybe you have like a specific situation or moment where some surgeries, whether it's with I don't I don't know, worship or with your art career or whatnot, what was that like for you guys? speaker-3: Yeah, I mean I would say, gosh, there's so many different avenues we could go there. even just ⁓ we'll just go for a blip with ⁓ the transition of my role last year. ⁓ you know Yeah, I I'm gonna say that right now. So ⁓ you know, when Hurricane Helene ⁓ hit the Asheville area of western North Carolina, yeah. Very unexpected. speaker-1: Okay, he's going. He's going. speaker-3: you know, we we really didn't know what was going on. ⁓ we lost all communications and yada yada yada. There was, you know, a lot. People saw it on the news. ⁓ but here in this area, you know, the way that it is ⁓ geographically, there's a lot of people who were stranded, ⁓ who didn't have access to their homes ⁓ for a very long time. And who lost their homes completely, whether it was from flooding or trees or whatever. And so when we ⁓ when the storm hit, we our house was unscathed and you know, we had power pretty quickly, which was amazing. And ⁓ the Lord really protected our our home. And yeah, we just I don't know, I I personally an immediate conviction ⁓ when we had evacuated to speaker-1: This was Robert's dream. ⁓ speaker-3: be come back here and help people ⁓ and whatever that looked like. ⁓ at first it was offering just a place of respite ⁓ for people who were affected. ⁓ and then it turned into housing over 500 volunteers over the course of a few months on our property. and then it turned into now, which is rebuilding people's homes 18 months later. And so that shift happened ⁓ you know about nine, 10 months ago when I was doing Borsman production. Which was my role at the gathering and also helping all these people and it just got to be where essentially John Mark was kinda like, Listen, man, your head is underwater. You cannot keep doing this. You will not can't sustain it. and you know, me being as strong little as I am was

like, No, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. ⁓ and so basically it it ended up getting to a place where it's like, Okay, we've gotta we've gotta pick a lane, you know, we could speaker-1: Jean-Marc was right. speaker-3: hire somebody to come help and do ⁓ relief and outreach, or we could hire somebody to do worship and production. And ⁓ I just truly felt that conviction that I wanted to help people and ⁓ to rebuild homes and to do outreach in the community. And you know, I I know without a shadow of a doubt it's what the Lord wanted. And that is what I've been doing for the last 10 months. And it's been awesome to see ⁓ really what we've seen in the community is walls have come down ⁓ that have been up against the church. ⁓ you know, Asheville's an interesting ⁓ demographic of a melting pot of people, ⁓ a lot of ⁓ you know, New Age and all kinds of different belief systems. And you know, it's it's kind of like on one hand it's it's cool because there's so many different people here, ⁓ On another hand, it's really difficult compared to the South, really, because you ha you have a conversation with somebody and you tell them about Jesus and they say, ⁓ well, that's good for you. You know, that's great for you, you know, and whatever your belief system is. And so it's very hard to ⁓ you know, kind of get through those lines. And we have seen that be broken down. Those walls have been broken down since the lean. And ⁓ because the church in general in the area. were the first responders to help and ⁓ we have seen doors open that we probably never would have seen before ⁓ in these communities because we've been able to reach them and help them and serve them. ⁓ and so that's been super cool. So all to say, that was an interesting ⁓ change up from the Lord. but we I just really felt that conviction, that call and I've enjoyed almost every minute of it. So speaker-2: I'm sure it's a lot. speaker-0: I think it speaks too like to God's plan and provision. Yeah. And he works all things for the good for those who love him. And and even just to go back and I I can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I can speak for you guys on behalf of John Mark, where it's like, you know, as a lead pastor, like all of this is true. Everything you guys are doing right now is so important. He's been called to lead the gathering church. And for a lot of lead pastors, it's looking at it and going, Well, I I know why I asked Robert Knight and April Knight to be a part of this. And I still want them to be a part of this for that same reason. And it wasn't because of hurricane relief. So he can do that, but I'm still gonna drive him to do what he's supposed to do, what he said yes to. And there's a lot of lead pastors who would look at it and go, I'm gonna let Robert figure out in April figure out the whole hurricane thing. He's gotta lead he's gotta lead this congregation on Sundays with into worship. But to be able to recognize hold on, let me step back and go, okay. What's best? Yeah. Not just best for the gathering, because God's got that's that that's important. What's best for everybody? Yeah. You know, and and it and it was. It was like, hey Robert, this ain't gonna work. So what is gonna work? You know, I think this speaks volumes to his leadership, his maturity, to what you guys were built for. Yeah. You know, there's I don't know anybody I don't know other people that can can be so normal in what Would appear to like chaos to everyone else. and I and I and that's crazy, but I mean it. Like, I still remember whenever we had the Awakened ⁓ men's hike group that transitioned to a brief hurricane relief for a couple days. And we went up there and it was like, this is chaos. But you guys were like, All right, guys, what's up? Like you guys were cool and ready to go. You had plans for us. And I'm like, ooh, I'm panicking right now. And but it's like you're built for it. So I just think it speaks to like God's provision when it comes to dreams. They shift when you stay close to what's happening around you, but also close to God's voice. You can move. And then also he moves in the hearts of others, like John Mark, to be able to say, Hey, something's happening right now. We need to respond to it. And it might be because I can guarantee you I can speak for John Mark on this. The last thing he wanted to do was move on from Robert Night. And it might you know? But it's like no, but God's got yeah the plan for the gathering and he's got plans for the nights. speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-2: Yeah. It's that's it just makes sense that you would you guys would be involved with this. ⁓ as hard working and as passionate as you are. You're just not afraid to just get into the trenches. Which is why we loved being a part of the gathering with you guys. It's just like, man, these are our teammates, you know? And I think it's really cool when it you talk about that, Robert, because there are moments when you look at the past or when we where it's like ⁓ a dream was presented and do I want to say yes or no? But for you, something happened in Asheville and you know a darkness came over and it's like now there's this opportunity for you to step in. And so you didn't see you guys didn't see that coming. But it then it's like you started to get involved and you started to feel like this purpose like build and bubble up and just it's been really cool from our end. ⁓ just to watch you guys just come around the community and really like just work hard and just get into the dirty stuff and then help people. Like it's beautiful. And so I think it's really it's a beautiful side of a dream that you didn't see coming, but that you're a part of and you're just embracing. And ⁓ you know, and so I I I just love that. speaker-0: Reading a book right now called ⁓ The Sen of Empathy that our Pastor Brandon mentioned and ⁓ encouraged us to read. And he said it was short, so I was like, All right, I'll buy it. ⁓ but the the principle of it is the sin of empathy

is, ⁓ there's people around me struggling. Let me go struggle with it. speaker-1: Hmm speaker-0: And what I love and i it's what you just said. It's like the knights are like, no, there's people struggling with me. I'm gonna go there with them, yeah, then we're gonna figure this thing out. So and and it's like it goes from like, ⁓ I'm just gonna go throw myself at the chaos because I I wanna live a life on mission or for Jesus or for sacrifice, but then there's no impact. Yeah. And and the point of the book is, no, I I wanna see and be speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-0: empathetic and sympathetic to what's going on around me so that there can be change there. And like just and maybe you can send us some pictures. Well we have to now since I mentioned it, around like some of the stuff going on with the houses that you guys have been working on and maybe even give a pitch for that. But like you go to a house that has what, six feet of mud in the kitchen and then it's a new house, that's not The set of empathy. That is my heart is broken. We're gonna fix this house. Yeah. Yeah. And that that's that's so cool. That's so cool. speaker-1: That's so good. ⁓ one thing I'll say about ⁓ this season of relief work that we got to be part of is ⁓ it was very clearly something God wanted to do. There's this Bible study that I've love that I've done it's I guess it's from the 80s. It's called experiencing God. But ⁓ basically the whole premise of the Bible study is like God is at work around you. And as believers, it is our joy or privilege or job to To see God at work and join him in what he's doing. And as self-centric as our world is, and actually, even as self-centric as I am so many times, the hurricane was it was so very clear that ⁓ and John Mark, so much honor to him as our leader because he saw that, and as wild as our life was for those ye for that year, mostly six months, John Mark's goal in in getting us settled for Robert to do something else was so that we could thrive, but also. Because he saw what God was doing through the hurricane relief. And one of the most incredible things that we've seen, that was a that was a God dream that was for his kingdom. Right. And so we, because we said yes, we didn't even feel like like it was very clear that God, for whatever reason, probably knew we were crazy enough to catch this dream. All right, the nights will do it. You know. So All to say we saw miracle on miracle on miracle for every need that came in. There was provision on the way, sometimes within hours. And we just had this incredible honor to just keep our hands open and we were connecting people. We were connecting people with resources to people who needed them. And I think so often, I mean literally those days it was like we had all these people in our house or camping in our yard, and then we would serve dinner and then at midnight. By midnight, we were still at the table. Looking at the map, looking at the map, because there was no internet, right? Just mapping out these rows, trying to find these people who needed help. These are in the early days. And and God was giving the direction. And so when you have the opportunity to be part of something wild like that, it felt like a 24-7 mission trip for about six months. And because I'm an adrenaline junkie for Jesus mostly, not for like extreme sports, it felt like I could do this forever. You know, and clearly I was not, we were not able to sustain that forever, nor was God asked this to. But in the thick of that season, it was easy because God was doing the heavy lifting. He was, and he does. And even when you have a dream in your heart or God has called you to something, I think some people never start because they're afraid they don't know how it's gonna end up. And I think one of our strengths or weaknesses or The the kryptonite or whatever is that like we'll just go without knowing. You know, the the the excitement of God, the spark of God speaking something to us, we'll go without knowing. And sometimes that doesn't always work out pretty. But you want, you know, being willing to launch with God, I'm always asking, I'm always saying like, ask God like what is the one next thing? What is your one next step? You don't actually have to know it on. And he doesn't need us to. And we shouldn't, because then we'll probably lead in fear. Whereas, like, if God just tells you the one next thing, like one day we were like, it was hurricane land, and we're like, okay, we need cabinets in this kitchen that we were renovating that had five feet of water and yeah, two feet of mud in it. And so it was like, What was it that morning or was that night? The night before we had said, like, okay, we need kitchen cabinets in this kitchen. And you had got Okay, so that morning this team from Iowa was driving in. So at seven a.m., our other friend who was a one of our long-term volunteers, he came out and he met this guy who was driving in, got to our house at 7 30 in the morning with a freaking Mountain Dew in his hand because Robbie, nod to Robbie. Robbie and so he this guy literally hauled a tractor with him because he said, and I quote speaker-0: Except twice a year. speaker-1: I don't like to go anywhere without my tractor. So he like Robert. We found out right after that, the night before we had realized, okay, that's our next move. Our next move, we need kitchen cabinets. This guy was a custom cabinet designer from Iowa, and he brought his his computer technology and he said, No worries, I'll go over to the house. Yeah, I need to. speaker-3: Yep. speaker-0: Yeah, bro. speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-3: It's like I'll design the kitchen. And then ⁓ literally that next morning, I think it was It was the same day. It was like the same it was wild. I got a text message from a buddy who's a pastor at another church and he said, Hey, I had somebody come up to me yesterday who said that he wants to donate kitchen cabinets. Do you guys happen to have a need? speaker-2:

Yeah. speaker-1: So within three days speaker-2: Yeah. speaker-3: So like with by the end of that week there were kitchen cabinets there at that house. speaker-1: So, you know, just to that whole story is God was doing the heavy lifting. We were just there to be this willing vessel. He was bringing the provision. And the other the other like encouragement to that is if you are listening, don't underestimate the value of what you have to bring to God's dream for his people. Wherever you're gifted, that is where he wants you to serve. I think sometimes, especially when we're young, I always thought like God, ⁓ he's gonna want me to do this crazy thing that's so outside of my skills or whatever. And actually, what he wanted me to do was use my art to bring people closer to him. I think it's not often this wild, different thing. ⁓ I think he did obviously he's so good, he designs us so that what we have to give the cabinet distributor guy felt the move of Rob to say, I'm gonna donate these cabinets. And then God confirmed that. by bringing the need and the other helpers. So like it's all just a bunch of helpers getting together and offering what they have and God will orchestrate the details. And that is what we've seen in the church planting, in the hurricane plant and in the dreams of our all of the dreams. We have so many dreams. speaker-2: ⁓ do you think speaker-3: And I you know, and I'll I'll piggyback off of that just to say, you know, as April mentioned with the hurricane relief, you know, what we feel like is that it's, you know, God's dream for the kingdom to be able to us be a part of that and what has happened here. but we feel like it's also been an opportunity ⁓ looking back on things and how things have lined up. speaker-2: Okay. speaker-3: It's an opportunity for the next phase of things for us to be able to pour into the dreams that God has given April personally. And so it's been cool to see how God aligns those things timeline-wise. When you look back, you're like, ⁓ God was in this and this is happening because now it's leading into the next dream that he has. speaker-1: Yeah, that's speaker-2: Yeah, absolutely. speaker-0: I I think to like bring it full circle too. And y'all just said it. It's cool how things kinda keep coming round. So I think what the main point should be for this podcast. ⁓ for however many listeners there are what? One to twenty thousand probably at this point. ⁓ once we put the night tech on it. speaker-2: Yeah, night. Hashtag night. speaker-0: is like we're talking about dreams and I think we should never forget and you guys are a perfect example of this and you come from the stock of this example. ⁓ that our dreams they're God's dreams and we should never forget that our dreams were first his. Yes. Because I think a lot of times in the church world that we take what God gave us as dreams and visions and we make it our own. speaker-2: No. speaker-0: And then it's a platform. Yeah. And you guys are that to a

T of like, no, this is always gonna be God's dream. It's never my platform. If there's a platform ever built, it's for Him, it's for His glory, it's for His Kingdom. And I even go back to thinking like, and I we'll cut this if you want, but like y'all's development in church, where it's like the one of the reasons I love Seacoast Church. is because the name Greg Surratt means a ton to me. And it means even more to you guys. But My neighbor doesn't make who that is. You know, it's like, no, he the main thing for Greg was Seacoast Church and God-reaching people. It wasn't Greg Surratt. You know, and it was always like, no, this is his dream. It's gonna stay his dream. And you find these churches that blow up. And I there's a fine line between me being overly critical and whatever, but it's like. speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-0: There's a lot of moral failure in the church because we take control of God's dreams for us. And you know, everything from like, you know, people don't know, but you mentored Brandon Lake for years. And he's not gonna be in the name of this podcast. He's not gonna be in the top. Like, there's no reason for him to know about this. ⁓ because there probably won't be one in 20,000 listeners. So but my but my my point is this: like, I think the people that most speaker-1: ⁓ speaker-2: Three bits. speaker-0: make the biggest impact 'cause I think and I know 'cause I know Brandon Late to some extent that if I were to talk to him about Robert Knight and April Knight and what you meant to him, dude, he's not him without you. speaker-1: Yeah. That's very kind. speaker-0: And at the same time, it's like you I didn't even know that about you for the first years, few years that you've been doing. Because it's always about what what God's doing and not about what he can do or what you can do for you. You know what I'm saying? And it's like I think it's so important, and that you guys have been an inspiration for me and and Chelsea, I think. Of like because we always talk about nights like. The nights? You don't know about the nights? Well then well we know about the nights, but it's like because you guys don't promote the nights. You guys promote like what God's doing. And I'm like, yeah, but he's doing it through the nights. Do you guys not understand? But it's like, no, it's it's about God and what he's doing. And it's it's it's like the kingdom impact that you guys are making because of your dreams is so much bigger than like, you know, what you guys can even define. And and people feel it and they see it. speaker-2: We forgot. speaker-0: And they don't even know who you are. So thank y'all for being you. speaker-1: Love you. Y'all. I will treasure that. Thank you. I love a word of encouragement. But y'all are so sweet. We we love you you guys are this isn't what the podcast is about, but literally like you guys were our you were it. I mean, truly like because we got to serve alongside you. in I would say s all of us, some of our hardest years for everybody, you know, on Sabbath of Church. Like y'all are family and the speaker-3: Thanks for having. speaker-1: The realist deal of like genuine you you pre you practice what you preach, you know, like you are the best at community, you are the best at hospitality, you are the best at Chelsea is the best at sitting with people and asking a could be awkward question that actually brings people into vulnerable moments where God is elevated and people get connection and we miss that, Chelsea. We don't Have an awkward question ask her anymore. But all I do hate so you know, y'all are truly such an honor and ⁓ to know and love and feel like family, honestly. Like we miss living day-to-day life with you because you're such a you bring so much joy and and genuineness. And ⁓ I I hope the people of Awaken know how special they are that God chose the Densons. speaker-2: Robbie still hates it. speaker-1: To be part of that. speaker-3: Preach. speaker-2: You thank you. It was so hard to leave, Ashville. Don't get us wrong because our friends you guys became our family. And so that that could never be replaced. ⁓ but I I'm just grateful ⁓ that you guys came on today to share just kind of about your heart and your story and where God has you and where he's going to have you and what the best is yet to come. And I think what we've shared today, you guys shared is like a beautiful story of Putting your yes on the table, being obedient to God, and then watching Him be glorified. And you guys have done such a beautiful job with that. And it hasn't been easy. Hasn't been easy for us. We've gone through our own battles and still here in Charleston as well. But it's just like continue to put your yes on the table, you know. It's that quote Consistency plus duration equals impact. That's right. That's great. I don't remember where I got that from. speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-0: You got it from me. But I got it from David Habiskey. I stole it from Shomone. speaker-2: ⁓ my god, from Moby? speaker-3: Right. speaker-2: So you've had Bisky has a podcast, right? speaker-0: David, I guess he's the man. speaker-2: Okay. Anyways, you guys do that. It's so I am so grateful that you guys decided to join us today. And as we end, I would just I just want to ask if there's someone listening today and maybe they feel like they have a calling in their life or they feel like they're pursuing a dream. It's a lot harder than they expected or or maybe they just ⁓ they just thought it would be different. Is there any way that you could just encourage that person listening today? ⁓ just encourage them. Maybe what dreams have built in you that you can encourage them with, ⁓ maybe that they can't see yet. What would you say to that that that person? speaker-1: You know what I was share? I was gonna say, what are you gonna say? I would just say my biggest encouragement is to just stay close to God. Keep, you know, God at the forefront of your dreams. ⁓ know that He is the answer to

every problem you have and He has the solution to every problem you face. And don't carry the weight of the dream. Let God carry the weight and let Him drive. You know, let Him drive and be His. passenger and just do what he says and when you don't know what he's saying, press into his presence ⁓ to encounter who he is and let him fill you and then he will continue going with you and showing you the way. But he is the secret sauce to all of speaker-3: Right. And of course I'm blanking on the name and author right ⁓ an author in book right now, but you might know Robbie talks about a long obedience in the same direction. And I think that that's you know that's me to a T and ⁓ you know, I would faithfully serve wherever I am, whatever dream for the rest of my life, ⁓ until God says, hey, let's do something different here. And so that's just who I am and how I'm wired. And I would just say, you know, continue to be obedient to what God's called you to in the season that you're in. and, you know, just follow hard after him in the same follow in that same direction. Be obedient. And if he calls you somewhere else, be willing to say yes. And that's all he wants is your speaker-2: That's so good. I love that guys. Well, thank you so much. ⁓ real quick, if anybody wants to get involved in just the relief effort that you're still part of, can you kind of share where they can ⁓ you know, go to get more information, get involved, give. speaker-3: Yeah, ⁓ gatherashwell.org slash relief. ⁓ so we will still be doing some projects ⁓ over the summer and taking on volunteers, ⁓ working in close partnership with our nonprofit partner, Fearless Works, ⁓ who has developed a national church disaster response program. And so they are doing the onboarding for volunteers and stuff, and then we'll plug into local projects. ⁓ essentially we've got five projects right now on the docket. ⁓ that we are working on and working towards and ⁓ complete rebuilds of homes. So speaker-2: That's amazing. And April is an amazing artist. Can you share a little bit? Let's put a little plug in. Come on. From my girl. Can you share a little bit about your business? Where people can find you. speaker-1: Yeah. ⁓ so you can find me ⁓ aprilnight.co is my website for art. And I don't know my Instagram. speaker-3: And scripts. speaker-0: Listen, April night. ⁓ listen, I got a problem with you. speaker-2: What? speaker-0: We're gonna end the podcast soon. Mm it's okay to make money with how good you are at what you do, cause your heart is so stinking good. So give your website out. You know your Instagram. Say what it is. Girl speaker-1: I don't think night. That's it. Everything's night. speaker-3: It's April A. Night on Listen, April's Fine Art is at aprilnight.co. Yeah. And her and her our creative Bible study resources that we produce are at scripturedoodle.com. speaker-1: Yeah, and I would love to connect with you and speaker-3: And you can follow Scripture Doodle as well on Instagram. speaker-1: Okay, that's good. speaker-2: Robbie's about to walk in. Again, if you're watching this podcast. speaker-0: She's a really good artist, y'all. She's good at what she does. Buy her stuff. Buy her stuff and her things. I'm just saying. Look at it. speaker-1: We missed. The lion. Okay. Okay. speaker-2: probably just ⁓ if you're watching the podcast, you can just share ⁓ beautiful artwork ⁓ that April did on our last Easter with the gathering and please go follow her. Please go support her. Love her so much. Night life. We love you guys so much. Can't wait till we see you guys again. I know we're gonna pick up where we last ⁓ left off. And ⁓ thank you so much for joining us and I I would love to have you guys back. But thank you guys for speaker-1: Yeah. speaker-2: coming on the podcast. We love y'all. Love y'all. Bye. speaker-1: Love. speaker-3: Peace.