Digital Social Hour - How a Stroke Changed My Life and Faith Forever | Travis Hearn DSH #1110

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

How can a life-changing stroke transform your faith and purpose? 🤔 Tune in now to hear this incredible story of survival, resilience, and miracles on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly. 🙌 From an unexpected health crisis to a miraculous recovery, this episode dives deep into how a massive stroke changed everything for our guest—and how faith, hope, and determination paved the way to healing. 🕊️   Discover how his journey inspired not only a renewed purpose but also a powerful message of hope. From struggles with speech therapy to overcoming unimaginable odds, this story is packed with valuable insights that will motivate and inspire you. 💪✨   Don't miss out—watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets! 📺 Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! 🚀 Join the conversation and share your thoughts below. 💬 Let’s spread hope together! 🌟   #followupvisitors #churchcommunications #churchgrowthprinciples #churchgrowthtips #biblicalchurchgrowth   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Travis’ Stroke 00:34 - Collaborating with Other Churches 03:42 - Travis’ Near Death Experience 09:20 - The Day of the Stroke 20:45 - Health Factors Leading to Stroke 23:46 - The Existence of Evil 27:18 - Jesus: The Most Famous Person 29:21 - The Meaning of Numbers 31:58 - Church Growth vs. Business Growth 42:30 - Where to Find Sean 42:32 - New Book Release 46:08 - The Fire Book Overview 46:20 - Audible Recommendations 46:25 - Thank You for Joining   APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail]   GUEST: Travis Hearn https://www.instagram.com/travishearn   SPONSORS: SPECIALIZED RECRUITING GROUP: https://www.srgpros.com/   LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/

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She gets 911 on the call and she goes, I think my husband's having a stroke. I'm being wheeled out. I looked at Natalie and I said, okay, I'm just gonna get some tests. I'll be right back. And dude, I get in the ambulance. I don't remember anything.

How's your day been? Man, it's been good. I just got back from Miami. Yeah, how was that? It was great. I shot a podcast with a pastor out there named Rich Wilkerson Jr. Rich Wilkerson Jr.

I haven't heard of him. He's big. Yeah, he's a nationally known, I would say globally. OK. Yeah, good dude. Nice., I would say globally. Okay. Yeah, good dude. Nice. Big following, you know, a lot of people. So you're collaborative with other pastors

of different churches? Yeah. The pastor world's easier for me because like they're friends, like I know those guys and stuff. So leveraging that is a little bit easier than leveraging outside of the church world, you know? But Cody's been awesome.

John a lot. Yeah. You know, he's been, there's so many people that go to our church that we can tap into. Yeah, John's a great dude. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know that about that because certain churches are kinda,

they keep to themselves, right? You know what? Some do, I think some do. There's a pretty good network though, across the nation of pastors that are connected. It's like you're trying to do this thing and you find like minds, looks like anything, but like mindedness and then church is a little bit like,

it's so broad, like church broad, right? So then like with us, it's like certain churches, the size, right? So who can I rub shoulders with that has a church around my size? Who's going through the same problems, issues, challenges, you know? And for me, who's got bigger vision even than I have and things like that. So yeah, but and ours is so unique because ours started as a Bible study for the Arizona Cardinals football team. Like really didn't start out. Yeah, it didn't start out to be a church. It started out to be a Bible study for pro football players that eventually opened to the public and and that's the church.

So wow. Yeah, that is crazy. So how many members are is it? I know it's about 10,000 every holy crap. Yeah, that's the church. So, yeah. Wow, that is crazy. So how many members is it? I don't know. It's about 10,000 every Sunday. Holy crap. Yeah. That's insane, dude. I did not know churches got to that size. I know. I just had Irwin McManus on for the second time.

I've never met him. Really? He is, I love that guy. And I have a lot of friends that know him. Oh, if I could facilitate that, I'd love to. Yeah, that'd be cool. He's been one of my favorite guests. He's the man.

I just spoke at his church. You did? It was my first time in a church in, that'd be cool. He's been one of my favorite guests. He's the man. I just spoke at his church. You did? It was my first time in a church in, man, 15 years. No way. Yeah. What'd you speak on? What was it about? We spoke on just life.

It was right before the elections. We were talking about the divide that politics has been causing. And it was in LA. So as someone who's a conservative to speak in that crowd, I was a little uncomfortable, but he made me feel right at home. That's awesome.

And people were coming up to me after saying it was like one of the best talks. That is awesome. Yeah, so I love how like inclusive he is. Yeah, he's a great dude. He's got big vision, he's got great teachings, he's wise and actually Cody knows him too. Yeah, he speaks a lot of the same events that you do.

And you guys both share those near death experience stories as well. Yeah. I know you had a major one in 22 share those near death experience stories as well. Yeah. I know you had a major one in 22, right? Mm-hmm, yeah. That rocked your world. Yeah, yeah. Came out of nowhere.

Unexpected completely? Yeah, unexpected completely. Wow, no signs at all? Nope. Holy crap. Yeah, totally blindsided. So you just woke up in the hospital? So we, no, so we had, so going back to the church,

like it starts as a Bible study for the Arizona Cardinals, opens to the public, grows to what it is now. Well, I like music. Like, dude, I like music. I think church should be fun. You know, like church, I mean, I think church should be fun. It should be like a celebration, not a funeral. It should be like, I believe Jesus is risen, man.

Like let's have a good time. God's not dead. So we, I'm a musician, so I'm a worship leader. I sing, I play guitar, play keyboard, play drums. So I really was meticulous in like particular about building our worship team, our music team. Well, you know, we've got, we've got incredible, incredible band and singers. They're so good. So we decided, let's start writing songs. Like we've never done this. Like let's try to write song.

We wrote our first song, we recorded it, produced it, and then released it to the world. And on all music platforms, it was our first one. And that song released November 11th of 2022. And that song is called, He Is The Miracle. The song's about God, Jesus is the miracle, right? So then on Sunday, I preached a sermon. Looking for the ultimate online casino experience?

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to find the talent you need. So go to srgprose.com right now to get started. That's srgprose.com. Specialized Recruiting Group, a tailored approach to hiring. Called He Is The Miracle, we kind of themed the whole weekend, and I preach a sermon, I'm like, I believe God still does modern day miracle. I believe it. I believe God does modern day miracles. Like he can heal your body, like he can restore your marriage, he can help your mental

health. And you know, so that was kind of the idea of the sermon. Well, the next day, dude, I needed the very miracle that I just preached about and that we just sang about. And so it came out of nowhere. Like this is how nowhere it came out of. The Thursday before I had a life insurance policy, I was updating it and increasing the limits and I got my health report back and it was an A plus health report. Wow.

Like I'm on no medication. I wasn't on any medication. And so release the song, preach the sermon. Then on Monday, I needed that miracle, man. And I was at my office with my wife and my youngest daughter. She was 13 at the time. I had a handful of grapes. And I'm like, popping grapes.

And I dropped a grape. I'm like, that's weird. Then I dropped another grape. I'm like, that's weird. Like, what is going on? Like, my hand just felt, it just felt slushy. Didn't hurt, just felt slushy. Nothing else, nothing else hurt or anything.

And so I took Jazzy, my daughter, to Target. They were gonna get some shopping. She wanted to go shopping. And I texted my wife, Natalie, and I go, babe, I'm dropping grapes. It's kind of weird. Well, she called me and she's like, Travis, please go back out to your car.

I'm gonna come get you. And I'm like, what? Like, she's like, Travis, please go back out to your car. I'm going to come get you. And I'm like, what? She's like, please, please, please tell me you're going to. I'm like, babe, what? She's like, look back at your text and read it to me. So I grabbed my phone. I looked back and I thought I said I'm dropping grapes, but it said something more like I'm dropping drapes

or something like that. Yeah, I know. And I'm like, everybody does that. I got a typo, got it confused or whatever. So she comes and picks me up. I go out to the car, we go home. She wants to call 911. And I'm like, babe, I'm not calling 911.

What if it's like 911 emergency? Yeah, I'm dropping some grapes. I'm thinking like, but she knew, man. You know, like the women's intuition. But I believe even deeper, it's just the power of God and the Holy Spirit speaking to her. She gets 911 on the call and she goes, I think my husband's having a stroke. And like Sean, I never even thought that.

I never thought that. And I'm like, there's no way I'm having a stroke, man. There's no, it says, if you think he's having a stroke, he needs to lay on his back. So I'm on my back in my living room. Within three minutes, I think, paramedics were there. And they're doing all these tests. And they even do a stroke test.

I passed it. I'm having a stroke, a massive brain bleed, and I passed the stroke test. So then my wife starts asking the paramedics like, will you please tell him to go to ER? And so I'm laying on my back. I looked up at this one paramedic and I go, what do you think I should do?

I kid you not, he says, pastor, as a member of your congregation, I think you should go. And I mean, I had no idea this, I had never seen him in my life. He didn't know he was going to his pastor's house until he got in the middle of my living room and saw me. And so that's why I went.

Like if it wasn't for that, man, I would not have went to E.R. Because I just thought I'm good, you know? So I get taken to hospital by ambulance. Well, let me rewind. I'm being stretchered out. I got, I put myself on the stretcher. That's how like, okay, I felt.

I mean, I got up, stood up, got on the stretcher. I'm being wheeled out. I looked at Natalie and I said, and Jazzy, and I go, it's okay, daddy will be okay. I'm just gonna get some tests. I'll be right back. Don't worry about me. And dude, I get in the ambulance. I'll be right back. Don't worry about me and dude I get in the ambulance

I don't remember anything. Whoa. Boom. Yeah, boom So I get taken to ambulance by ambulance to the hospital. They do a scan they call Natalie Not it's not good. Your husband's suffering from a massive brain bleed. We have to helicopter him to a level one trauma center and So I get you know helicopter to a level one trauma center. And so I get, you know, helicopter to a level one trauma center, dude, I'm gone. I lost my speech, my cognition, my memory, my motor skills, I'm gone. And the crazy thing is, is like when this happened, you know, it happened so fast.

You asked, it came out of nowhere. I mean, nowhere. Like I've always almost felt invincible, really to some degree, like I feel like I don't get sick, like I don't break body parts, bones. Like I'm like, all of a sudden this came out of nowhere. So it was bad. I mean, it was bad that when I was in,

it was a couple of days into it when I couldn't, when I mean I lost my speech, I mean, like that. And when I was in that state of being, the doctor told my wife that she should be prepared and warned that this particular stroke, the effects of this particular stroke are irreversible. Whoa.

Yeah, so he's telling Natalie, this is your new husband, he's a vegetable. And actually, you know what? The crazy thing about this is that, I mean, it's all crazy. There's not a crazy thing, it's all crazy. The whole thing all crazy. There's not a crazy thing. It's all crazy. The whole thing's crazy. But when the doctor said that to my wife,

she's a woman of God. Like, we're kind of freaks, dude. Like we're Jesus fanatics, women of God, men of God. And she was like, I'm not gonna accept that. Like she didn't say that, but she's thinking like, I'm not gonna accept that. And she goes to the Bible and like, I need a new, I need a verse, I need something to hold on to.

Bro, she goes to this verse in Acts chapter three, verse 16. And the verse says, by faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see now is completely healed. That's what it says. Yeah. And she just pulled a random verse. Random verse, right? So she clings to that verse. She actually posted it says. Whoa. Yeah. And she just pulled a random verse? Random verse, right? So she clings to that verse.

She actually posted it on her Instagram story and we saved that. So we started praying, believing. I mean, everybody all over the world that knew me, they're praying churches and pastors and friends and family and like Acts 3, 16 and that God would heal this man. And so then on Wednesday, I got admitted on Monday, on Wednesday, so what they do is stroke patients.

So mine was in the basal ganglia area. So I've learned so much about strokes because they're not all the same, right? They can be massive, they can be minor, depending on where it is, they can be a blood clot, they can be a brain bleed. Mine was a brain bleed, a massive brain bleed. So the basal ganglia area is like the brainstem area.

So like somebody could bleed here or here or whatever, and it might affect something, but because of where I bled, everything goes through the brainstem. So it affected everything. It affected like, you know, I'm crazy. I tell you, I'm crazy. I'm a Jesus freak crazy man. But I think the world is spiritual before it's physical.

And I think that if you and I could put on like spiritual goggles and look into the spirit realm, we would see like warfare. We would see demons and angels warring over our lives, like crazy kind of stuff, right? Really? And so I just think like, like when, when, when this happened, I feel strongly this was, this was an attack on my life, on my calling, on my purpose, on what I do.

It affected, like it affected my speech. I'm a pastor, I'm a preacher, I'm a teacher. It affected my speech, it affected my memory, my cognition, my whole right side was completely numb. I mean, it's still, it's been two years. Today marks the two year anniversary. Wow. Today. So today is the two year anniversary. I'm still numb, I'm not as numb, but I mean, I was so numb.

You could have stabbed me with the knife. I wouldn't have felt it. I got burned a few times once I got out of the hospital and I didn't know it until a few days later that I was burned. Like, that's how crazy this was. So I think it was targeted. It was targeted.

Like I release a song, he is the miracle. I preach a sermon, he is the miracle. I preach a sermon, he is the miracle. Then I need him to be the miracle, right? And so we were praying that with stroke patients, they do stroke tests. So every hour on the hour they come in and they do the same thing. They give you like, hey, touch your nose.

So I'm like this, you know, lift up your leg. I can't lift my leg. What's your name? Don't know. What's the date? I don't know. What's your date of birth? Don't know.

What's your kid's names? Don't know. Wife's name? Don't know. Well, on Wednesday, the doctor said, what are your children's names? This is crazy, dude. This is crazy.

This is one of the most crazy things about that week to me. He says, what's your children's names? I have three kids, Kylie, Josiah and Jaslin. And I said 40. And I knew, I knew that like, you ever been drunk, Sean? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So like you ever been passed out drunk? Yeah, a few times.

Okay, great. So it's it, I can only explain it like that because like I'm a pastor, but like I didn't, I didn't grow up in church. Like I partied my way through school. I've done drugs and lots of them and smoked out. And then I got, I got, I became a Christian after getting a DUI, getting arrested, getting put in jail. And that night I went from jail to Jesus. Like that night, that's what redirected my life. Like crazy story. So think about for a minute, like these tests

and he goes, what's your kid's names? And I go 40. It's like, you're almost passed out drunk. Like you're kind of like, you're way back there somewhere. And I knew this was bad. And I had tears in my eyes. I looked up to my wife who was standing right by my bedside. And I said, count it all joy.

And the doctor goes, what'd he say? Now remember, I can't talk. And I say as plain as day, count it all joy. And Natalie said, he's quoting a Bible verse from the book of James. Whoo, I've been sharing a story, not getting emotional, but because today's the day, it's just extra emotional. She said, he's quoting a Bible verse

from the book of James that says, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, let patience, perseverance have its perfect work in you that you may be mature and complete. Well, this is the crazy thing about that story. To me, I can't tell you my children's names,

but I can quote a Bible verse in context of the situation as plain as day. Wow. And it makes me think about scripture, because the Bible says about the Bible that the word of God is living and active. It says that it's sharper than any two edged sword. It says that it will never return void. And man, Friday, dude, Friday, I got released from the hospital.

Five days later, I got released from the hospital and God did the miracle. He is the hospital. And God did the miracle. He is the miracle. And so, you know, it's been a journey. It's been two years. That two years has been incredible. It's been a lot of growth, a lot of learning, a lot of therapy.

I did six different therapies for, gosh, six months, every day, you know, physical therapy, cognition therapy, hyperbarics therapy, speech therapy. My doctor speaks there, she goes, hey, I heard you're a, I know you're an influential pastor, you know? And she said, I watched your clips on Instagram of you preaching and stuff.

And she goes, I thought it would be cool. Why don't you as part of your speech therapy, preach to me? And I was like, no way, like, come on, let's go. I'm like, you know, kind of slurry, like a drunk. Like that's where I was at this point in my life. And man, I was preaching to her like I was preaching to 10,000 people, man.

Me and her, and I got my little iPad and I'm just, I'm giving her everything I got, you know? Incredible. And it's part of my speech therapy, but yeah, man, those first six months were wild because I was rescued, I didn't die, and my body was healing. And I had, God did his part,

but I also played a role in it, you know? Wow. Working, getting after it. I mean, they'd show me flashcards even several months after this brain bleed. They're simple, like five-year-olds can do them. And there'd be 50 flashcards. And I remember like looking at one and I'm like,

I know what this is, like, dude, I know this is gonna sound stupid, it's a volcano. But I'm like, I couldn't place the word. And I said, I'm thinking lava. I'm thinking like smoke, but I don't and she's like, you're really close. You know, it's a volcano. And the other one, which was actually really funny. Now, it wasn't funny then, but we did laugh. She showed me a seahorse and I could not freaking place the word. I'm like, what is that? And I said, I know this is wrong. I said, but all I can think of is water horse.

And we both started cracking up laughing. And she's like, you're so close. She's like, actually, that's a better name for it, a water horse, you know? But it was dire, man. And God rescued me, man. He is the miracle. It's like, he proved to me everything I've been preaching

and teaching and trying to give to the world because the world needs hope. Hmm, what a story, man. Yeah, the doctors probably call that a medical miracle, but your wife had conviction the whole way through, it sounds like. Yeah, absolutely. They did call it a medical miracle.

In fact, four weeks after, we went for a follow-up and this doctor, he looked at the scans and he wasn't a person of faith or anything, but he just goes, you're one lucky dude. He's like, I see these all day long, you should be dead or a vegetable. Whoa. That's what he said.

That is crazy. Yeah, crazy. Yeah, cause I think when they get these diagnosis of you'll never recover again, people start shutting down. Yeah, yes, yeah. So you chose the opposite route, start shutting down. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. So you chose the opposite route, you fought it. Yeah. That's so crazy, man.

Crazy. Incredible. Did you regain all your memories? Yeah. I would say I'm almost all the way back to normal in every area of my life, better than normal in many areas of my life. I do still have numbness in my whole right side. So it's not numb like stab me, I can't feel it numb. It's numb like my foot's asleep numb and it never unsleeps. It never wakes up. That's annoying, dude.

Because like right now it's like tingles, it's tingles. It's been challenged. I don't learn to relearn to type. Wow. You know, again, I'm a preacher. I write sermons every week. I write songs like I need to type. And what I've learned, man, and maybe this is something people can take away for their own lives, is that sometimes the very thing you're created to do, there's challenges that pop up

and it doesn't mean you're still not created to do it. It might mean you need to pivot on how you do it. And for me, I'm a pastor. I love people, I preach God's word. I wanna give people hope. And so like my calling hasn't changed, but the way I do it has. So now like even in my studio, my sermon writing studio,

I have this headset where I can type, but I could go, hey, Philippians 4.13 says, I could type that. Philippians 4.13 says, and then I could go, I could do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I could say it, and it types it in. So technology is pretty cool today. I can literally go back and forth, and there's no delay.

And so I'm still working. I'm still, I changed my nutrition, my entire physique changed. Is that what caused the stroke? You think poor health physically? I asked the question because obviously I don't want it to happen again. So they said this particular stroke, first of all, it's a fluke. Second of all,

you have no other areas in your brain that are compromised. My six months scan, my six month post stroke scan, I was healed. He said you could see like a scar, you could see where it happened, but it was healed. They said it could have been an old high school injury. It could have been a sports injury, football, basketball, could have been a car wreck. They said, you know, when you have a blood vessel that's compromised, I mean, you never know. It may never blow and mine blew. And I was like, is it nutrition? Nope. You know, stress?

Nope. You know, could it just been an old injury? Who knows? Wow. I believe it was targeted from the enemy. I believe that I do God's work and I do good work and I try to bring hope to the world. And I think the enemy wanted to shut that down.

And I think the timing of it is living proof of that with, you know, that he is the miracle release and that he is a miracle sermon. I think he was trying to shut me up. So now I'm speaking louder. Yeah, I love that, man. Yeah, I mean, there was a lot of coincidences leading up to it too.

Yeah. It's just weird timing. Yes. When you say enemy, who exactly? I say the devil, you know. The devil's still alive, huh? The spirit, the darkness in this world, evil, wickedness, devil, demons. Yeah, I believe that.

I believe that is very much still happening. I do believe in some demonic entities for sure. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Some evil out there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I believe in God's word. I believe the Bible and the Bible is very clear about that.

So I believe in that. I mean, I've been in prayer circles where I've seen stuff like crazy spiritual stuff, you know? People set free from demon possession. I've seen all that, man. And my thing is, God is greater. The spirit world is like, it's God is greater, man. Jesus is the way, he is the truth, he is the life. He gets the final say, he gets the final word, he gets the victory. And for

me, he gets the praise. And the praise is whether I'm on a high, low or a plateau, right? Because it's easy to praise God on the mountaintop. Man, life's good. Like, praise God. But what about when you're in the valley? Isn't God still good? For me, God is still good.

But those are the count it all joy moments, right? Count it all joy when you go through various trials. That's tough to do, man. Like, how do I find joy in this trial? How do I find joy in this pain? How do I find joy in this depression? How do I find joy in this divorce? My guy left me, my girl left me, they cheated on me.

How do I find, I lost my job, I got fired, I got sick, I got illness, I got stage four cancer. How do I find joy in that? And the way I believe we find joy in that is that, like it says in Nehemiah, the book of Nehemiah, the joy of the Lord is my strength. I think that in Philippians chapter four, there's this scripture and it says that, it says, take all your prayer requests to God, all everything. It says, don't worry prayer requests to God, everything.

It says, don't worry about anything, don't be anxious about anything. And said, take your request to God. And then it says, who gives you peace that surpasses all understanding that will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. So I believe that. And I believe that you can be going through hell, but surrounded by the peace of heaven. And that's the power of God's word, man. That's the power of hope.

If we don't have hope, hope is like the greatest drug in the world. Like if you don't have a hope, you don't have anything. If you're hopeless, you have nothing. I just need a drop of hope, man, to keep me going. And somebody today, listen, they need a drop of hope. And God is the hope. I found hope. Like for me, I told you I of hope. And God is the hope. I found hope, you know?

Like for me, I told you I didn't grow up in church, dude. I think I drank my first beer at five years old. I think my first joint, maybe at 11 years old. Holy crap. Yeah, man, like I didn't grow up in church. I freaking got arrested several times. I've been in the back of police cars. Like I've been put in jail.

And so like what I'm saying is like is I know there's a lot of listeners that this dude's crazy, smoke another one, pastor. I'm just saying, I know it's crazy because I used to think it was crazy. And then I found out it's not crazy. It's real. He's the real deal, man. Think about this.

How about this? Who is the most, in your opinion, who's the most famous name, who's the most famous human on earth in 2024? It's gotta be Trump. Okay, let's say it's Donald Trump, for sure. I mean, if it's not, he's in the top five, right? So,

Jesus Christ, the name Jesus Christ is far more famous than Donald Trump's name in 2024. It's so famous that it went around the entire world that people gathered together on every Sunday around the world and billions of people worship this name. The man had a full-time ministry that lasted three years. Jesus died at 33, right? 33. But from 30 to 33, that was his actual ministry. That's where he did his miracles.

That's when he was crucified, resurrected, three years. So why? Cause it's just a cool myth. Like, you know, cause, and that's what I used to be like, dude, this is crazy. Cause I mean, there is something to this. Like this is wild, man. Like God, are you real?

God, are you not real? And I've seen God prove to me time and time and time and time again, the realness of Himself, the power of God. And I think if we try, like think about this, like we try everything. We're humans, we're like, we're gonna try drugs. We're human, try some alcohol.

We would try some women, we would try some men. We're gonna try, if I could just chase money, chase women, chase men, chase fun, chase material possessions. All of it leaves you still chasing. Like it's a dead end. And so my thought is for anybody that's listening, like, I mean, try it. Like, chase Jesus. Just try it. See what happens. What do you got to lose at this point? Give it a shot, you know? And that's what I did. That's what I did. I gave him a shot, you know?

Wow. My life never been the same ever since. What a story. Do you believe numbers have meaning? Cause Jesus died at 33. You mentioned you made the song on 11, 11, 22. Was that strategic? No, it wasn't. It wasn't?

No, no, it wasn't strategic. I mean, the day of the release was strategic, but not according to numbers. But yeah, that's pretty cool. Actually, I don't think I've ever even thought about that till you just said that. Yeah, well, I know there's a divide with certain religion and numerology and astrology.

That's why I asked that. Yeah, nope, nope. Didn't even think about it. That's pretty cool though. Interesting. 1111. Yeah, that's angel numbers, right? That's pretty cool.

I don't know. Yeah, 1111. I'm being honest, I have no idea. Well, yeah, 1111, a lot of people make wishes at that time of life. Okay, I don't know. Yeah, 1111. Being honest, I have no idea. Well, yeah, 1111, a lot of people make wishes at that time of life. Okay. I don't know anything about wishes. I just know about praying to Jesus.

Good old prayer. That's all I know. Hard to be prayer, man. Yeah, exactly. I used to pray a lot growing up. Yeah. What do you mean used to? I went through a rebellion phase, man.

Okay. Yeah. That's real. I might have to get back into it. That's real. I got it. No, I definitely used to. And something I got away from, I think a lot of kids kinda, I don't know, church growing up could be a weird setting sometimes. Yeah, I think so.

I think, you know, like you said, sometimes, not every child's the same, but like you grow up, maybe certain kids too are smothered by it, or they feel like, yeah, yeah, I don't know. And then they grow up and then they get their freedom and they're out it or they feel like, yeah, yeah, I don't know. And then they grow up and then they get their freedom and they're out of the house.

And so I could see that. Yeah. But I am big on purpose and spirituality. Amen, yeah. I think it's really important. A lot of people don't have those guiding principles these days. Yeah.

Get kind of lost in the sauce. You're right. And I'm not a fan of the hookup culture either. Yeah. I'm big on family. Yeah, amen. Yeah, that's a fan of the hookup culture either. I'm big on family. Yeah, amen. Family is the way God created it. Absolutely.

That family is the way the Bible defines it. So me too. You know, I freaking love being a husband. We're coming up on 27 years. Congrats. That's how old I am, wow. Really? You're a youngin' dude.

See, I told you there's something with numbers. We're meant to meet. Yeah, you're a baby. And then my oldest daughter's 23 and my son's 21 and my youngest is now 15. But yeah, man, I think, you know, we gotta get you back in, man. We gotta get you back in.

I'm not opposed. I'd love to go to one of your, it's every Sunday? Yeah, yeah, every Sunday. Next time I'm in town, I'll stop by. Or even watch it online. I'm not opposed. Yeah. I'd love to go to one of your, it's every Sunday? Yeah, yeah, every Sunday. Next time I'm in town, I'll stop by. Or even watch it online. Just go to impactchurch.com. Oh, it's online. Wow, churches have adapted. Yeah, I know.

Holy crap. We're probably the slower ones, we're trying to pivot and move with the times, but evolve. But yeah, YouTube, and you can listen to sermons, and yeah, you should do that for sure. I mean, I definitely want to touch on the growth, because this is a business show, and you said it started offmons and yeah, you should do that for sure. Yeah, I mean, I definitely wanna touch on the growth because this is a business show and you said it started off

with just a one team and now it's 10,000 people. How long did that take? 14 years. Okay. Yeah. And was it steady growth over time? Was there a specific tactics used to grow? Yes, I love that you said too, this is a business show because the thing I think a lot of people

maybe don't think about is like the church is still a business, right? I mean, it's a ministry. You're there to help people, but there's a lot of businesses that aren't churches that are there to help people, right? So think about what the church, you have employees, you have HR, you have hiring. Unfortunately, you even have firing, you have time off, you have vacations, you have teams, you have culture, you have training, you have sessions, you have conferences, you have things where you're developing culture.

You have money coming in, you have money going out. You got budgets, you got departmental budgets, you got marketing, you got advertisements, you got branding, all of it. It's literally the same. So for us, if we look at it from a business perspective, we start as a Bible study for the Arizona Cardinals, open to the public. You're growing, and now you have a church. So how do you grow this? How do you grow numerically? How do you

grow spiritually? How do you grow financially? Right? Relationally, all the Alis, how do you grow? And so like those are all business, like those are good business tactics. So branding, our name is Impact Church. Why? Well, I wanted a one-word purpose statement. That's why. I wanted one word that said all of it. What is all of it? Well, that I'm impacted by God, but that I make an impact for God, that I love my neighbor as myself, that I help people, that I love people,

serve people, sacrifice for people, impact, that said it all. So our pro-athlete Bible study, me and Andre Wadsworth, who played in the NFL, he and I had a Bible study called Impact Pro Athletes. So we had sons, Phoenix sons, we had Arizona Cardinals, Diamondbacks, we had pro athletes in Paradise Valley come together, did this Bible study.

And I was like, dude, Impact Church, that's it. Like that's the name, that's perfect. Now coming onto the business idea, I wanted a symbol, like a logo, something that said, Impact. Well, what is that? Well, I was like, God, I wanna, now the cross is obvious. The cross is a symbol of our faith. That's for sure.

That's what Jesus did for us. But I came up with the idea of the star because so anywhere you see Impact Church, you see a star, right? came up with the idea of the star because so anywhere you see impact church, you see a star, right? Well, why the star? Because in Philippians 2.15, there's a verse that says that you shine like stars in a dark universe. That's what we should do, shine.

Like the world's dark, man. Like, how do you not be dark? Man, I'm gonna love like nobody's love. I'm gonna give like nobody's, I'm gonna love like, like nobody's love. I'm gonna give like nobody's, I'm gonna be generous because the world's selfish. Like stand out, you know, shine like stars. So we're talking about business, right? We're talking about like building the church, but building a business. And so you've got these ideas, you've got the marketing, you've got the branding, then you've got the, the, the imagery, and then you've got the marketing. And then you start building everything around that.

Like, man, this is what we're doing. We're making lives better. We're here to help marriages. We're here to help the addict. We have hundreds of addicts that have been set free in our church, right? So like all that speaks for itself. So like you might wanna, in a business,

you might wanna run an infomercial, you know? Yeah. Like, well, our infomercials are lives changed. We've had the privilege of water baptizing 6,000 people in the last 14 years. That's a lot of people, but like, I can't change a human heart. I can't, I literally cannot make somebody

with my own words and my own power, change whether they believe in God or not, that's God. I'll speak words and I'll speak life and I'll speak hope and all those things and love, but like God does that. So those people that are being water baptized, that it's 6,000 people that go, man, my life changed. Like something happened to me,

like God did something in my life. So now you've got the power of advertisement. Well, what are we advertising? We're advertising life change. We're not advertising to make money. I'm not selling something, I'm giving something, but advertising is still important. Marketing is still important.

Right. Culture is still important. Being a giver and not a taker, that's a good component to team. Cause a lot of teams, even, you know, I serve as the Phoenix Suns chaplain and I have for 23 seasons and I've served in the NFL and I've served in major league baseball.

Well, when I go, the way chapel works with the Phoenix Suns is before every game, we have chapel. Like, you know, most people don't know that, but- I didn't know that. But I know, and like think about that for a minute. There before, 16 minutes before tip off, we have chapel for 15 minutes.

People are like, what is that? Well, we get together, man. We have a little prayer, a little devotional. It's about life. It's like, man, they have hardships too, and they can't go to church because of their schedule, you know, not during the season. So we kind of take it to them.

And so, but the NBA, the NFL, MLB, they all have chapel, right? But the NBA, the NFL, and MLB, it's a business. Those are businesses. We think of it as like, oh, watching sports, it's a business, it's there to make money, right? So a business goes, hey, let's create some space for spirituality, for just some decompressed time, man.

We're about to play like, let's just take a deep breath. Let's reset, let's recenter, you know, cause we're about to go get after it. So yeah, so then the church starts growing. I mean, it went from, you know, 200 to're about to go get after it. So yeah, so then the church starts growing. I mean, it went from, you know, 200 to 400 and 400 to 800. And, you know, and, and, and, but it speaks for itself because God's doing what God does. And, and so, you know, so then you start, you know,

you start thinking about like space and buildings and properties and how are we gonna facilitate this and utilizing the internet, utilizing YouTube, utilizing Instagram, and all those things. But I would say the biggest difference for the business of church versus like, just like corporate America business is, it's solely about Jesus.

It's like, if you're in sales, you've got to sell me on something. So, it's kind of like you're selling Jesus, but it's free. And he sells himself. Like if you give him a shot, he sells himself. Like I don't have to convince 6,000 people to get water. Like I didn't do that. Like the supernatural did that.

God did that. When I watch big full grown jacked NFL players getting a baptism tank and go under the water and come back up. By the way, I don't know if you know this Sean, but that's a baptism, water baptism. It's a symbol of like dying to yourself and rising up brand new. It's like, it's a symbol of like dying to yourself and rising up brand new.

It's like, it's a symbol of like, man, I get a new start in life. I'm washed clean, like a new slate. But you know, seeing like, like, man, it's fun to watch kids and stuff. That's beautiful, it's precious. But like when you watch a full grown man, dude, you're like, dude, only God can do that.

Cause men are like tough and stubborn and you know? Yeah. So yeah, man, all do that. Because men are like tough and stubborn and you know? Yeah. So yeah, man, all of that plays into the business and budgeting and departmental budgeting. And you know, like I said before, the money that comes in, the money that goes out, you know, it's really a pass through in a church because it's just like, okay, it came in,

it's going right back out. And, but I think most people don't think that way. Like church is, it is a business. And I think for everybody that, you know, that is running a business or thinking about starting a business, you can't market and brand enough, like saturate. And that's what we did.

It was like, you couldn't get away from Impact Church. I mean, it was all over the internet, it's billboards, you know, driving around the Valley, it's bumper stickers on cars, window stickers on cars. You know, we have a church march, we call it, like Impact Clothing line, where it's just fun. It's just fun clothing, but it all points back eventually to impact.

So if I'm wearing something that's kind of dope looking and I'm in Florida or something, oh, where'd you get it? Oh, impact, like it's branding. Absolutely. It's marketing, you know? And I think that's the reason why your church is successful and one of the biggest in the country.

Yeah. You thought from a business point of view about it, right? Yes, yeah. Yeah, cause there's probably hundreds of churches in in the country. You thought from a business point of view about it, right? Yes, yeah. Yeah, cause there's probably hundreds of churches in just the city, I'd imagine. Yeah, probably thousands. Thousands, wow. Cause I know, like for example, one denomination,

like Assemblies of God or whatever, there's almost 300 churches in the state, you know, and then there's Baptist and Lutheran and you know, all these denominates, then a whole bunch like ours, it's non-denominational. So it's super competitive space, but you were able to penetrate and start to the top. So there's something there.

There's something there. Yeah, and it's kind of weird because you said it exactly right. It is competitive, but it's really not because the other churches are like, we're doing the same thing. We're on the same team. We're promoting Jesus.

We're trying to help people. But I know what you're saying, because it still is, they have a choice. People have a choice. They could go to that church, that church, that church. And there's so many great churches in Scottsdale, Arizona, so many. So that speaks to the community and culture you built then,

because that's what's separating them from staying versus going somewhere else. Yeah, I think so. I love to take credit for that. But I think I'm just like- Sure you got a great team. Yeah, our team and a good God and a great team. Yep.

Do you want to scale to other cities? Yes. We were right at two locations. We're going to have three. We bought a building in South Scottsdale, a paid castle. We're in North Scottsdale right now. Have a North Phoenix location. And then we just bought a building in South Scottsdale.

And so, yeah, we're going to scale. And I mean, dude, until the wheels fall off, I'm going to give it everything I got. Beautiful. Yeah. I mean, you're providing so much good to society. I love it. Yeah.

Thank you. Absolutely. What are you up to next? And where can people find you, man? So, man, I got this book coming out. It's the idea of the stroke survival story, this miracle story. The book is called The Fire is for You. It's a journal for the last two years about that

week. It's now on Amazon. People can buy it on Amazon. The fire is for you. The heart behind the book is, well, not only are you gonna read this supernatural, incredible, hard to believe miracle story, but it's gonna help you because everybody's got a fire they're going through. And I think oftentimes we think of fires and we go like, please get me out of that fire, God, or put the fire out, God, or we curse the fire.

But if we could flip our perspective and I go and the book goes, no, the fire is actually for you. It's not against you. And when you look at scripture, it talks a lot about fires. In fact, it talks, I said, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Trials in the Bible, there's three major metaphors for trials in the Bible. There's valleys. Remember David said, everybody knows this, even if they're not church, cause it's like rap songs. Even though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, right?

The valley, the valley. But David wrote that. He said the valley of the shadow of death. And I like the word shadow, cause shadow means it's not the valley of death. It just feels like death. Like it's low. See, there's three things about shadows.

Anywhere when you think about shadows, shadows are always bigger than reality. So that's fear, right? Like, dude, I'm in a valley. Number two, shadows have never hurt anybody, but they're scary, they're dark. Number three, anywhere there's a shadow, there's always a light.

And if you turn and look to the light, the shadow falls directly behind you, but we usually look at the shadow. If I turn and look to the light, well, Jesus said in John 8.12, he said, I am the light of the world, and whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. So the Bible uses valleys. The Bible uses storms. That's another metaphor for trial. I'm going through a storm right now, man. Life's, you know, the winds of life, the rains of life,

the waves of life come crashing in. And then the Bible uses fire for trials. But the thing about the Bible, it talks about fire and that the fire is for you. The fire purifies you. The fire pulls the impurities out of you, right? It's like gold or silver. It's like when a silver is refined or gold is refined, the pressure, the heat, the fire. And what that means is it's making us more mature.

It's making us more complete. It's making us less about us and more about God, more about others, right? And so I was really inspired through this because like, God allowed me to live another day, two years now, two more years that He's given me. And I know people that are watching right now are going through fires. They're going through freaking hell, a financial fire, a relationship fire.

My marriage is under fire. My finances a relationship fire. My marriage is under fire. My finances are under fire. My emotions are under fire. My health is under fire. People watching right now, they've been diagnosed with some life threatening. I'm under fire. So this book, The Fire is for You, it's going to help you navigate through this fire,

give you the right perspective, the right angle of how to look at it. And that's my heart for that. So, you know, thank you for asking about that. It means everything to me, because I'm hoping to give, I'd give this book away. I'd give it away for free to 8 billion people on planet. If somebody had paid for it, I'd do it. Cause I don't care.

I want people to have hope. And this book is gonna give people hope Can't wait to listen to it man. Will it be on audible to it'll be on audible to you. Yeah, perfect Yeah, I'm an audiobook guy. I'll definitely give it a listen and we'll link it below in the description. Awesome. Thank you Yeah, thanks come on man. Great story. Absolutely. Thank you for having me Bet MGM is an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League and has your back all season long. From puck drop to the final shot, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook Born in Vegas.

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