Dino Rizzo: When Leaders Serve, Churches Grow

0:00 They're never gonna allow me to use this card again. Look at this. Okay, they'll be running into nobody's card. Do we have interest on this? Do we have do we have a workmatch comp on this project? Come on, cut it hard. Cut it hard. Look at this. We're maxing right now. We're going to 70 miles an hour. 13. 13. Sound like 70. This is all Texas. We're gonna go look at the parking lot. I think there's a dirt bike convention going over. Are you doing motocross? Man just rode a dirt bike right through the church parking lot. He did a wheelie right there and jumped over that. Texas motocross central.

0:42 I mean, that's that's how big the property is. You can motorcrawl. Well, what happens is when you get when you get this during the week, it serves as a practice field for little league football. There'll be some sixth graders out there in a little bit playing football. There'll be people doing uh you know hills here running up and down. People come out here, they practice their kids' driver's ed. As this, it's a full service. You can do it is a you can you can practice parallel parking. Now, one thing that I want to comment for everybody. It's a church for everybody. One thing I want to comment on, though, that I've never been in this, but I want to say, hold on, let me see.

1:23 Here we go. This thing. So would you say we were just talking? It's a Texas-sized golf cart. 30 years ago, I I started in ministry. I would say that the golf cart game has kind of come up. Yeah. This is a there was no golf card. Is this a Disney World? This is, I feel like we're getting ready for the Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, did you, did you back in the day when you were pastoring in Baton Rouge, did you ever get like a used golf cart? You know, the one that somebody gave you, or did you get it? It was a uh maybe just a hand-me-down from like a par three course.

2:05 Yeah. Yeah. We had a couple things just given to us as a blessing. And uh I don't know if they turned out to be a blessing. You have to fix it, gotta get it guys. In the early days, you're just grateful for anything. Anything you could started here how long ago? Okay, so I moved here in 2002 to start milestone. We moved to this property in 2017. Where were you meeting before this? We had a little grocery store behind Taco Pass. The House of the Taco. The House of the Taco. A grocery store. That was first Sunday was in there? No, first Sunday was in a cafetorium. Then we had a little rented building, had 350 seats, old church.

2:47 Where'd you get the chairs from? Well, they were already in the chair. They came with the building, they were light pink. Little flat, you know, international flags. International flags. Yeah, you gotta have the flag too. A wood altar, do this in remembrance of me. Little flower arrangement. You know, one thing I like about you though is you like everything about church because we just spent the day together. We're talking about missions, we're talking about, I mean, being involved with the community. Being involved in the community. I want to. One thing that came out of our dialogue today, I want to double our outreach to single moms. Yeah, I love that. Well, it came out of your heart. I think the best outreach is are those that you just know that God puts something in you and you're supposed to make a difference.

3:33 It shouldn't be this way. You said something about uh there was a single mom that has come to the church. I think one of your team, Stacy, found out that she had sold her plasma to get food. And you know what came out of your mouth? It shouldn't be that way. It shouldn't be that way. That shouldn't be happening on my watch. We're going to fix that. And I think that's where a lot of serve impact your community. What are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to do medical? Are we supposed to do uh neighborhood Bible studies? Are we supposed to do elderly? Are we supposed to do, you know, literacy teaching to children? I think it's what says comes out of your heart. Says, God put this in me, and it shouldn't be that way.

4:15 Yeah. And I think that's what came out of your heart with single. Why is it, is there a story to that? So my my dad, my dad's, my dad's dad died when he was nine years old. So my grandmother, she never remarried. She raised my father, my uncle. She had a beauty shop beside the house. She cut hair, went, went over here, put that perm solution on some lady's hair, that dirt daubers would be falling out of the sky. And then we made a win made a spam sandwich for her boys, you know, got them to school. No, you never had a perm.

4:56 I will say in sixth grade, all my friends got a perm because Kurt Cameron, that show was out, and we came to school in the sixth grade, everybody had a perm. It's kind of coming back now, too, I think. It is. Yeah. Kind of it's the the ha the ha perm. No, I think so. At the end of the day, yeah. So my I had that in my background, but really how I got a heart for single moms was I was just praying one day, driving down the road. I thought about the verse, pure and undefiled religion, help widows and orphans. And I had a thought, we don't, I live in a suburban community, and our our outreach to widows has increased, but I started thinking single moms fit the profile of the biblical widow.

5:39 Because in the Bible, the reason the widow is mentioned is culturally they were at such a vulnerable place. They were they were on the outside. I mean, in fact, you know, you might tell your brother, hey, you need to take you need to take my wife in. I mean, if I die, because basically it was a death sentence, you know. And so you were jammed if you were. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so I had that, and so we just started reaching out. We we we serve about 500 single moms, pay for kids' camp, scholarships, Mother's Day. We do basically their whole Christmas for them. Not just for their kids. Not just for their kids, but then even just some stuff for them. And you know, but it didn't start out with 500.

6:21 No. It started out with this, we should do something. Do something. And so let's figure that out. And then what I love today was the vision of what could we if you can go to one, you can go to two. If you can do 500, you could do a thousand. You know, it's scalable. That's right. And I think that was what's amazing. You know, I love riding around this building because you know, one of the things you were talking about today was bigger building. Look at look at these random, random golf car people. Random golf car people. They're trying to challenge us. Okay, they're trying to challenge us, they're gonna be ahead of time.

7:04 Here we go, here we go. They don't know you got skills. Is this West Texas still? Is it West Texas? Is that where we're raised? They're never gonna allow me to use this card again. I think uh look at this. Okay, don't be running into nobody's car. Do we have insurance on this? Do we have do I have work with comp on this project? Come on, cut her hard, cut her hard. Look at this. We're we're maxing right now. We're running 70 miles an hour. 13? 13. Cal sound like 70. This is all Texas. This is Texas. But you said something about bigger buildings, bigger church, bigger heart.

7:47 Right. So big, big, big is a relative term, but it's it's not it just about big or bigger buildings, bigger heart. And I feel, and I'm gonna preach on that this fall. I'm gonna preach a whole series on the Ephesians passage that says there's more love. More love. Bigger, not a bigger building, bigger love. More love. And and the answer to it is as each part does its work. And that's what I got from you. That's what I want to spend some time talking about. Servolution, serve, how you how that how that became part of what you impart.

8:28 I want to talk about that. But I've enjoyed the golf cart, right? Hey, full service. I mean, you know, we got you some Texas barbecue. 54 and a half. Would you have ever believed you'd have 54 acres? No, no. And the generosity of our people that we have low debt on this because of their generosity, and we're able to serve more people every weekend. Golf carts. Golf carts. People get picked up in these. It's a long way down there to the end of that parking lot. I'm not we need a motor cross bike. So let's go, let's go have a conversation. Let's go, uh, let's go chat. I want to I want to talk a little bit about serving people, servolution.

9:08 Go have a conversation about it. Oh man. All right. That was fun. That was awesome. I enjoy it. I mean, I'm on the podcast. You're on the podcast. I'm on the lead to win podcast. But I'm I I didn't I didn't get a lead to win shirt. You didn't get one? Yeah, I I I'm still on this jacked-up ARC hoodie that I'll be pullover I wear every day. Well, I'm giving out NIL money. Oh, there you go. If you'll get one and wear it, I mean we're we're gonna have like a be be like you could be sponsored by lead to win. Tell now tell me where Lead to Win. We're hearing about it. It's a book, it's a gathering. It's really your heart is to see people win. Right. And then to to see how that has been uh brought out now, being able to help pastors, leaders, teams.

9:55 Uh I get excited about it because you want to, you know, you win with people, and then there's lead to, I mean, there's this whole idea now. How did that where did that come from? Give me a minute on it, because I know we want to talk about a lot of things, but I want to know that from you. The first book way to win was the idea that everyone has a scoreboard, but the worst thing in life is not to have too few points, but to light up the scoreboard and realize you played the wrong game. So for me, I want everybody to win, but also feel I mean, I have a shepherd's heart. My book, Win with People, is about how to take better care of people. Yeah. I want them also to get permission. I think what a pastor does and a coach is like, hey man, let me give you some permission to care about your wife and your kids and your marriage and your health.

10:42 And a lot of time for leaders, like they're they are sacrificial, and and a lot of times no one's asking, well, how how are you? How are you doing? So I tell I find a lot of joy in encouraging, inspiring, giving to, yeah, helping. Um you really built a church on it. That's that's how we that we built, as we say, build big people. Right? Yeah, not not build a big church, build big people. Big people build build big things, they do great things. And then so so lead to win now is a is a gathering, it's a it's a movement of resources. Got curricula.

11:23 I mean, I go everywhere and I shout out the seeds, baby. What's up with them seeds? Because you did a curriculum, a campaign around giving generosity, give your life away, plant your life into something. And I I believe it's one of the greatest things. I mean, I carried around, I've I've re-preached it more than you have. I think people think I came up with it. So it's pretty cool. But give me give me some on that. We spent some time even today together because you're gonna come and help, and we're just gonna invite pastors and teams. We we we say we design this with you and your team in mind. Gathering in January.

12:03 Um I I've been distinguished. Come come just whatever we have, we want to share it with you. Meet some of my team, learn about some of our distinctives. Next gen. Um Developing Leaders. Developing leaders. Pipelines. I think we're gonna really focus on that this year is about developing leaders and teams. Yeah, that's right. And uh we know that's a big need out there. People, where do I get a youth pastor? How do I develop my people? So it's a gathering. It's also, though, as you said, it's it's resources that we have available, like seeds, like other things that we have, and then it's it's also this podcast. I mean, I I my team kept telling me you need to do a podcast.

12:48 I like podcasts, I listen to fishing podcasts most of the time. Yeah, you do, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I love fishing podcasts. I love bass fishing. Uh so I listened to some leadership ones, and so I really had no idea like what that was. Like, look, it's like but I I say I I really enjoy it. Why? Because my life is rich because of the relationships and people that I get to be with. And so you and I today, we've been talking about how can we serve more single moms? We've been talking about how do we make a greater impact for serve day. So we've been we so we we've today have been having a conversation, yeah.

13:29 And I love the fact that it's like, let me give you a ride in the golf cart, and then let's go talk about it. Exactly. And I I want people to benefit that are out there, because we also have people that are they're not just pastors, they're there are pastors and ministry leaders. We got a letter the other day or an email from uh a teacher who said, Man, I'm getting a lot out of this. I thought teacher, I mean, they do a lot of stuff, pastors do. They they gotta deal with parents, they deal with the kids, they gotta deal with the curriculum, they gotta make sure everything's so we have business leaders, teachers, and I wanted them. If if I I was thinking about our time, like if I if I cut you, like you're gonna bleed serve people, help people.

14:15 Of course, we share in common, we want to have pastors. I find I I think there's a lot of churches that ask me, like, we had 6,000 people in Dallas Fort Worth. It's a massive church, just serving people this this year. Yeah. I can't even remember 400 projects. I mean, I you I I we did a live deal. I was at a grocery giveaway. You sure were what's up? Giving out groceries. All lined up, everybody got grocery carts, getting food, getting help. Small groups were showing up adopting teachers. The teachers were crying, they're buying them everything they they they need for their classrooms, and we found out that the teachers were spending their own money to get snacks for these kids.

14:58 We're like, that can't be. Well, we got we gotta do something about that. Yeah. And so I I s I say there's no way we have that kind of impact if I don't have a relationship with you. Because you imparted that. You taught me that. You where this is this is where where it's all at here, okay? This is the month, this is the the whole podcast. Yeah. Where did Dino Rizzo, where, where did Servolution, Servolution, you know, that you still you still are empowering pastors all over the world with the with the vision for service.

15:38 Yeah, you guys help us too. Yeah. So And I get to do it at a local level at Highlands. At Highlands, y'all are doing it. So you serve there at Highlands, you help help all of us. You serve, obviously, as the executive director of ARC, which we we all all of us, we we we help with church planting. Right. I think people even get confused by that, by the way. Yeah. It's not a denomination. No, not all. It's not a governmental entity. So when they say ARC did, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We're a birthing center. Okay. We're just we're just we're just happy. And we help start new churches. We help you get to the best launch possible. Oh, goodness. It's it's gonna be right at 1,180 that we've launched.

16:18 I think that's a good thing. Yeah, and and they and we believe in a launch large model. Yeah. That's just who we are. That's yeah. And churches like yourself and thousands give to it. You know, so I it's a it's a joy of my life to be a part of our so helping that church plan and encouraging them. Boy, we and you've planted a church, I've planned a church, but that's not easy. But there's this there's this other part to you. You know, local church, you you you love local church, from parking lots to babies to overflow that we don't call overflow anymore. Additional seeding. Additional spirit. For an additional experience. Okay. Right by the Coke machine.

16:59 Exactly. Yeah. So you like you like everything church, but really, if you really say Dino Rizzo, people think serve the underprivileged, help the poor, help people, serve people. Where did that come from? Well, I think, you know, like all of us, we're wired by God. So there is there's it's probably a a wiring of God. You know, to so we we we always acknowledge him first in anything. I mean, you're a great shepherd, you're a great pastor, you're a great friend. God puts a lot of that in you.

17:41 And then you have life experience. And I think, you know, I was raised uh with a speech challenge. You know, I spent some time with Steve Robins, so he's analyzed me. Steve Robinson has analyzed me. Uh like all of us, to God be the glory. Uh what a gift. And um and he he and I were chatting about this. You know, I was in speech class back in those days, you were all thrown in in one room with every other type of challenge and pain and struggle. Right. And I think being there and being the one that probably had the less uh struggle, uh-huh. Uh so I did become a little bit of a defender of some of the other classmates that were at a different challenge.

18:24 Uh so I think that kind of started young, and then knowing what I had been through with my speech, um, and then being reached through outreach. So I was not a believer. There was nothing about church that made me want to come to church. So I got reached through a church who did an outreach, did a survey. That's big. Did an engagement, and I think from there, I think that's really big, right? Like, I mean, people who get reached on a college campus, a lot of times they go do college. If you're incarcerated, you want to do prison ministry. If you've been i fighting addiction, yeah. You find sobriety, yeah. You won't you want to help people find sobriety. Yeah. If you've if you've been in an abusive relationship, a lot of times now you want to serve your time down at a batter winner women's home.

19:07 Right. You know, so it's a widow that says, I want to lead a widow's group. You have those here. But I think that was a big thing for. The outreach is they did an outreach at the beach, a little small church from Tabor City, North Carolina, boy, North Kakalaka. And they did an outreach on the weekend and just went out and talked to people and they were giving away snow cones. Wow. And uh they gave me a grape snow cone. And I'd seen other people witness bullhorns yelling. Yeah. And and if that if that's your thing, then you know, yeah, do your bullhorn. Yeah. But uh these people were kind. It was acts of kindness before I knew what that was. Yeah. It was it was giving something that connected to a convert, and out of the conversation, it was a clear presentation of the gospel.

19:51 I want to pause right there. I want to pause right there because we didn't start with 6,000 people serving at Serve Day. We didn't start with 500 single moms. We started where we started. And I think a lot of times people are listening and they're missing what you're saying. This wasn't a big church. This wasn't millions of dollars. This was ice, a little white thing to hold it. Some great you know, whatever whatever. I mean, yeah. What kind of snow cone do you like by the way? Oh man, coconut. Oh the blue, the light blue? Yeah. Money. I need I need to go back at it. We need to go get snow cone today.

20:32 Let's get the snow cone. With some conditions, did you ever do the one where you're like, I want all the colors, every color. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I think a lot of times people get overwhelmed, like if you have a business or you're a you even your family, like like, or a church or a team. Water, snow cones, one widow, one widow, one one house fire, one broke down car. And I you know, the the book you wrote, Win with People. It's not like there's a threshold like, okay, you can only win with people if it's a hundred people. Right. You can't win with a hundred if you can't win with one.

21:14 That's it. And so it's it's win with the person in front of you. I'm sure that's a big principle of the book. Uh-huh. It's win with your family. Win with your win with your neighbor. Well, we we talk about seeing the one and caring about the one and Jesus Jesus Shepherd leaves the 99 to go get one. The the big group actually wasn't it wasn't the focus, it was the one. Today, we're talking about you know, single moms and outreach and getting ready for next year's serve day. But today I won. Yes, I have a responsibility to think about how to serve people and make it make it steward our impact, but I won today because you were in the room when uh Stacy, our missions director, said, I just I just got contacted, and there's a single mom in our church who gave plasma for her kid.

22:08 And I'm like, her kid her kid to eat, she's twice gone to give plasma. We're like, oh oh, we're about to do something about that. Like we can fix it. Yeah, we can get some groceries. A hundred years. Your people will say, and I what I love right now, Jeff, is because you I see this, your your your church is a uh an encounter for the next generation. Your church is there's this God encounter happening with students, right, with kids, with college, young adult services. It's it's happening. There's chur those you know, Jim Lafoon, our friend, says there are drops of that revival touch, change, transformation, dropping.

22:49 You're seeing it in that age group. Here's the other thing you love about that age group is they want to make a difference with their lives. They do. Not for social justice, right, for gospel. For gospel. For gospel, for gospel, for gospel. I can't say it enough. And so now you see this catalyst of God moving, right, but then you also see this we should care about some things, and then we should move, we should move with compassion and be in community. Right. Those things, when you get the the the catalyst movement of God, you get community, friendship, you get a a place that cares about others, and then you get a a compassion cause involved, you will transform a city, a campus, a dorm, a s uh, a community.

23:37 When those elements start happening, you're seeing it here, we're seeing it, a lot of churches are seeing it, some of our friends are seeing it. And and it begins with the person who cares and says, what you said, that shouldn't be that way. That that person shouldn't be uh that you know, senseless crimes, pain that we're seeing all around the nation, uh the elderly, uh those with different challenges, the forgotten, uh those that are have food deserts, all these different things that we see happening. It shouldn't be that way. So what could I do to make a difference? Yeah. One of the illustrations I've heard an old pastor talk about is you have your Popeye moment.

24:19 You remember the cartoon Popeye with the eat the spinach in his forearms? But he would say, I Well, throw it up right now. Let me see what you got. There it is. Look at that. That's Python. Pythons. It's kind of thin. Garden kids. My my my daughter was sharing with our staff, and she put some really bad things up in front. It was very It was your brother. Yeah. I don't think it was you, it was Tubby. I mean I want to tell you, my chin was so big I had a daisy chain. Those neck extenders, I had to put three together to get my tie. Yeah. And then, you know, the tie was the knot was so fat that the tie was up to. That was short. And it rests on your belly.

24:59 Those are those are fine pictures. Yeah, so so Popeye moment, I can't stand it no more. You gotta have you kind of have to have this moment of go, I can't stand that. I'm I I I'm not gonna tolerate that. I'm we're gonna do something about that. And and I think so. You gotta reach that outreach, and then what would you what when people I jumped in? You just jumped all in. And what what what so so right now, you know, over all these years, hundreds of churches now, you never would have thought that way back then. Hundreds of invite Dino. If I invite Dino, let him talk to our staff, let him talk to our church.

25:41 We're gonna be more compassionate, we're gonna serve more people. What do you tell them? Like when you go, like if I if right now we were you were doing a staff meeting for somebody listening, and they were like, Dino, you know, we want we want to we want to have more people in red shirts with serve, and we want to touch our community, and we want to have compassion and we want to tell stories. Where would you start? What if if you if you were right now just sitting with the leadership team, where do you start? Well, I mean, you got a great wife, I got a great wife, and both of our wives are good cooks, so shout out to Delyn. A lot of times I'll come home and I'll say, I don't want to order anything, I don't want to go buy anything, I want to work with what we got. Yeah. Make me something with what we got.

26:22 Okay. What's in front of us? There you go. And so she'll say, Well, I got some pasta, I've I've got some sauce. We got spaghetti about to happen up in here. So I would probably say you start with what you've got. Okay. So if you're a church of 75 people, uh or you broke a hundred, which is huge a huge deal. You remember when you broke a hundred. Yeah. All these things. There's somebody in there who has something on them. It's like, what do you start with in the house? I love the story of the oil and the containers in the Old Testament. We don't have an oil problem. Right. We got a container situation. Right. So I'm I would think there are some containers there. There's somebody there who has a heart for children that are at a vulnerable risk school.

27:05 Yeah. There's somebody there who has a neighbor who's dealing with cancer, and now they've they they've got some challenges. So by the way, this is this starts with what you've got. This is a youth pastor, you got ten in your youth group, or you've got four hundred. Like you you could you could get your kids to pass out water or help with the care about something, yeah. I mean so so young adults, college ministry, kids ministry, a church, a school, a business. So what so your first principle would be to get them to see the miracles in the house as Tommy Marnett would know. And what's obvious?

27:45 What's obvious? What are we doing? And then secondly, I would say what's obvious in your community. Okay. What's obvious in our community are that people are dying with overdose. Okay. What's obvious in our community is we have a health care issue. Right. What's obvious in our community is we have an emergency room that's turning people away. Right. Because we don't have the funding at the at the charity hospital. Yeah. You know, what's obvious is, you know, there there are those that are that are struggling right now with they they can't meet their pharmaceutical needs. They don't they can't the pharmacy, they don't have basic medicine. Right. They don't have base, you know. We have I I remember we went to a season at healing place where we kept on site diapers and wipes and anything for babies, because there were there was a season in our state where the the the the health and human services were having some challenges uh because of the state budget.

28:30 Therefore, we kept some on hand. There are some things that's just obviously in your city that you can just say, okay, well, let's start there. You know, and we all do the same thing. We talk to city officials when there's a need. Or I'm gonna tell you right now, there are just uh times within the calendar where people have needs. Mother's Day, you can reach out to widows. We talked about Thanksgiving. Yeah. Christmas is an obvious time where there are families that don't have what they need to experience Christ or to experience a blessing. So you kind of start with some of those things. And then I believe, and you saw it here with the ice storm. Oh, yeah. There are just some things that happen that we should not look away. Yes. And we've got to take our one truck and our one generator, and we've got to go help somebody.

29:15 So sometimes it's just what's there in the house, what's obvious, what do you have a burden for, what's the pain, what's the cry of the community, what are you being told, and then what has happened that has caught your attention that we can go down there and be a part of it. Yes, I love it. I love it. I think you know you mentioned the ice storm. I've never been more proud of our people because it when you get the spirit of that in the culture, we didn't even have time to organize. Like this, there was not it was not a okay, we're gonna have a rally and then we're gonna put it in the middle of the year. I was getting videos from y'all, man. It's like, let's go. There's just guys just started getting four wheel drive. One guy bought one of those big uh, you know, ATV deals, you know, like is this like a full air conditioner.

30:00 Radio. He and his wife's like, What did you buy? That he's like, I bought this for Jesus for the Lord. I mean there was ATVs, there were four-wheel drives, they're cutting down. I don't even know if it was illegal, they're just chopping trees down, getting people firewood. The whole city froze and water became an issue. And then we were able to get a tanker truck of water here. Remember. And I will say this nobody cares about your style of church, how big the church. No one came up and said, now what kind of church are y'all? No one said, you know, what kind of music do you have? No one said, uh, you know what, uh, this is a little bigger than I like, or this is a little smaller.

30:41 None of those mattered. They cared about one thing. Who has water? And the city, in fact, we were in a real challenge. We were, we, we've always gone to our city and wherever our campuses are, we're here to serve. We do all the clear clear all the code violations for them with people who can't do it. And but we were in a real tense, we were expanding and we were in a challenge with tree mitigation. And this was like a multi-million dollar type. I mean, and man, when we got water for the whole city, there was no tension. They put our website on the city, I think I remember that. The city web page, milestone church.

31:22 Go there to get water. And I mean, that was really impactful for me to see. Like, I think we I think we underestimate a lot of times. We as the church, here's what we have. We have resources. Sometimes that's resources from people giving. I I pastor a very generous church where I always tell them, because you're so generous, we can act. Yeah. You know, but that didn't it didn't start there. We we just keep we keep but there's also other like resources that people have, as you said. There is Yeah, there's like the resource of a small group. Yeah. Some of the things that I've I've told churches is, you know, you get eight people together, have a heart for God, they're gonna come up with an idea.

32:05 Yeah. Because one of them is seeing something in the workplace or they're hearing something, yeah. They're gonna come up with something. And then the other thing, and we do a lot of this, is you find good partners. Yes. There's some people in your community that are doing things. Yes. And you know what they need? They need bodies, they need a good attitude. That's the other thing we have. Go ahead. We have people. Yeah. Then and there's a there's there's somebody over here who's got the wineskin, the infrastructure, the connection, the connection, the need, the expertise. Yeah. And then we're like, well, let's take three small groups and go flood that thing on Saturday and show up and make a difference. Yeah, I I was gonna mention that because you've taught me that too. Not everybody is the right partner, but there are people in your community that are the right fit to partner with.

32:48 Yeah, there's a lot of tools on the toolboard. You know, when you walk in and there's, you know, you see a guy who's got a good garage, he's got all his tools up there. Yeah. And I think there's a lot of tools. I don't have a lot of tools. I don't either. I'm just in a little small box. Mine too. Because if you get tools, you have to fix stuff. Yeah, yeah. So I'm my wife laughs at me. The other day, I bought a tool and she was like, Why? Why did you buy a tool? You're not you're calling my dad. No, a hundred percent. But you know, in the kingdom, there's a lot of tools on the wall, and I think sometimes they're not connected. My my father-in-law caught some rats. Caught some rats in our garage because there's rats in there, and I was like, How do you catch these things? These weren't mice, these were full grumbling. Like New York City rats.

33:32 He put peanut butter. It's just a trick in case you ever try it. Peanut butter will catch a rat on that trap. But then the problem was they all he caught two or three of them things that were the size of a small dog, and I was like, call your dad to come get them. I'm not disposing of them. You made me think of that with his father-in-law, but I think outreach. We overcomplicate it, right? Like it's just like, hey, get some wins, get get some traction, serve some people, get get some pass out water, pass out a snow cone, serve, you know, and and and I think when that gets in there, it it starts multiplying.

34:12 The last thing I would probably say that, and this is something God's dealing with me on. Okay. It's very fresh. Okay. Is me personally. Yeah. Yeah. Me being moved with compassion, me being willing to be interrupted, me being willing to notice. So I've, you know, we're all busy, we're all running places. And God began to really convict me. I mean, like Holy Spirit conviction when I traveled that I was too into my thing. Right. And God started dealing with me to notice, to pause, to look at the people around me. Yeah. And there are just, you see, people in need. So I try to travel with a little bit of some some small bills, a five, a ten, a one, whatever.

34:53 And and it and and or to just be kind. Right. Uh I spoke to my flight attendant today, and and we had a conversation. I was trying to be a blessing to this person. Amen. And uh, and then, you know, the other day I was at an airport and uh a lady fell, and people were walking around her. Yeah. So me and this other lady who was like Jesus, and this other guy stopped, and and we just try we stayed around her till the EMS came because it was embarrassing for people to walk around her. Right. So we made a little shield and we just tried to encourage her because she had hurt herself. Right. Then the EMS came, and I I don't know nothing about once that's done, but it's like, you know, I I don't need, I don't want to have a generous church.

35:35 I want to be generous. Yes. I'm not trying to raise up a compassionate team. Right. If I'm not compassionate and I don't have time, and I'm not being led or I'm not feeling the nudge. Hey, buy that, you know. I was at the store the other day. The Holy Spirit nudged me and said, buy the buy those groceries. Yes. Because this precious lady with her kids was putting some stuff back. Yeah. And so she was short$17. Right. I and at the season of life that I'm in, I could take that 17. And it was like, well, hey, no. And and I don't want to, ladies and gentlemen, you know, I am doing an outreach. You know, it was just, no, no, no, no. It's good, it's fine. You take that on God. I got it. I got it. And I think that to me, that's where the world's changed.

36:18 Right. It's, you know, it's 20,000 people here that say, I'm going to on a weekly basis try to notice more. Right. And try to listen to the nudge of what do I see that I can help? Yes. What injustice, what can I protect, what can I defend? Yes. As it relates to those that are vulnerable, those that are suffering. And I I think that makes a great church. And I also believe that it move it leads to the move of God. I agree. I'm going to preach, I'm going to preach this fall on more love. You know, the the the consistent message that I'm giving is as we're opening new campuses, we're about to open a new building west of here, we're not, it's not more buildings.

37:07 It's not it's not bigger buildings. They are more buildings. More space. It's about more love, bigger heart, bigger impact. And I mean the scripture says that when we when we really are that body that's fitted together and using our gifts and walking in unity, that there is more love. There's more love. And I love the the result, the the this is how it happens as each part does its work. Isn't it I mean, I know for you when you're walking around those outreaches and you're seeing it's such a beautiful thing when you see people using their part.

37:47 Oh so beautiful. Uh uh in in in ways I could never do. Oh. Making a difference in ways I could never make a difference. I mean, in it. We remodeled one of our recent projects, we remodeled the home of a single mom that had been impacted in our church. And uh her daughter had a real struggle and committed suicide. Oh man, pain. And we went, her her daughter's room was still like it was. So we had people that served. I had I had a guy who sh who like took off work and went and like laid the floors and did extra effort. I was like, man, thank you, man.

38:28 I mean, he really like hours worth of investment. But one lady took and took the notes that this girl had written to her mom that she found a little box in her room, and she put those in a frame. And when we showed her her new house, we unveiled that frame. I'll I mean, I was I almost I'm so breakdown right now. Oh my I mean, and that mom said, She said, every night I look at that and I think about God's generosity because I don't want my daughter to be forgotten, and she that just reminds me of her. I mean, it was it was just so powerful. And so I saw that lady has a special place in her life. Oh, that lady, and they hugged again.

39:10 They hugged, and she was like, I did this. I I really thought about it. I was like praying about every how to position the little notes from your daughter. It's just that's the champion of the church. Oh, those are the heroes. Yeah, it's not the people on the stage most of the time, it's that lady that's uh that's so amazing. I wanna I want to shift gears just for a second. I wanna, I wanna, I think something if I I I mean you and I are are friends and we talk a lot, but if I were listening to a podcast and you're the executive director of of this group that's plants churches and you spend a lot of time encouraging, because I want to go a little bit to another hat.

39:51 I would want to ask this Dino, where's the church at? Like, how how are we doing? Like, what's going on, what's how how's the how how's the church? You know, I mean we we do see a lot of pain in culture. I I I had this thought the other day. I I don't know if the world is worse or we're just exposed to more of what's bad about it. I I don't I don't know the answer to that personally. It's a good thought. I see a lot of great things, I see a lot of amazing things, I see God doing something in this next generation, as you were mentioning. I mean, I see so many, but it was also a lot of pain. There's a lot that that we would all say, I wish it was different.

40:34 But how is the church and what are you seeing? What are what are what are you seeing uh in in as you're just like, man, I'm I'm seeing this. Um what what are some trends, some some um strengths? Yeah, what what give us give us a little thought on that? You when you describe what that lady did for that uh mother who lost their daughter, that tells me the church is doing great because that is the church. That's right. And so, and and I hear stories like that nonstop. Is there pain? Is there disappointment? Yeah, is there hurt? Is there trauma? Is there wow that let me down? Wow, that person didn't live up to, man, that was a bad decision.

41:16 Okay, that hurt me. Right. Uh yes, one thousand percent. There's always been that. Right. Uh I do think we know more about it. Right. I think information uh has changed uh so much of that. So yes, it it and but at the same time, you know, it says in Acts, we get it out of Joel, that in the last day God's gonna pour out his spirit. You see what's gonna happen with the next generation, right? You see that there will be fathers, and then I love that last part. And whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Right. That is at work. Yeah. I mean, when you think about salvation numbers that we're getting out of the 1040 window, when you think about some of the the impact that's happening in some closed countries, right, you and I both give to some of those things.

42:04 And we support ministries that are on the ground doing some amazing things. I heard some statistics the other day out of a country that we really don't want to talk about and mention, and it was in the neighborhood of about 14,000 young men a week are coming to Christ. And this is a very close country. Right. And so bit when I think globally, right, a bit and I and I think you always have I think sometimes we get focused on America. Right. Well, God's not Uncle Sam. Right. And it is, you know, it God is the God of the whole world. True. And of course, America is super important. And thank God for what's happening here. But I think you have to have a biblical worldview. I try to have a biblical worldview of what is he doing in Brazil.

42:48 Right. What's happening in some of the things of Europe right now that we're getting these drops of revival? The quiet, they're calling it the quiet revival where you're seeing young men and young people in the UK coming back to church. These churches that we've heard forever are empty, these cathedrals that are now museums, that are now hotels and restaurants. Yeah. Well, now those things are changing. I just left South Africa, and there were about 1,100 at this conference. There were probably 215, 220 churches there, and we've got more people in the queue to plant a church across Southern Africa than we've ever experienced. And so I would say that yes, pain, yes, heartache, but the Bible's real clear that these are going to be perilous times.

43:33 Right. But then also the Bible's real clear that there's going to be this outpouring, this salvation thing that's going to take place. Yes. So it's a yes and a yes, a no and a no for me. I have great hope because I'm around great pastors like yourself. I'm a pro-church guy. I'm not the guy who's telling anybody what's wrong with the church and nobody's doing it, and everybody, and I'm just not, I'll let somebody else do that. I'm around great churches with humble pastors that have a hunger for God. They love their wife. Yeah. They love people. The majority of the pastors I'm around are trying to do their best with what they have. I'll be at a church this weekend in a under, a really an undersaturated city.

44:18 This pastor and his wife, they love God. They're doing their best. And two weeks from now, I'll be in a in a in a city that is very unchurched. That pastor loves God, is doing his best to reach people, to preach the gospel, and to disciple people. That's what I love about that. So I'm seeing that. That's what I love about you. And I think, you know, you you you spend a lot of time at those churches that are in a cafeteria or a little small building or trying to get traction and helping those guys. Pop-up buildings. Oh man. And I mean that you you and I have been there, so you have compassion, and a little bit goes a long way. So when you just love them and serve them, it's amazing.

44:58 But you know, I would I would say for me the last five years, an absolute intensity around reaching lost people. Like I think as pressure increases, as challenges, you know, when it we we've done this long enough, there's seasons where it's like it's easy, and then there's times where you're just you just have to kind of plow, and there's a lot of external pressures, COVID, different things that we've all walked through. I had to ask myself, what what would I what what would I go all in again? What you know, if if we have to re-up for the army, yeah, what would what would I sign up for another tour?

45:39 I'm just I'm just not it's too hard. It's it's too it takes too much emotional energy. It's it's it's to spend my life complaining, criticizing, picking apart, getting sidetracked, being mean superfluous things. And I and I I know this may sound very simple, but for me it was like I'll do it for lost, I'll do it for heaven. I'll I'll do it for when we go to heaven. Yeah, so there's more people there with Jesus. I'll, you know, that old song way back, thank you for giving to the Lord, right? Like it's like I'm a life that was changing.

46:21 How much you're bringing it back. That's the old one. We actually did it on a Sunday not too long ago. It's a vintage. I'm talking. Thank you for giving I am alive. Literally, that week, three times I called the worship leader, I go, are we really going to do that? Actually, people were out there. I mean, this is I was at a church two weeks ago, like a real uh current church, doing some dropping some cool music. Yeah. A lot of people were looking to them, and man, we ended with shout to the Lord. And it was powerful. Yeah. I mean, Darling Check changed the worship game when God gave her that song. No doubt.

47:01 I mean, it's a good thing. But I mean, all the young people don't know what that is. They think it's a new song. And we were like, man, that's a new song. Shout to the Lord. I need to download it. And so, but uh, you know, I I'm around people like you. I'm around people like Chris Hodges, I'm around people, you know, like uh Herbert Cooper, yeah, some of our dear friends Steve Robinson, Jacob Aran. We could list a thousand names. Yeah. They wake up in the morning wanting to do their best. Yeah. Not perfect. Yeah. Uh and not and not and uh but saying we we we could do better to reach people. My thought, even for this whole podcast, you know, I keep this this phrase keeps ringing, lift up your eyes.

47:42 You know, what you're really saying is you gotta you gotta get out of here and looking down at me and the wrong things. And when Jesus said lift up your eyes to the harvest, to see the fields that are ripe with harvest, to to see that single mom, to see that need, to see that inmate. You gotta you gotta you gotta things that Jesus talked about? You gotta like let me let me hold on, you're looking way too low here. Let me help you see what I see. I was in a I I heard something the other day. I was I was listening, this person was just complaining about everything.

48:24 I mean everything. Yeah. And and they were getting micro about the church and about pastors, and and again, I get it, people fail and people do bad things and and God help them. But I just thought, man, that person, I could tell, it's been a while since they've looked up. Right. It's been a while since they've looked at starving humanity in the Sudan. Yeah. It's been a while since they looked at the the elderly in Russia. Right. That they've looked at those that don't have scripture in these closed countries, don't have a Bible, don't have a page of scripture. It's like, have you looked up lately and seen someone that's struggling at a rehab? This Tuesday night we were praying for young adults at the altar until 10 o'clock at night, coming forward crying.

49:08 One of the kids was a young man who came here from Nepal in business, and he was weeping, crying because I mean the government and just everything's just basically crumbled there, and he's like, I'm concerned for my parents' life, right? And so it kind of gives you a perspective, right? You're driving home going, I had a bad day, but I'm not dealing with that. You know, I mean, it it it it's it's like a good perspective shift. Yeah. I think one of the greatest things that gets you back centered is when you spend time with the hurting and the lonely. Yes. And you do pause your life and you lean into pain.

49:49 Yes. Then you're not as quick to be so um assuming and to be so uh judgy. Right. And we live in a very judgy world. We do, yeah. And it's just like I I don't it it's it's hard to I f I forgot somebody said it. It's hard to analyze everybody else when you're when you're giving out water. Yeah. Or you're feeding the poor. I d people ask me, I still I remember asking you one time, our church had got to a certain place, I was like, Well, can I still shake hands? You know, because I kind of heard that like at some point you kind of get past and you were like, Well, if you love to, and and and you and you and you get a life, and you wh by all means. I was there's no so I just said, Well, okay, good.

50:30 I like I like doing it. I like to stand in the foyer, you're the best, shake, and pray with pray, pray for people, shake hands. I was ministering to a kid that had come the last two weeks, coming out of addiction this weekend. And I say this, I'm happy to serve them, but I need it. And so I believe my preaching is more powerful because I'm not, it's not me and my study and a concept. You know, I told a pastor the other day, he goes, Yeah, we sent three surveys to our church. I'm like, well, if you just get with your people, I don't need a survey because I've actually talked to them. Yeah, yeah. They're they're telling us about their teenagers.

51:11 You know what I mean? I mean, I'm not against surveying. My point is, I'm I'm if you're among them and shaking hands, it's like, well, I have I have real-time evidence, you know. That's what I think that word among them. Yeah. You got to figure out how that works for you. Right. And and everybody has a different personality and what whatever your dynamic is, but you do have to figure out, you know, how to be among them. And I, you know, we started our church, I was bivocational. So I'm cutting grass, I'm washing cars, I'm working out here at this hardware store for a minute. You know, Dylan was working at a little hospital. I mean, we were among them. Right. And then, you know, and then you as you gr move in this thing, you have to keep figuring that out.

51:52 Yes. Whether it's coaching little league, or it's continuing to lead an outreach, or you lead a small group, or you're in the foyer. Yes. Or on your day off, you're going to take care of your mom who's a widow. You just have to keep figuring that out. You do. And and I think that's for every businessman, every leader. That's not a ministry thing, that's a life thing. You show me a businessman that gets detached, and I'm going to show you a guy that's going to get unhealthy. Yeah. You show me uh a college student with withdrawals. Right. You know, they're they're going to lose perspective on everything. So it's a it's a you have to keep figuring out how to be among them. Yes. You know, as a and and you're so good talking about being a shepherd, caring for the flock of God.

52:37 Yeah. And you can't care from them, you know, from a you know, a hundred miles up in a shepherd smells like sheep. Yeah. That's right. You gotta see. You've helped the body of Christ with that. Yeah. Well, thank you for being with me. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for all what you do to encourage so many. And uh it's been a great conversation. Thank you, Pastor Jeff. Little lead to win. Let's go back and do some donuts. I want to say thank you for checking out this episode of the Lead to Win podcast. I want you to know that I love and my team loves getting this kind of content into your life so it can help you lead and win at what matters most.

53:21 So I'd love for you to do me a favor like, comment, especially subscribe if you would, so that we can make sure that we're able to get to you some of the things that are going to help you lead to win.